This morning A and H wanted to draw, so we set them up while Daisy and I broke down camp. The hill to get away from the beach and back to the bike trail was steep. Like stop a couple times to rest, steep. During one of those stops a family with two toddlers in an Urban Arrow Family cargo bike passed by and we cheered them on. We have one of these bikes too, and they are great. The only downside is that when you run out of electric assist the bike is so heavy it is nearly impossible to ride uphill. … And that is the condition we found the family in near the top of the hill! The battery was empty! (There was no power available in the campground last night.) We had a nice chat for a few minutes before heading down the other side. Luckily for them there was a restaurant/store just a half mile away.

We passed several neighborhoods as the bike path went from being separated to on low-traffic neighborhood streets. Eventually we made our way to Sidney, BC. I was looking forward to some yummy interesting lunch food but unfortunately hungry H won out and we quickly got grocery store sushi and a box of blueberries again. After lunch the kids and I visited the Shaw Center for the Salish Sea while Daisy had a coffee and stayed with the bikes. This aquarium was pretty cool, and we got to explore another touch tank. We were a little overwhelmed to be overrun by summer camp kids, though!

Not much farther along and we arrived at Smonecten National Reserve Park campground. It was entirely in the forest, and the walk/bike-in sites were separated from the drive-in sites. After dinner we enjoyed our walk around the campground. There were signs telling about native plants. Also, there were a bunch of berries! I learned about “trailing blackberries” which are different than the typical “Himalayan blackberries” that we normally see. They are native to the area, and are much sweeter and more delicious than the more common variety we usually encounter. They were a little harder to eat since they ‘trail’ on the ground more like a vine than like a bush. There were also thimbleberries, which tasted like jam to me. We had a good dessert!