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West Coast Travels: Camper Life

We just spent a stunning week in Tofino, BC. It’s famous for the rugged coastline and natural beauty. People go there to kayak, surf, whale and bear watch. We went to chill.

Traveling in a camper allows you to get closer to nature. Internet availability was scarce to non existent which gave us lots of incentive to relax. We read, walked the beaches and enjoyed local restaurants.

Walking the Crystal Cove beach in Tofino, BC

We waited in line for over an hour to eat fish tacos from this famous food truck, called Tacofino. They were worth the wait!

Tacofino food truck in Tofino, BC

I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten my bodyweight in fish tacos during this trip and see a diet in my future.

Kayaking center in Tofino, BC

The mornings started off foggy on the west coast of Vancouver Island, but by early afternoon the blue sky is crystal clear.

Sun setting on Crystal Cove beach in Tofino

Sunsets are stunning from the beach at Crystal Cove.

 

We had a small trailer snafu during our drive back to Parksville. Unbeknownst to us, while driving, a cabinet door flew open. The plates crashed into the kitchen sink and one of them turned the faucet on. Sadly, the plug was in the drain. How’s that for bad luck?

When we opened the door to set up camp, we discovered that gallons water had flooded the floor. Everything was saturated, including my laptop.

Beach in Parksville, BC

Our learning curve is steep with this trailer, but we’re soldiering on 🙂

We spent the next morning with a rented shop vac, sucking water out of our drenched carpeting. That afternoon we started running a dehumidifier and think things dried out pretty well.

We’ve headed home to California now. I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed after 3 1/2 weeks in this tiny camper.

Traveling by RV isn’t for sissies!

Have a great week.

xo-Jennifer

32 Comments

  1. Hi Jennifer
    My husband and I will be planning a motor home trip did you prearranged your RV parking stay along the round trip.? I think I will agree with you traveling rv isn’t for sissies.

    1. We had several of our reservations planned but for the most part we winged it and just called ahead as we drove along. Good luck and have fun, Rosemary. It is fun.

  2. Jan Kroeger says:

    Guess this was a test for your next trip. I honestly can’t imagine 4 people in a camper shell. Your idea of fun for your 60th is miles from mine! Why not the Ritz???

    1. I wanted an adventure. I may need two weeks at a spa just to recover:)

  3. We used to have things falling out of the trailer cabinets while on the road. I resolved that by installing tension rods inside the cabinets. Just pop them out when you arrive at your destination. This also works in the refrigerator. I also picked up some small bins to hold canned goods and other food items-fewer things rolling around in the cabinets. You might also want to turn off your water pump when you pack up. Good luck and happy camping!

    1. Great suggestions! Yes the water pump will always be off now. I grabbed some ribbon and tied the handles together but your bars sound like a much better idea. Thanks!!

  4. It’s been years since we camped in Tofino. You never forget it. That’s a frustrating accident. There’s something about an RV plug that makes it roll across the sink and twist into closed.

    1. Yes there is!! Murphy’s Law I’m sure 🙂

  5. Sounds like you had a fantastic time despite the unfortunate incident with the plates – what bad luck! Hope the lap top recovered. This has really inspired me to try renting a motor home and having a go at a touring holiday in the UK.

    1. Try it, I think you’ll like it. It’s got it’s challenges but is still fun.

  6. Susan Scott says:

    Jennifer, I love your blog. You are living the Farmer’s insurance commercials. Enjoy your own bed and repeat….there’s no place like home. Our best to you always,
    Susan

    1. LOL! We are living the insurance commercials. There really is nothing as comfy as your own bed!!xx

  7. Your photos are simply stunning. My husband and I went to a tiny little restaurant last week. Our booth was right next to the kitchen, which was totally open to diners. I was so fascinated the whole time watching the cooking dance going on in that tiny galley spot – so much so that when my husband said it took 45 minutes to get our burgers, I was surprised…it didn’t seem anywhere close to that long of a wait. My olive burger and onion rings were delicious – a diet splurge, for sure! And then we walked down the street to Cops and Donuts for dessert. We’re in the middle of a kitchen refresh, so I’m pretty sure I burned up those calories the next day. LOL

    1. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself. Good for you! Thanks for reading.

  8. How fortunate (and life saving) to have had such beautiful stopping points after floods and other travails. All part of the stories you have to tell about your adventures.

    1. We’re crazy about the Pacific Northwest. There’s no where like it!! It really helps to have great beauty around us.

  9. Though I’ve lived on the Canadian prairie for most of my adult life, I grew up on the BC coast. Thank you so much for sharing this glimpse of one of my favourite places on earth! I can almost smell the sea and hear the surf!

    1. The sea and surf have stuck with me, Elaine! I love it so.

  10. Oh darn that door…and the plug too…and as you say it is a learning curve!
    Tacofino make great fish taco’s we have a location in Victoria on Fort Street and it is always busy…we have another food truck called Red Fish Blue Fish where the average line up is about 45 minutes…good food and great prices.
    Happy to hear that you had a nice holiday up here.

    1. We had a great time! I wish we’d had long enough in Victoria to connect with you. Hopefully, next time.

  11. YOU HOME?
    OH MY…………..I am going to send this to my SON with the TACO TRUCKS in CAPE COD so he can compare costs and MENU!

  12. I love Tofino! It’s one of my favorite places. I recognize the beaches and other landmarks in your photos. So glad the weather was good for you (except for the flooding 🙁 ) Hope your trip back is fun, too.

    1. The trip back was relativity uneventful. Which was a nice change from our usual track record 🙂

  13. The pictures are gorgeous! I must put these places on my bucket list. I hope your laptop survived. Thanks for sharing these days of travel. I have enjoyed reading them.

  14. Angela Grafe says:

    So beautiful landscape -and you look so pretty – always a smile on your face!
    Wish i could be there – and not spending rainy days in hamburg! You give me lot of styling inspirations – thank you so much!!

  15. Lizette in Calgary says:

    We are in Tofino right now! So happy to wake up to our beautiful view and your timely post!

  16. Oh no! How’s the laptop? Hopefully everything important is backed up and/or in the Cloud….

  17. Did you know that Tofino was fairly isolated from the rest of the world until 1963? It was only accessible by boat or airplane before then. Hope you visited the brewery and the little organic coffee shop there. Great stuff!!

  18. Karen tanner says:

    I have loved this series! I’m retired and my husband will retire in a year and we plan on travel camping periodically. We’re Montanan’s and so it’s not new way of life but from weekends we will go to longer trips thanks for the preview!!!

  19. You will look back on this incident and chuckle one day. Sounds like you have recovered well.
    We rented a motor home years ago when our kids were little and went camping. The cabinet doors had slide locks on them. Now I know why!
    We went to Tofino 4-5 years ago and spent a week there. So beautiful there. Quite a different view for a Texas girl.

  20. My favourite corner of the world! Safe travels.

  21. The good thing about a motorhome instead of a trailer is that when a cabinet door opens up (or a refrigerator door – ask me how I know!) you know about it right away! Sounds like you had a good trip anyway…

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