Salt Spring Island has everything you could possibly wish for in a summer getaway destination. This little island is full of beautiful beaches, lush green forests, and incredible views in all directions. It's one of the most well-known of British Columbia's Gulf Islands, and I recently had the privilege to visit for the very first time.
I ran around like a mad man on the Sunday afternoon of May Long Weekend, gathering all of our camping gear, packing the cooler, and making one last trip to the grocery store for some last minute necessities. Madi and Laura were both off work just after 4, and we were trying for the 5 o'clock ferry. I packed the car while they rushed back to the house, and then we set off for our little adventure!
We made it for the 5 o'clock with time to spare, then enjoyed to 40 minute ride up on the top deck. We pulled into Fulford Harbour just before 6, then set off towards Ruckle Provincial Park. We stopped for lemonade from a group of kids on the side of the road, then drove the narrow, tree-lined roads to the campsite. As we rolled up to the park, there were these beautiful fields on either side of the old dirt road, filled with sheep and an old farm house and barn. It was golden hour and the sun was shining just right, making the sight before us look like something out of a painting. It was beautiful!
Once we arrived at the park, we parked the car, then lugged our stuff down to the ocean view campsites, using a wheel barrow provided by the park. Madi stayed behind to set up the tent while Laura and I went to grab the rest of our stuff. We got back to the site a few minutes later and the tent was still laying flat on the ground. Turns out I forgot to pack a very important piece of the tent, which meant we'd be camping under the stars for the night. With that, we cracked open some drinks, fired up the grill, and got started on dinner.
Later that night, we had some wine on the beach below our campsite as we watched the sunset, and I took a little dip in the very cold sea. We lasted for about 3 hours on the air mattress under the stars. Turns out it still gets pretty cold at night, especially when you only brought a couple of blankets and you're without a tent right by the sea. Who knew?
So to the car we went! We slept pretty terribly. You can only get so comfortable when there are three people trying to sleep in a Honda Civic, but we did the best we could and woke up for the day just after 8.
We managed to squeeze a lot in to our short time on Salt Spring, and the rest of that day was pretty jam packed. We had breakfast at the picnic table of our abandoned campsite, then packed up the car and made our way into town, where we wandered and stopped for lunch. We drove up Mount Maxwell for a stunning view of the Gulf Islands and Pacific Ocean, then headed to the lake for a quick dip in the cool, refreshing water. We headed back into town for dinner, then made our way towards the ferry.
We took the last boat home, and while we had so much fun on our little adventure, we were ready to get back home and shower and get our lives together again. It was the perfect little getaway, short and sweet, and full of good memories. Thanks, Salt Spring! I'm sure I'll be back soon!
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