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I’ve spent the last two days playing tour guide to two friends in town from Prince George. Nothing helps me get past Friday night drinking like Saturday morning brunch. I took our three-man wolfpack (yes, we recycled jokes from The Hangover – don’t pretend you never have) to the Templeton on Granville. I adore the Templeton. Angela and Pat adored the Templeton too.

We took turns ordering and once it was Angela’s turn, I was instantly in awe. “I’ll have a coffee, some water, the New Denver Omelet and a chocolate milkshake.” It was 9:00 a.m., we were slightly hungover and each had empty stomachs. Any girl that can order a chocolate milkshake under such conditions gets my respect.

Let me be honest: I love food and my appetite does not shame me. I believe that milkshakes, mochas and pumpkin pie are pointless without a mountain of whipped cream. Chips always go better with dip. If you make me pancakes on a Saturday morning, I’ll smother them with butter and syrup before devouring the entire stack. Were I to live in France, I’d be nothing short of fat since I’d consume nothing other than chocolate, cheese, red wine and parisian bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Obviously the value of balanced eating can’t be overlooked – and believe me, this girl loves her vegetables. But wouldn’t you rather be five pounds heavier and not neglect the good stuff? The concept is simple: eat what you love and love what you eat. Foodies unite.

If someone wanted to pay me to stay in the kitchen all day to bake, create, cook, chop, simmer, roast, blend, decorate, sprinkle, melt and frost simply for fun, I’d happily accept. Until that day, I do it for nothing more than spreading joy to people I appreciate through tantalizing treats. Food brings everyone together.

Martha knows what’s what when it comes to cookies, but I took a shot at her Rosemary Butter Cookies with a little bit of skepticism.

As a kid, I was constantly sneaking butter and sugar from the bowl when my mom made cookies.

Using fresh and real ingredients is a must. I picked organic rosemary over dried. I should also take this opportunity to remind you that margarine has no place in the kitchen. It is, in my opinion, a sacrilege in creating cuisine.

After forming the dough into two logs, I rolled and wrapped the dough in parchment paper, froze the logs for an hour before brushing in egg whites and sugar. With the dough frozen, making delicate slices was simple with a good utility knife.

After a quick trip to the oven, these sweetly crusted cookies danced perfectly with the rosemary and coarse salt inside. Simply amazing.

Next up was a big tray of ooey-gooey brownies laced with walnuts. Melting butter is a step I enjoy, simply because it means I don’t need to give my arm a workout by whipping solid butter into a sugary fluff.

Brownies are one of the easiest things to make, so after blending the rest of the ingredients in a bowl (ingredients most of us already have in our kitchens), the tray made its way to the oven.

While I’m sure they would’ve been great as-is, I was of the opinion that a wispy layer of chocolate frosting certainly couldn’t hurt. Spreading it on when the brownies are still warm is much more conducive to an even layer.

Santa managed to nearly triple the number of baking supplies and tools in my possession, including some Wilton stencils. Using a flour sifter, I dusted these designs onto the set frosting.

Don’t you wish some blogs were scratch and sniff?

These are all things that I love:

Photo: yum9me on Flickr

And as of yesterday, no more. While not so apparent to most, I am well aware that I have indulged in more than my fair share of ice cream over the summer. Refined sugar has always been my nemesis, the one thing that always trips up any balance I try to achieve on the scale.

A co-worker and I pledged to say no to all sweets, treats and everything in between until November 1. If we slip up, the penalty is chugging a litre of water. It’s more difficult than you might think. Though that said, I already have two exceptions to make during that time and I’m fully prepared to get my chug on.

This is where you come in and help. Tell me some of your favourite sugar-free snacks so I can take the edge off from time-to-time without indulging in the devil’s condiment.

Vicious beatings, crude instruments for prodding, verbal degradation, humiliation, chains and cuffs and megalomaniacal antagonists. While all of these sound like key elements from your humble narrator’s favourite Rob Zombie flick, they’re a part of everyday life for elephants in the Ringling Bros. Circus.

Last week PETA released the “fruits” of months of intense undercover investigation behind the largest and oldest traveling circus in the United States. Disturbing video footage screams loud and clear the heinous accounts of blatant animal abuse perpetrated against these gentle giants.

Former Jackass and circus entertainer, Steve-O, recently teamed up with PETA in this video to speak out against these crimes. If you can get past his silly laughter, he does make some good points.

A formal complaint has now been filed with the United States Department of Agriculture and all evidence collected has been submitted. It’s my hope that the beatings will stop and the elephants (and other animals) will instead be sent to sanctuaries to enjoy the rest of their lives in peace. If you’d like to lend your voice to the cause, please click here to easily send an e-mail to the USDA’s Secretary of Agriculture, Thomas J. Vilsack.

The other day, as I spooned myself a bowlful of yogurt with lunch, I decided to check out the ingredient list out of curiosity. I always like to know how much sugar I’m consuming. To my surprise, I discovered that my beloved Island Farms yogurt contains gelatin. After a quick e-mail to them, followed by a prompt and pleasant reply, I was happy to learn that a new line of 2% Pro-Plus yogurt was being introduced to the Island Farms family – and it’s gelatin-free! And not only that, Island Farms confirmed to me that all their ice cream is also gelatin-free. Phewf!

However, my discovery prompted me to do some further research into animal by-products in food. Imagine my upset over learning not only what rennet is, but also that it’s used in many, many cheeses to coagulate the milk.

What is rennet? A complex of enzymes derived from the inner stomach of baby calves and is therefore a by-product of the cattle slaughter industry.

Dried and cleaned stomachs of young calves are sliced into small pieces and then put into saltwater or whey, together with some vinegar or wine to lower the pH of the solution. After some time (overnight or several days), the solution is filtered. The crude rennet that remains in the filtered solution can then be used to coagulate milk. About 1 gram of this solution can normally coagulate 2000 to 4000 grams of milk. Today this method is used only by traditional cheese-makers in central Europe: Switzerland, Jura, France, Romania, and Alp-Sennereien in Austria.

Most hard cheeses, such as cheddar and Monterey Jack, list rennet as a key ingredient. Though thankfully, most varieties of mozzarella, brie (including Little Qualicum Cheeseworks’ brie), goat cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, etc. is made without rennet. And further, many cheeses are now offered with a vegetarian-based coagulate. Read your labels, kids.

Lucky for me, all this means is being much more conscious about my grocery shopping selections instead of foregoing cheese altogether.

“When a man wantonly destroys one of the works of man we call him a vandal. When he destroys one of the works of God we call him a sportsman.” – Joseph Wood Krutch, Literary Naturalist, 1893-1970

Some people seem somewhat shocked initially. Others are in disbelief and others still feel it necessary to dish out mild jabs in good fun. While at the same time, some people have simply exclaimed “finally! I was wondering how long it would take you…”

While I previously went through a two-year period of vegetarianism when I last lived on Vancouver Island, I had long been a big fan of meat. I loved eating it, cooking with it, creating new recipes with it, smelling it as it baked or broiled or barbecued. April 12, 2009 was the last time I ate meat.

A little over three months without meat seems like a short time for most and, while some may doubt the genuine intent behind my decision to cut meat entirely from my diet, that time is irrelevant. I’m still new to this “vegetarian thing” and know that there’s still a lot to learn. I’m constantly educating myself, researching the lifestyle I’ve undertaken and finding new recipes and ways at which to keep myself healthy without eating meat. My choice didn’t come about because I decided it suddenly tasted “gross”. In fact, my diet still includes eggs and dairy products from humanely-obtained local sources.

With so many questions being bounced around between my family, my friends and even my blog readers, I’ve felt the time is right to deliver my vegetarian’s manifesto, if you will. I can’t necessarily pinpoint the “how” but I can definitely articulate and expand on the “why”.

It’s no secret that I’ve long been a lover of animals. This includes everything from cats to dogs to chickens to birds to whales and every other living, breathing creature under the sun. To me, they have always been beautiful, abundant and gentle beings, each possessing somewhat of an innocence that we humans dropped along the way at some point. What was missing in my own life in this regard was a connection.

There was no particular incident that spurred on my decision to shed animals from my diet, my make-up bag or my closet. I know that I can honestly say that, although it may have been an idea floating in the furthest reaches of my subconscious, I truly did wake up one day and realized my perception had changed entirely.

It was Easter Sunday and my mom was out of town, so my aunt and I were left to our own devices for dinner. Rather than cooking a large turkey for the two of us, I found a recipe for Cornish game hens and planned for that instead. Easter Sunday was also the day I decided I was done. I carefully prepared the meal, as well as the vegetables to go along with it, and then sat at the dinner table with my aunt that evening. “Today is the last day I’m going to eat meat,” I told her without batting an eyelash. It was simply that matter-of-fact.

What caused that connection or that proverbial light bulb to illuminate is beyond me, but perhaps it was simply an inevitable culmination of my personal beliefs. If I love animals as much as I purport to, then why do I have no problem at all throwing parts of their carcasses on a grill or in a pan and proceed to devour them?

This is where the problem lies: animals are living, humourous, loving, emotional, intelligent beings that eat, breathe, sleep, feel, think and move. Food, on the other hand, is completely inanimate. A hot dog just sits on your plate without movement or sound. The only thing meat will do if you leave it long enough is decay. But making the connection between the living and the non-living isn’t easy. What joins the two usually involves a sharp blade, inhumane treatment and much pain.

It isn’t my endeavour to shock each of you through facts or unbelievably disturbing details of how the animals make it from the farm to the plate. Many of you have seen the PETA videos while others still may have witnessed it first-hand.

It’s my belief, as a woman and an individual human being, that we are all here on the planet by the design of something greater than all of us. Animals have personalities and feel, experience and understand many of the same quotients and emotions we humans do. If you have met Jordy, you know what I’m talking about! We are all species and none of us can say that one is greater than the other. Animals feel physical pain, experience the emotion of fear and feel the natural urge to flee when threatened just as you or I do.

Something as simple as a backyard BBQ with family is deemed more valuable than the life of the pig whose ribs are being devoured. Dispute that if you will, but actions always speak volumes above words. Last month, an Oklahoma woman and her friend were charged with killing and skinning a seven-week-old puppy with the intent to make a belt [source]. While the community was outraged, I couldn’t help but wonder how this was deemed to be a “despicable” case of animal cruelty, yet if the belt had been made of a cow, it would be okay. Something doesn’t add up.

I’ve heard a million arguments made to justify the consumption of meat. While some will say that the production of meat is actually good for the environment and the economy, others still will tell tales of the astronomical impact it has on the global environment. The point can also be attempted that eating vegetables is also killing living things, but it is scientific fact that plants do not possess both the central nervous system and brain required to feel and register pain [source]. But instead of respecting these beings, we assume we own them by locking them up in zoos, keeping them confined to large tanks at city aquariums and corralling them until they’re ripe for slaughter.

All of that is besides my point. The irony is that humans take such pride in being a group of beings so incredibly evolved as a species that our lives are seemingly worth more than those of animals. Yet, we rely on the idea that eating meat is our primitive right.

The truth about us humans is that yes – we are evolved; so much so that we no are longer required to consume meat to ensure a balanced diet and live a healthy and wholesome lifestyle. While at one point in time, eating meat and testing on animals may have been essential, it’s no longer necessary. Technology has moved us past that, and the choice to eat an animal is no longer premised on a need but instead on desire.

Very recently, I was discussing the beauty and gentle nature of cows with someone close to me. “I love cows too but I could never look one in the eyes – I’d just feel too guilty!” was what they told me. That, right there, is precisely the reason for my choice. I can no longer look at what is literally staring me in the face and deny it any longer.

I have made a decision and declaration to live a vegetarian lifestyle. I now make every single effort possible to use products that have not been tested on animals. No longer will items purchased for my wardrobe be made of leather products. By making these choices I am not claiming to be perfect, just as I do not attempt to describe those that eat meat as imperfect.

However, no matter what kind of argument anyone attempts to make against my choice, there can be no argument against compassion. There can be no argument against equality or love. I believe that every living being, whether toes, heels or hooves, has the exact same right to live a normal, happy and healthy life.

In 2007, Academy Award winner (and bonafide babe) Joaquin Phoenix passionately contributed to a film called Earthlings. It is as incredible as it is intense. In it, he points out the direct correlation between all of the Earth’s species and their individual values. While containing compiled videos that are not isolated events, but instead the norm, Earthlings is perhaps the most violent and graphic film you will ever see. Except it’s real.

Earthlings can be viewed online in its entirety here.

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There are few things finer in life than food and, being that me and Rebecca’s trip to Parksville had been so packed full with fantastic cuisine at every turn, it was fitting that we ended our girls’ getaway with the dinner of all dinners.

It’s impossible to walk in the front doors of The Landing West Coast Grill and not notice the immense wine cellar as you enter. Recently installed, the cellar is capable of storing quite literally thousands of bottles of wine and is maintained through an exact science. Wine is both exquisite and temperamental in nature, which I suppose is the reason it is also so perfect. This cellar is truly a source of pride for the Landing’s in-house Sommelier, Atilla Cimsit, who has put countless hours of love and devotion into creating this for the restaurant.

Also not to be overlooked is the Landing’s impressive 6,000+ gallon aquarium that swims its way through the centre of the dining lounge. I found it both intriguing and peaceful.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Rebecca and I are suckers for anything made of bread or any kind of cheese. When you put the two together, it’s double trouble (and I’m not just talking about us girls). Naturally, this was the direction we wanted to take in ordering our shared appetizers.

Because we couldn’t decide between the Warm Oregano and Cheese Whole Wheat Flat Bread with Artichoke & Parmesan Dip or the Spicy Fire Cracker Flat Bread with Warm Goat Cheese and Tomato Dip, we ordered both. And yes, this was in addition to the savoury artisan breads with fresh butter delivered to our table.

While I don’t eat meat, I was quite happy to see that The Landing is a huge supporter of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise program by serving sustainable seafood choices. This meant Rebecca could indulge in her Cedar Plank B.C. Wild Salmon completely guilt-free!

I chose the Linguine with Alder Wood Grilled Vegetables and Herbed Olive Oil. While it may sound plain, it was seriously anything but. Never before have so many vegetables danced so wildly on my tongue!

Just when I thought our bellies were about to burst and Rebecca and I couldn’t possibly fit another bite into our mouths, a wooden tray was brought to our table. Somehow there is always room for dessert, and we watched each others’ eyes grow as we were presented with the entire dessert menu. While for a moment I thought it was implied that we were to try each and every single one of the bold creations, we chose two and shared. This concept was (almost cruelly) fantastic in that, rather than trying to envision what you’re deciding off the menu, you instead know exactly what you’re ordering.

After humming and hawing for close to five minutes over the dessert tray, we decided to split the orange-tinged chocolate mouse and a raspberry and lemon-laced crème brûlée.

After two days in the Parksville sunshine topped off with a fantastic meal, I think we both look deliciously sun-kissed.

The beauty about calling Vancouver Island home is that, no matter where on the Island you are, there’s no place you’d rather be. The exciting part is knowing that the next undiscovered awe-inspiring place is always just around the corner.

You can check out Rebecca’s review of the restaurant – and scope out some pictures of her grilled salmon – on her blog.

Located at Nanoose Bay’s Pacific Shores Resort & Spa, The Landing West Coast Grill is open year-round with their delectable menus at 1-1600 Stroulger Road. To find out more about the restaurant or to make reservations, please visit their website or call toll-free at 1-888-640-7799.

Finding ourselves with time to kill on Friday morning, I suggested to Rebecca that we visit Little Qualicum Cheeseworks. Needless to say, she didn’t take much convincing at all – especially when I let her know that wine was also produced on site. Counting on a vino tasting combined with cheese sampling was all we expected, but that was more than enough for us gals.

Somehow I had it in my head that we’d be arriving at a storefront, so you can imagine my surprise as we made our way up the dirt drive and onto an expansive farm overlooking Mount Arrowsmith.

As it turned out, Little Qualicum Cheeseworks is situated on an active dairy farm with far more than just cheese and the cows that produce the milk to make it with.

Realizing this, our first stop was the gift shop to get our bearings with a self-guided tour map. Within moments, we were greeted by Little Qualicum Cheeseworks’ Phil Charlebois. He was more than happy to tell us a bit about the farm and the cheese-making process while showing us around.

Adjacent to the sterile environment in which the various cheeses are carefully crafted and made is the farm’s gift shop. If it’s farm or cheese-related, it’s in there!

Perhaps the best part of the gift shop, aside from the copious cheeses for sale, is the ability to sample each and every one of them. The farm produces everything from award-winning brie to curds, fromage frais to feta, and a few creatively inspired varieties of their own – including Monterey “Jill”.

For the grown-ups, right next to Little Qualicum Cheeseworks’ farm, is a collection of berry bushes designated solely to berry-based wines that are produced on site. None of the newly-launched Morningstar Creek wines contain any grapes and instead are fermented with gooseberries, raspberries, cranberries and blackberries among others.

The winery is truly a pride and joy for Phil, but unfortunately, due to a trademark on the name “Morning” in a winery, Morningstar Creek Winery will soon be known as MooBerry Wines. None of these wines are available in restaurants or liquor stores, so you’ll have to pay a visit yourself if you’d like to get your hands on a bottle.

My absolute favourite part of the tour was setting my sights on all the animals that call Little Qualicum Cheeseworks home. And on that note, I should mention that the farm is the only SPCA Certified dairy farm on Vancouver Island. Click here to read more about what that means for the health and welfare of farm animals.

These baby piglets were only four weeks old!

The only ram on the farm, Dodge (get it?) was one friendly boy.

These young calves were happy to receive attention. I think the black and white girl in front may have mistaken me for her mother as she took my entire hand in her mouth and tried to nurse it.

Photo: Miss604 on Flickr

Being an animal-friendly farm, the dairy cows are provided with a fabulous lifestyle and are free to roam the vast acres when not being milked.

The view of Mount Arrowsmith is simply breathtaking…

Cute? Yes. Friendly? Not really.

You can imagine my excitement when I spotted an ice cream stand serving Island Farms ice cream. Also featured were several flavours from The Udder Guy’s Ice Cream Company out of Duncan, BC on the south Island. While I’ve never tried their ice cream, all 24 flavours are made from scratch so it would seem it’d be safe to say that they make for tasty cones!

Tried, tested and true, I stuck with Moose Tracks in a waffle cone.

Photo: Miss604 on Flickr

Be sure to read Rebecca’s re-cap of our visit to the farm here.

Little Qualicum Cheeseworks is open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Allow for plenty of time on your visit to partake in a self-guided tour, but guided tours and hay rides are available for groups of eight or more. The farm is located at 403 Lowry’s Road between Parksville and Qualicum Beach.

For more information, please visit Little Qualicum Cheeseworks’ website or call them toll-free at 1-877-248-4353. The various cheeses are available in most grocery stores on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland, so keep your eyes open for it and grab one variety or four!

In 1946, a single log cabin was constructed by the newlywed Van Normans on a then-11 acre property along the shores of Parksville. Today the Tigh-Na-Mara Resort and Conference Centre is perhaps the best-known and most well-loved accommodation in the Oceanside region.

Now double its original property size, the Tigh-Na-Mara boasts over 192 log buildings nestled into towering trees. Did I mention this is where Rebecca and I stayed during our getaway to the Island?

Settled into a one-bedroom, top-floor condo, we had views of the local beach that were simply untouchable. Everywhere you go in the Parksville and Qualicum region, auburn Arbutus trees are reaching to the sky.

Guests of the Tigh-Na-Mara can choose either waterfront condos or singular cabins. Suites are complete with kitchens, jacuzzi tubs and – in our case – a king sized bed. The on-site Grotto Spa also features bungalow suites.

Locals will appreciate the names given to each of the condo structures. Rebecca and I stayed in the Ballenas lodge, named for Ballenas Island found just a few kilometres off the shores of Parksville. It also happens to be the name of the local secondary school.

Next time I’m choosing a cabin – I couldn’t help but be reminded of the John Candy classic The Great Outdoors. Thankfully there were no raccoons causing a mess of the trash cans.

Six years ago the Tigh-Na-Mara expanded by adding what is now the largest resort spa in British Columbia and, in my opinion, simply stunning.

Featuring a full line of European esthetic products with an array of cosmetics, nail polish and locally-crafted wood burl art, the Grotto Spa offers a full menu of uniquely designed spa treatments.

It should go without saying that The Grotto Spa’s pièce de résistance is undoubtedly the mineral pool for which the spa is named. With a two-storey waterfall and a healing blend of various mineral salts, the spa’s grotto is a place to escape, relax and restore.

While I couldn’t snap any pictures (in an effort to respect the privacy of others), I can tell you that Rebecca and I each blissfully enjoyed the Pacific Body Balancing Treatment. Beginning with a yummy sea salt and green tea blended full-body exfoliation, we rejuvenated our skin with a thermal body wrap, a hydrating facial treatment and finished with an all-over body butter massage.

The irony is that I never normally feel relaxed in spa environments – when you’re alone with your thoughts, all you can do is think. At The Grotto Spa, however, it was the first time I actually fell asleep during a treatment, waking only to wipe drool from my chin.

Okay, so here is where The Grotto Spa gets really unique. On the third floor of the building is a relaxation lounge as well as the Treetop Tapas & Grill. “Robes and sandals only” is the requirement, and spa-goers can dine on detoxifying tapas created with specific health benefits in mind.

Perhaps not the healthiest choice, I started our journey through “endless tapas” with a Tigh-Na-Mara Sour, consisting of lime and amaretto blended with ice. SO. GOOD.

First up: wilted spinach in a buttermilk dressing with seared portobello mushrooms and phyllo.

Olive and artichoke antipasto with the best fresh-baked bread sticks I have ever had in my entire life.

Greens with cherry tomatoes, bocconcini cheese with a light pesto dressing. Apparently I am no longer allergic to pine nuts.

Grilled flat bread with local goat cheese and caramelized onions. Commence drooling.

Flaky pastry tart stuffed with local blue cheese.

Vanilla bean pudding-style tart with fresh-picked raspberries for dessert…

…only to be followed by a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese icing.

Did I mention a delectably delicious walnut tart with vanilla ice cream?

With our stuffed bellies and restful bodies, Rebecca and I floated back to our suite in time to catch what I thought was the most amazing sunset over the region.

That was, of course, until 20 minutes later when I discovered that the sunset became even more stunning.

And after a solid sleep, I awoke blinded to see the sun rising over a low-tide beach. There is absolutely nothing like sea air to awaken your senses in the morning – not even a strong java can compare.

Ready for more food? Ever after the “endless” tapas the night before, Rebecca and I found ourselves in the Tigh-Na-Mara’s Cedar Dining Room for breakfast. I was tempted by and gave in to the apple and cranberry french toast with orange cinnamon butter and maple syrup. No regrets.

Normally when on vacation, the hotel is essentially just a place to sleep and shower when the day’s adventures are over, but the pet-friendly Tigh-Na-Mara is an adventure all in itself. With kids’ programs and babysitting, a swimming pool, gift shop, cappuccino bar, bike rental, multiple beach accesses, numerous dining options and, of course, The Grotto Spa, once hardly needs to leave the property.

UPDATE: Be sure to read Rebecca’s re-cap of our heavenly stay at the Tigh-Na-Mara here.

Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort and Conference Centre and The Grotto Spa are located at 1155 Resort Drive in Parksville, British Columbia. The resort is most easily found by taking exit 46 off Island Highway 19; from there, look for the signs. For more information and to book your next trip (or spa treat!), visit the Tigh-Na-Mara’s website or The Grotto Spa’s website.

Australian writer Germaine Greer once said “The essence of pleasure is spontaneity.” Surely she must have experienced a weekend on Vancouver Island.

Since Andrea was planning meet up with a friend of hers in the Comox Valley and I was headed there to visit family, we grabbed the same ferry together and ended up having one of those weekends made up of memories and magic.

We met so many amazing dogs on the ferry, but this Rottweiler named Beth was the star of the show. She was really just a big cat who, the more we cuddled her, the more she rested lazily against our legs.

No doubt Jordy is a water baby just like his mama. We started Saturday early by grabbing him and Charley, a couple coffees from McDonald’s and hit the beach at the Courtenay Airpark.

The water was warm and glassy, the sun hot and bright and the sand was like wet baby powder under our feet.

It’s no secret that I’m currently engaged in a passionate love affair with Vancouver Island wines, so I made sure to bring Andrea by Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery.

They had some swings.

I’ve never been to the Courtenay Museum & Palaeontology Centre. I don’t think you’re supposed to snap pictures, but I grabbed this one anyways. Yes, dinosaur bones and fossils have been found all over the Comox Valley.

After Miss A’s rendez-vous, she met up with my mom and I at Atlas Cafe for some dinner. I had the veggie enchilada again.

After dinner, we didn’t head straight home. Instead we found ourselves on Headquarters Road and pulled over by Casawood Farms. The space is home to many, many cows and is one of the Island’s producers of milk for Island Farms.

I wasn’t thrilled to see their ears tagged (though how different can it be than a mom piercing her baby’s ears), but I suppose it’s important for identification purposes. I was, however, excited to see that the cows had an eating area separate from their clean, dry sleeping area.

None of the cows had docked tails, none were forced to sleep in pens, none were hooked up to milk machines and there were acres and acres of green grass for them to roam during the day. The ladies let us pick up handfuls of their muck and feed them by hand. This was a great idea until my (mom’s) camera fell into the feeding trough.

Who knew cows peed out of their bums?

Really? You feel okay knowing that such beautiful girls are callously butchered like something out of a horror movie just so you can enjoy that burger? Oooookay.

A few kilometres further down the road we found another private farm with a few horses roaming the field. All it took was a sweet whistle and they came running towards us.

Like the lovely cows, the horses also let us feed them by hand with handfuls of grass we pulled from the roadside.

I think I kinda like animals.

First discovery on the ferry: Jordy left his mark on my leg.

No, not that kind of mark.

Oops… forgot this beauty shot from Coombs.

Since it was sunny, we decided to ditch the dog area and opted for a picnic on the deck instead.

Comox Brie from Natural Pastures, BC-grown cherries and über healthy crackers.

Yummmmmmy!

We met Mitch on the way back, a one-and-a-half-year-old black labrador/mastiff cross. I couldn’t tell if he was more interested in Jordy or the brie cheese, but we didn’t mind his company either way. His tongue was bigger than two of Jordy’s paws put together!

After stuffing our bellies, all three of us laid back under the big, beautiful sun for an afternoon nap.

That’s all for now, kids.

When I was a teenager, I spent all my May long weekends camping in Parksville. Between swimming at the beach, roasting marshmallows around the campfire and trying my hand at mini golf, there was always something fun to do.

Photo: City of Parksville

Times have changed and though I no longer find myself camping in the springtime, the long weekend is a perfect excuse (like I ever need one) to get back to Vancouver Island.

Photo: DragonWoman on Flickr

The weather forecast is a bit less than favourable, but I’m hoping to get a lot of fun packed into those three days.

Aside from spending quality time with my aunt and introducing Jordy to his new “cousin” Charley for the first time, my mom and I are looking forward to a scrumptious dinner at Avenue Bistro in the seaside town of Comox. However, I can’t decide between the Baked Hazelnut-crusted Comox Camembert with apple cranberry compote or the Vegetarian Meze Plate with hummus, baba ghanouj and more delectable goodies.

I think it goes without saying that we’ll be feasting on some Island Farms ice cream for dessert. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for banana fudge to be in stock!

If you happen to be on the upper Island this weekend, be sure not to miss the annual Art and Bloom Festival at Woodland Gardens in Merville. My mom and I went last year and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery mingled with beautiful crafts from local artisans.

And the best part? It’s a dog-friendly location, so Jordy and Charley will be tagging along as well! Hopefully that sun will hang on long enough to allow the four of us a trip to Miracle Beach’s off-leash beach to let the monkeys burn off some energy on the sand…

What do you have planned for the long weekend?