Curious Miles Rides a Bike

The training wheels were a-blazin' as Miles took his first solo spin around the block....



... and mastered the art of braking while he was at it.

Salt Sprint to the Finish

Miles got the next morning started right with a hot chocolate.   As far as we could tell, the Vesuvius Cafe constituted the entire town of Vesuvius.

Then the intrepid family geared up for a bike ride along North Beach Road.

Grandma Margee was up to the task as well.

Our two young lads got along perfectly in the trailer the whole time.  (Heh heh.  Right.)   Well, at least we got a photo of the brief, shining moment when they did.

Miles enjoyed the beach -- if not always wearing his life jacket.

Mommy grilled up some delicious local lamb....

... bringing out her eldest son's inner carnivore.

The next day, Leo explored Ruckle Provincial Park.

And checked out the Fulford Harbour Ferry.

Miles must have been out of cell phone range.

We were walking along the road, minding our own business...

... when suddenly we were swarmed by a migrating herd of sheep.

Meanwhile, our home base was besieged by deer, who were apparently inspired by the World Cup to look for a pickup game of soccer.

Miles and Mommy scaled the summit of Mt. Maxwell.... 

... and took in 360 degree views of the surrounding waterways and islands.

Daddy and Miles thought it would be a great place to test out the capabilities of the stomp rocket.

Miles was pleased with the results....

... although apparently there was some "collateral damage."

Miles made friends with some land-based fauna.

Leo stuck with beachcombing.

Of course, the boys were on their best behavior when we visited the Salt Spring Island Winery.

Though Leo wasn't so steady on his feet by the time we left.

Mommy and Miles took one more spin around the bay.

Suddenly, young Miles began showering everyone with daisies.

Until we all took on a festive look.

There was time to enjoy just one more Salt Spring Island sunset.

The next day, the BC Ferries brought us back to the mainland -- and back to earth from an amazing vacation.

Smooth Sailing

Our Salt Spring adventure continued with a visit to the agricultural wonders of the south end of the island.

Leo made a new friend at the cheese farm.

Meanwhile, so did Miles.

Back at Vesuvius Bay, the boys were eager to try their hands at kayaking.

 At 3, Miles was far more comfortable in the boat than his two-year-old incarnation.

It wasn't long before he demanded control of the paddle.

As a mariner, Leo proved to be no less intrepid than his brother.

Though he might have been a little more tired.

By the time the sun set over our tranquil bay, so were we all.

Salt Spring Island (Part 1)

This is a family that takes a lot of pictures. This is true in our normal quotidian life, but when we go on vacation, it's an even more daunting task to sort through the photos and blog about them. So there's your explanation for why the Miles Files & Leo Log are running a bit behind of late.

Nevertheless, your editor is picking up the gauntlet -- and so here's an eyewitness, almost live account of our recent trip to Salt Spring Island in British Columbia.

For most of the family, especially its younger components, it was the first visit to the BC Gulf Islands. Our attentive readers will recall that we have been making an annual trip to San Juan Island here in Washington State, where we would often gaze at a glorious sunset silhouetting a fleet of mountainous islands arrayed to our northwest. "That," we would tell our boys, "is Canada."

So this year we decided to mix it up a little and skip the beautiful but familiar San Juans in favor of their Canadian cousins. We settled on Salt Spring Island, the largest of the BC Gulf Islands, largely because it offered the most confusing ferry schedule. We figured we were up for a challenge.

Armed with our new NEXUS passes, Mommy, Miles, Leo and Grandma Margee breezed across the border on Friday and caught a BC Ferry at Tsawwassen. It turned out to be a local. Three hours -- and numerous Gulf Islands -- later, they docked at the appropriately named Long Harbour and made their way to our rental house on Vesuvius Bay.

Daddy, on the other hand, had to work that day. So he did what all daddies ought to do if they want to impress their kids: he caught a seaplane the next day and landed in the harbour as they looked on, mouths agape.

Fortunately, Daddy arrived just in time to join the family for a trip to Salt Spring's renowned Saturday market. We took the opportunity to stock up on the island's bountiful farm products, which fueled a week of fine dining on the home front.

Salt Spring is an impressively mountainous and rocky island, even by San Juan/Gulf Island standards, but thanks to Mommy's careful planning, we found ourselves located on an actual stretch of usable beach at Vesuvius.

The boys made the most of it.

 As did the grownups.   We did not take long to deploy our inflatable kayaks to explore the bay.

The water was crystal-clear and, by regional standards, surprisingly warm -- at least in the shallows.

It didn't take long to spot seals, otters and eagles perched atop some very long food chains.

In short, the vacation was off to a blazing start!