In a couple minutes, I will turn 24 years old. For the first time in my life (at least what I can remember of it!), I won’t be having a birthday party with my friends. I’ve decided to go low key this year, and just take some time to have one with my family. I don’t mind getting older… it just means more opportunities and things to look forward to in life! (Not to mention being older can definitely help at work, where age isn’t always a good thing)

For my “birthday weekend”, Allan took me to my favourite place on earth, Tofino… where we got to watch some storms and surf. It was pretty gnarly out there, but we still had a great time. You look forward to the big waves all year… it just sucks when they become a washing machine and don’t clean up nice at all for big wave riding. Nevertheless, we still had a great time being in the ocean and being close to the beach.

Leaf by a tree in Port Albert (by the beer store )

Who ever thought we’d see gas below a dollar in our lifetime?

We checked out Chesterman Beach… but the waves were too small and they weren’t even clean. But at least the view is always pretty!

We stayed at 1431 Cox Bay. What a nice treat away from cold weather camping! It’s always brutal when you get out of the cold ocean and crawl into a cold tent… having a hot bath is a real luxury.

MMmm smoothies. We decided to stay in and cook most of the weekend… for dessert I made kiwi and grape smoothies with yogurt and ice! Definitely refreshing and nice to have by the fire.

On the drive back, we mounted the GoPro camera to the outside of the car to take some footage of my favourite drive in the world. Video coming soon.

It’s a tradition in Port Alberni and surrounding areas to cover Cathedral Grove and the drive to Port Alberni with the pumpkins from Halloween!

There are hundreds of pumpkins and it is really a sight to see the orange pumpkins set amidst the forest backdrop.

This photo was treacherously taken as I sat on the windowsill of a car moving at 120 clicks… and it didn’t even come out great. Oh well

Here’s a video of Allan surfing at Cox Bay with his gorgeous Robert August vintage board. Videos of the drive will be posted shortly.

In other news, the Canucks lost tonight in the shootout. A real shame to see them lose this game, even with Burnaby Joe gone from the lineup for the Avs and the Canucks pretty much at full strength. I would’ve loved to see Wellwood get a bit more of a handle on the puck out there. Also, haha… Canuck favourite (now Senator) Jarkko Ruutu gets suspended for elbowing someone in the face. Classic! Man, I miss Ruutu. Also, Brian Burke stepping down from the Ducks. Big news!

A ferry lineup and a late night drive home and finally we’ve back in Vancouver. I wish I was still in Tofino.

Surf sessions this weekend: 4
Surf sessions in 2008: 24

Catching a small wave in Tofino…

I’ll see if I can’t get that number up a little more before the end of the year with some winter sessions.

Started out with a long lineup at Horseshoe Bay for BC Ferries, and then the beautiful drive into Tofino.

Trees soak up the beautiful sunrise in Tofino… (Inlet side)

We arrived at the cabin that Venus rented, and hung out a bit before bed. I was really impressed with the place. How nice not to camp and cook in the cold after surfing for once! The hot tub was definitely a treat.

The next morning was a long session with some smaller waves, but we had a lot of fun with the new GoPro Hero 5 Camera. Video and photo quality seem pretty good. We should’ve sprayed Rain-X on it first. A later session with a beautiful sunset was a treat.

Shelter Restaurant in Tofino (Jay in foreground)

Allan and I outside of Shelter… Jay likes to catch people off guard with photos

Dinner at Shelter with Jay and Jen was a lot of fun. Shelter’s one of my favourite restaurants to eat at in Tofino… I usually go there once a weekend whenever we’re in town. It’s the best blend of casual and fine dining. Heck, they show surf movies in the bathrooms, but serve raspberry chocolate mousse in a martini glass.

Chase Cam surfing in Tofino

Surfing a steeper face at Cox

The next day at Cox Bay again was pretty big. Probably 11ft swell, but super clean on the outside. We forgot to charge the camera and unfortunately didn’t get any good shots from that day. I did catch an amazing backside that was steep; probably the best wave I’ve personally caught this year so far.

So good..

The aftermath of the big turkey dinner… empty plates and full tummies.

A big turkey dinner prepared by the amazing Wilson sisters, and pie, and most of us were pretty done for the day. It was great having everyone round the table for a Thanksgiving dinner when we were all away from our families. I will say this — male surfers eat a LOT.

The most hilarious drinking game ever…

Bedtime around 1 am and then up again 5 hours later (6 AM!) to catch an early session. That’s when you know you’re dedicated… when your arms are jello, your neck is all rashed from the wetsuit, and you don’t even feel the cold anymore. Quick paddle in to check out Cox. Too big and messy (and FOGGY!) so we headed to Chesterman’s for some waves before having to pack up at the house. All washed and clean and then to Wildside Grill as usual for my favourite fish and chips and Tofino Chocolate for delicious ice cream (they make their own chocolate with chocolate wheels in store… MMM!). A quick stop for a mini photo mission at the Wick, and then it was off to try and make a ferry.

Wick Beach…

The Fog in Tofino..

Peephole…

The call it the West Coast for a reason…

The drive back was gorgeous… completely foggy with fall colours whizzing by.

Cathedral Grove

When Fall passes by..

Happy Thanksgiving everyone… we all have so much to be thankful for!