Local Day

Exploring Gibsons

Thu May 7th 

Gibsons

Today was a drive-by day, checking out the local roads, seeing which we liked, viewing a few sale properties from the outside.  Our focus is on the southern coastline and a road called Gower Point Rd and a few no-though-road lanes that run off it.  We are staying at the end of Ocean Beach Esplanade where the round bubble is on the left of the map.  

The bulge on the right of the map is a small hill which has a number of roads running around it with a  mix of houses overlooking Gibsons and the marina to the north or across to Van Island southwards.   The higher you get the better the views.

Gibsons has a good mix of shops, restaurants and 'liquor stores' - the only place you can buy booze, apart from the multitude of micro-breweries across BC.  Supermarkets don't sell alcohol.  BC Liquor is one of the largest in BC with 198 stores and is owned by the state of BC.  It's used to generate revenue for the state but is still reasonably competitive.  Their parent, Liquor Distribution Branch is who I will pay the tax to for importing my wine if and when that happens!  I still can't quite get my head around the state controlling liquor stores in quite the way they do.

A was a useful exercise getting to know the area, we've even been able to stop using the satnav - how local is that!

The afternoon was spent around the house and watching the the otter fishing off the foreshore and bringing the catch back to a rock about 2m out in the water.  He (or she) was more interested in its food than me taking photos, with Jack patiently alongside me.

As the afternoon drew on, the smell of woodsmoke started to drift through the air as local Canadians came down to the beach to enjoy the evening sun.

It's a family affair with several groups getting together, opening a few beers, lighting the fire and children and dogs playing in the sand.

As I write yesterday's blog on Saturday morning, we noticed a huge flock of seagulls about 1k out to sea.  We assumed a shoal of fish had caught their interest.

A few minutes later the birds of prey swept in and at one point there were around 15 or so Bald Eagles (the majority) and Golden Eagles fishing with the gulls, heading back to their roosts behind us then back out to see again.  An amazing sight.  

Too far away to get a decent picture, but the bottom image will give you an idea. 




  




 





















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