I'm always left dumbfounded at how quickly these posts come around.
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| 1 - Mount Douglas |
My final month out on Vancouver Island!
As I was flying out of Vancouver Airport, I thought I'd make the most of it and spend a few days in Vancouver itself.
Third month complete!
Big Basin State Park allowed me to get up close and personal with the giants of California, the redwoods!
Another foggy start on the Californian coast but that didn't stop me from enjoying Moss Landing's Elkhorn Slough sea safari!
Lifejacketed-up and sitting safely on our little pontoon boat, our captain slowly took us out of Moss Landing's harbour. We spotted some wildlife before we had even left.
Menacing pelicans watched us leave our berth.
We then passed huge doggy piles of sea lions that had taken up residence on docks.
It didn't look all that comfortable...
Leaving the harbour, we sailed under a bridge and entered the Elkhorn Slough (pronounced slew) - a preserved estuary for over 700 species, protecting everything from mammals to birds to fish to algae.
We quickly spotted cute harbour seals on the shoreline.
They swim up when the tide is high so they don't have to drag themselves up there own their own, and enjoy lazing about with their tails sticking out of the water out of the water!
We were also very fortunate to see sea otters. Prior to 1911, they were almost hunted to extinction on the west coast for their pelts. All surviving Californian sea otters are descended from a small group of 50 found off of Big Sur.
The Elkhorn Slough is full of clams, urchins and other tasty things for them to eat, so the population is recovering but they are still strongly affected by pollution and disease.
Next up was a trip to Point Lobos State Reserve! A gorgeous protected marine area.
We walked a coastal path that took us through eucalyptus and cypress trees.
Our last excursion of the day was a stop at Monterey State Beach. The beach stretches around the entire Monterey Bay.
The weather and light was utterly beautiful and made photography a real treat.
A gorgeous end to an action packed day!
What better way to spend my mid-semester break in Victoria... than to leave Victoria and fly down to California!
Officially halfway through my time in Canada! This month I visited the Rockies and Alberta, saw elk and deer, eaten poutine, witnessed a partial solar eclipse, and walked along an abandoned railway trestle!
If I am learning one thing by studying abroad, it is how to make the most of my time in between intense periods of study. That essentially translates to trying to keep my weekend's free of assignments so I have hours to spare to explore the island. A visit to Goldstream Provincial Park, just outside of Victoria, was near the top of my to-do list so I could see my first salmon run!
Hardly able to enjoy the wonderful town of Banff, I was up at the crack of dawn!
So I left Part 1 at the end of Clubs Days, having signed up to an assortment of societies. This post will cover the rest of what I got up to in September!
A quick post slap bang in the middle of midterms! I am both thrilled and saddened to be able to use that phrase, as it's had me holed up in my room most days. While I also complete the wholly unfair mountain of assignments I have to do as well, I've found a nice escape in the form of Finnerty Gardens.
So if you're following me on Instagram, or have liked the site on Facebook, you may have noticed I post one photo a day about what I've been up to. Each post is a part of my photo journal for while I'm out here in at UVic and this is the first part of September's installment (as well as the week prior in August)!
I am unequivocally in love with BC. I'm never coming home. Never.
I seem to have the uncanny ability of being able to sniff out the universities with nature right on their doorstep. Stirling with it's rolling hills and loch, and now Victoria, with its private gardens (coming soon!), forest and trails to the beach!
Unpopular opinion time: I don't particularly enjoy my birthday. I dislike the attention, the fuss, and yes, even the gifts. Cake is welcome (because who doesn't like cake?) but in most cases, I want to hide under a blanket for the entirety of the day.
There is, however, one exception to my allergy to presents, and that is in the case of experiential gifts. By that I mean instead of buying me something, take me somewhere. Let's go do something! Doing something fun on my birthday and making amazing memories is a much better celebration than any gift that could be given.
That fact is the very reason why I chose to go whale watching for my birthday!
It may have taken over 14 hours of travel, but I've made it to British Columbia in one piece! And what an amazing journey it has been to get here!
All of yesterday I was restless. Having had my interview for the study abroad programme last Friday and having been told that I'd be informed of my acceptance or rejection by Wednesday, I was just plain anxious. My futile attempts at concentrating on my Linguistics essay were failing spectacularly and even the internet couldn't distract me from my own fidgeting.
Then at 16:54 when I'd almost given up hope, I got the email. I'd been accepted. I lay back on my bed out of sheer exhaustion. The waiting wasn't over though, as the email had only said I was on the programme and still I had to pick a letter up from administration informing me where I was headed. Today, I scrambled onto the bus to uni, dashed up the hill to Pathfoot building and received my letter...
