Bamboletta Blog

We live on such a beautiful island! We’re very blessed to have a variety of provincial campgrounds scattered throughout the island and it’s many small coastal islands. My son and I were very lucky to have had a camping trip this summer at a place called Englishman River Falls http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/englishman_rv/ .

Every year, before our camping trip starts, we fill the car up with our equipment, buckle up, and take a snap shot of the two of us ready to leave! It’s one of our favourite past times together, and we’re so full of excitement and anticipation of what will happen on our trip!

 

Englishman River Falls is a campground set beside some incredible waterfalls that end with a crystal clear pool of ice cold water! So cold it’ll take your breath away, but so refreshing on a hot summer’s day!

 

Very close to the falls is one of our favorite places to visit. It’s a little town called Coombs. For those of you that have been there, it’s the ultimate place to grab an ice cream cone, local produce, and watch the goats climb around on a roof.  http://www.oldcountrymarket.com/ They have a large courtyard full of stone sculptures for the children and young at heart to play on, as well as a small castle for kids to walk through and climb up! My son thought the castle was pretty cool and loved being able to sit on one of it’s roof tops!

Another place we visited was a beautiful place called Cameron Lake. It’s about a 15 minute drive from Englishman River Falls, and a great place to spend the day. Lots of sun, and nice cool breeze, and amazing trees with roots above the ground to climb on and explore!

 

Of course a camping trip wouldn’t be complete without a nighttime campfire paired with beautiful sunsets through the trees! At night, we would sit around the campfire singing songs, and telling stories!

 

Our camping trip was a magical experience for the two of us, a great union of nature, and love for each other and extended family.

 

xo

Rachel

One of my new favourite places to go off-island (that is, off Vancouver Island) is to venture ‘on-island’, as Shauna likes to say, and go to Salt Spring Island! It’s a much smaller island than the one we all work and live on, but is totally packed with awesome places to swim, sweet places to shop and a super charming community of really down to earth people. Shauna and I both had our littles last weekend (my almost 3 y/o Isla and Shauna’s 5 y/o son Gabriel and of course, Peekaboo the dog) so we packed up Shauna’s Delica for some on-island fun!

The ferry ride over is short but sweet (about 20 mins)…just enough time to soak in the gorgeous view and scent of ocean air.

There’s a super incredible outdoor market that happens every Saturday on Salt Spring Island. The island boasts some insanely talented vendors and you can find anything from delicately made pottery to designer jewelry to fresh fruits and veggies, there is an bake it, make it or grow it policy.

The children were happy with their market purchases, some delicious fresh fruit popsicles!

After the market we took the kids over to the park and wore them out on the slides and swings before grabbing some dinner.

Of all the times I’ve been to Salt Spring, I’ve only ever eaten at one restaurant (I’m a creature of habit) and it’s called the Tree House Cafe. They serve great food and have an awesome patio with a tree growing through the middle of it! They have live bands that play all summer long and I’ve always seen the restaurant as the center of what’s happening on the Island…this is just a visitors point of view though. Shauna, who’s mom lives on the on Salt Spring and who once called this place home too, might think differently 🙂

And our plan to tucker them out worked, muahhahahahahah…

After a little nap, Shauna took us to a very special lake-side beach, a place where her two other eldest children spent much of their childhood playing. I remembered this beach from my youth too on trips to the Island with my mom. It was honestly so sweet to watch our two littles frolicking in the lake together. A super special moment for all of us.

I mean, what better way to end a beautiful day with good friends and family, then a dip in the lake in the glow of the evening sun?

xo

Brooke and Shauna (and Gabes & Isla)

We live in such a beautiful part of the world here on Vancouver Island.  Between the mainland (Vancouver) and Vancouver Island (where we all live) lie the Gulf Islands.  I had the pleasure of living on Salt Spring Island, the largest of the Gulf Islands.  My mom still lives there so the kids and I go over often.  It is only a 20 minute ferry ride but it really feels so far away.  Each time I get off the ferry a calm comes over me.  Just knowing that nothing will be open after 10pm gives me a sense of peace.  Which might seem funny considering that I live in a small town on Vancouver Island, but there is a difference.  There is something special about the Islands and I am very grateful that I have the opportunity to hop on a ferry and experience Island Life at its fullest.

xo

Shauna

I love bread; brown, white, foccacia, bread with olives, cinnamon raisin, buns, whatever it is, I probably love it. They know it here at Bamboletta that I am the one who, if nothing better is in the fridge, brings half a loaf of goodness for my lunch.

One of my favorite places in the whole wide world (and there are many great and awesome places) in the bakery. The smell and the look of all freshly baked breads, buns, baguettes, cookies and croissants…what else in the world do we need? (maybe a coffee) Coming from Holland (a country full of bread and butter), I had to adjust a little to the Canadian way of eating bread. Now, fully adjusted, I know my way around and find the best places to buy the loafs. I also learned to put something more on a slice of bread besides chocolate spread and sprinkles 🙂

Many of you might share my love for bread and many of you might recognize the fact that your homeland has different food and food habits than where you live now, but I hope that you still are able to find your favorite food and a place to share that food with friends and family.

Smakelijk eten!! enjoy your meal!! Bon appetit!! ¡buen provecho, Guten appetit!!

Thamar