Happy Monday!
It is a long weekend, and technically today is my Saturday since I have tomorrow off : ) It is such a nice feeling to sit down at the end of a great day and know that you still have the next day all to yourself.
If you are enjoying the long weekend as well, I hope it was a wonderful one for ya. Today Ryan and I set off for a day trip up island, so today's blog post is kind of a recap of that day.
Warning: TONS of photos ahead!
At about 10:30am we set out on the road for Cathedral Grove. It is about an hour and a half away from us, so we had coffee in hand and stopped at Starbucks for breakfast on the go while en route. The drive is mostly highway, and as you approach Cathedral Grove, the road is a little bit more narrow and windy.
The park is essentially a loop route that takes you through old growth forest. At one point we also reached a little creek (river? I'm not sure) that we hopped over - cue me missing the landing spot and half landing in the water in my shoddy black ankle boots that are not water proof - and then eventually found another opening to the main trail. #Adventuretime
We stopped to take lots of pictures as we walked along the trail, and I was amazed at home many trees had fallen over and completely uprooted. The root systems of these trees are so incredible! Nature is a pretty neat thing, I tell you.
So neat that sometimes you just gotta climb on the tree and pose!
There is something about being in the forest that is very calming. Although I was born on Vancouver Island, there are SO many spots that I have yet to visit. Ryan and I are making it our mission (decided right now) to visit as many places as we can. We really aren't too far away from everything, as most parks are simply a drive away, and it is fun to just GET OUT THERE and EXPLORE! A little exploring never hurt nobody ; )
If you are in the Vancouver Island area, or perhaps come here for a vacation or to visit friends or family, I recommend checking out Cathedral Grove!
After we were finished at Cathedral Grove, we drove back towards Coombs to wander around the shops and grab some lunch.
We stopped at Cuckoo, which was an amazing little Italian spot that had the BEST. PIZZA. EVER! Seriously amazing. And the bread basket was amazing. And the patio was adorable. And, and, and!
I fell in love with the marble tables too, of course. Ryan, on the other hand, fell for the wooden tables (below), which are quite cool as well. There were lights strung on the trees (you can kind of see them in the picture below), and the weather was perfect for sitting outside.
Note the butter knife on the ground. The server did pick that up, ha ha!
Sooo... Let's get to the good stuff. The FOOD!
Ryan and I both ordered pizzas.
Let me tell you.
They were TO DIE FOR, in case you didn't get that hint already.
Ryan's pizza had basil, smoked salmon, goat cheese, capers & marinara sauce. I opted for the veggie pizza and it had red peppers, tomato, red onion, grilled eggplant (omg), zucchini, and artichoke hearts with marinara sauce and mozzarella.
OoOooOoh YES. The crust was paper thin and nice and crispy on the edges, so it went down real easy. Fortunately I had some to take home for later ; )
While in Coombs, we also stopped for ice cream. Wheat and ice cream in the same day. My body is going to be thrilled with me (insert eye roll here). It was worth it, though!
Once we were finished wandering around Coombs, we headed off to the mall to take a gander. I found two pairs of pants for work, and Ryan found a cool tie that had some little anchors on it. Both of us were pooped out when we left the mall, so we grabbed some coffee for the ride home. I was going to go for a run when we got home, but I couldn't find the energy to get out there, even after the coffee. Ah well. I have tomorrow off, so we shall see what the day brings!
That being said, I DO need to kick my training into gear as the Seawheeze is coming up in August. The other day I printed off the training program, and yes I am behind, but I am thinking about going with that training plan as it incorporates different types of work outs to switch things up and prepare you for the half marathon. My motivation lately has been running (ha ha ha) a bit low, so I need something to kick start and re-ignite that flame! As the picture above says, I need to start making more time and less excuses. For instance: my excuse tonight was "well, I am tired from being outside and out of the house all day, and now Simba is curled up on top of me and I am PRETTY SURE I felt a rain drop, so maybe I'll just do it tomorrow." Queen of excuses sometimes, as much as I try to just DO IT! Tomorrow is a new day though and I am probably feeling a bit tired after the day, so I'll sleep on that and hopefully wake up motivated in the morning.
Well, there we are for today! See you in the next one : )
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