Cornish Orchards Ginger Beer

Cornish Orchards Alcoholic Ginger Beer is a delicious ginger beer and low in alcohol %. It had been a while since I had seen a new ginger beer in the area and gave it a try. Delicious, great ginger taste, and refreshing. I'd buy it again.

Reinhart Red Apple Light Cider

Reinhart Cider is from a family owned company over 100 years old. I decided to try it as it was new to the area and low in % of alcohol, my preference for ciders. It was delicious and had a strong taste of apples, as a good cider should. Highly recommended.

Postcard of the Interwebs - 12 September 2018

Indonesia Traditional Songs: This fellow is an ethnomusicologist and is traveling in Indonesia recording musicians and making them available to listen to. Cool.

Tolerance for Ambiguity leads to more Trust:  Interesting study at Brown University indicates that trust occurs more in groups that are more willing to accept uncertain outcomes.

All the Cities founded by Ancient Greece that still Exist: Very cool!

New way of Coating metal for Electronics: It bonds the platinum/gold mixture not for hardness resistance but by temperature resistance.

A Collection of Music Played at K-Mart: Seriously. For those that want a different kind of elevator music playing in the background, this guy has digitized a bucket load of tapes from the K-Mart he worked at.

Telling Depression from Bipolar: Using an MRI, the Westmead Institute can look at the neurons in the amygdala. This part of the brain reacts differently depending on the condition.
New Insulin Drug Repairs Pancreas: By regrowing the insulin making beta cells in the pancreas, it means no more insulin shots and a cheaper cost for government sponsored health care.

Hornby - Wine, Mead, and Cider

We stopped off at three places on Hornby that produce alcohol.

The first was Fossil Beach Farm. It is set by the shore in an 80 acre plot of land that they are leasing from the original decendants of the family that own it. They have cleverly crafted a cider for every taste: Hops based for beer drinkers, lime infused for margarita lovers, dry for wine drinkers...etc.

 They also have yurts to rent for glamping.

 Next was Isla de Lerna (the original Spanish name for the island). Their wines were nice and I really liked their blackberry dessert wine. They also have a kitchen on site with pizza, wings, baked goods, and more.

 Lastly was Middle Mountain Mead. Be warned, do not bike up the mountain unless you are in shape to do so. We made that mistake several years ago.

 As you can see from the view it is quite high up. We had a flight of meads and I purchased a three liter Magick Mead. That's right, they sell three liter tetra packs!

Hornby - Helliwell Park

Always a great park to walk through, Helliwell Park always pleases the eye.

  Be aware, stay away from areas marked with these signs. They probably mean that there are loose rocks on the edge but could also mean that either aliens can abduct you or rapture incidents occur here.

The safe areas are marked with these concrete pucks attached to rope on the ground.

 A pack of otters swam by and it was fun to watch them.

Honby - Heron Rocks Beach

Heron Rocks always has nice relaxing vistas and things to see.

Hornby - Heron Rocks Co-Op Camping

Heron Rocks was our second place for camping this summer and as always it provided a great recharge to our internal batteries.

 We got site #1, which we have stayed at twice before. The wooden shelters are a no-stress way to assist setup of the site for multi-day habitation.

Here is the result of our setup inside the shelter.

For those that wondered how big our tent is...its pretty big. Standing up while changing is a nice benefit.

 We had our traditional first meal here of Kraft dinner but we added sun dried tomatoes and broccoli, with a side of grilled peppers. To drink we had Coastal Black spiced mead.

 We had several woodpeckers in our campground trilling and pecking.

 This chair was not familiar to us so must be recent.

 The outhouses were, as always, brightly painted and amusing.

Quallicum Beach - Laurel's Cottage

Laurel's Cottage is a nice B&B situated in Quallicum Beach, a short walk to the downtown of the community, and short drive from the highway.

This large home has rooms with bathrooms and some with shared bathrooms. The breakfast was large and delicious. Staying here, around a two and a half hour drive from Victoria, allowed us to stop off at places along the way we normally did not stop at. Quallicum Beach itself has a nice vibe downtown with many interesting independent shops and the best small town grocery store we had ever been to, Quallicum/Quality Foods. Staying here also gave us a chance to go to Giovanni's Restaurant, with great Italian food.

We would stay here again if breaking up our trip to places up island.

The Raptors - Flying Demonstration

Our Raptor Experience ended just before the flying demonstration of various birds of prey, done three times a day. Glad they organize it that way because it was fantastic!

 Lots of flybys and explanations about the birds. 

 

 

Well worth a visit but a longer experience is recommended than just what the entrance fee will get you. Book in advance!

The Raptors - Two Hour Raptor Experience

The Raptors is a bird of prey educational and wildlife management center just North of Duncan. My wife and I were heading up North to do some camping and decided to book a two hour Raptor Experience. We were incredibly glad that we did!

We first got some one on one time with various birds of prey on our glove: Harris Hawk, American Kestrel, and Spectacled Owl. We then went to the flying demonstration area to spend some flying time with the American Kestral below.

We then went on a forest walk while a Harris Hawk followed us in the dense underbrush followed by some flying for food on our gloves.

 My wife got a great action shot of a Harris Hawk coming in for a landing.

It was a great experience and would be inclined to do it again or one of their longer programs.