Abbotsford, B.C. to Parksville, B.C. (Vancouver Island) - May 19, 20

We jumped on the ferry in West Vancouver to head over to Nanaimo. We had an hour to wait for our ferry to dock so we poked around the harbor (and chewed up a box of Gravol).

At the wedding Atticus was given his own disposable camera so I took him on the ferry deck and let him take his own pictures.

I love this smile. I hope he never stops doing it (that is, until school pictures).

We had a short drive from Nanaimo to Parksville, got our hotel room, and then headed out to see the sites. This is in Coombs (a town just down the road from Parksville) at the Coombs Emporium. There are a bunch of different little knicky knacky shops and fun things to look at. I believe Atticus wasn't happy about me holding on to him (do ya think) as he was desperate to get back to the goats.

The roof of this shop is the summer home to a little herd of goats. 

There were even a couple little baby goats up there.

I momentarily lost Atticus and this is where I found him (an Asian elephant {not to mention the asian pottery, chopsticks, lanterns...} in a small town on Vancouver Island...?!?). 

This bunny was cool as long as Atticus didn't try to touch him, but of course that was out of the question so he had to scoot under the fence to get away from grabby hands Atticus.

I think this is where the goats winter, or maybe they take turns hanging out on the roof (they have a pretty kick-ass home up there on that roof). Either way, a sweet goat life.

Finally he can get an animal to cooperate and let him pet it (this was the creature that captured his heart and caused him to loathe me for dragging him kicking and screaming away to shop).

But then we found a car for him to play in a life was worth living again.

And a motorcycle!! It was almost too much to imagine.

Ya, it was the kind you put money in, but he didn't know the difference.

My cousin, Shelly, and her husband, John, live in Parksville. We only had a short visit with them at her newly purchased store. Haven't seen them in many moons so it was nice to see them even briefly.

My other cousin, Andrea, her boyfriend, Joe, and their 2 kids, Konor and Sophia, also live in Parksville. Konor is 5 years old, but he and Atticus got along really well and had a lot of fun playing together (Sophia, on the other hand, scared the heck out of Atticus - she'd chase him around and beat on him and he couldn't figure out why).

They were pretty happy to see eachother.

We spent a really nice afternoon at the mini-golf with Andrea and Konor (Mom and I tied for 1st place if you must know). 

Yes, he's picking his ball up and putting it in the hole (nice natural looking water in the background...).

It was a really nice course, and very challenging if I do say so myself.

He's waiting for Grandpa's ball to come out of the hole. He tried this on mine and I swiftly removed his behind from the green so as not to mess up my game.

When is it my turn already?

I really think it's my turn now!

We also went to a parrot sanctuary (as well as macaws, budgies, cockatiels) that rescues injured and homeless birds around North America. I believe there were over 800 birds there (and by the noise you'd believe it). People can walk along the aisle and on either side was a long cage that had hundreds of toys, sticks, logs, ropes hanging from the ceiling. People can donate their old and/or broken toys for the staff to make into long hanging play centers for the birds. Once a bird comes to this rescue place it never leaves. They care for the birds for the remainder of the birds life so it doesn't find itself uncared for again. I'm sure it's a costly place to run, but clearly there is a big need for it. 

This little fellow climbed along the cage alongside us as we walked down the aisle. You can hear birds saying hello, how are you, do you remember me, hi there...to you as you walk by. They have unlimited good food to eat, bird friends to play with, a safe enjoyable environment, and the opportunity to fly. The only better they could do than that is to be born free and let stay that way.

The triplets?

There was a free-fly zone that you could go into and you'd be in the same room as the birds. You had to remove glasses and jewelry or the birds would steal them (and good luck getting anything back). This is the entrance to the free-fly zone and this bird would climb up the door frame and slide down it with his beak over and over and over (I think he was the welcome wagon). I wasn't sure what Atticus would do in there since a bird could land on you at any moment, but I decided to take him in anyways.

The guy climbing up Dad's pant leg (we later saw that it left holes in his jeans) was a real cuddle buddy. I think the other one was the one that landed on my shoulder and flatly refused to leave.

Seriously, the white one would just curl up in your arms and snuggle down for a nap. I'm sure there have been many offers to give him a new home.



Ya, this one was anchored to my shoulder. I had to have a staff worker remove him with a towel so I could leave, and then he immediately flew back before I could get out the door. When I would pet him he was nice, but as soon as he thought I was trying to perch him elsewhere he'd bite me (and that is one mighty beak).

A lot of the birds had pulled out their feathers (frustration, boredom, habit, from their life before this place) so many had little sock suits on.

Ah, the cuddle-bum. Atticus was fine with the free-fly zone until a macaw landed on his shoulder and then he freaked. But he was brave enough to pet the sweetie pie cockatiel.

Wow, busy day. We then went to the animal rescue center. It was a beautiful place that helps injured wildlife recover so it can be set free or, if too injured, they keep it. They have crates and sheds out front so if you find injured wildlife in their off hours you can leave it there and they will take care of it. This is also the place that Atticus stepped in bird poop and then smeared it all over my pants when I picked him up. 

One of the turkey houses.

This is for the raptors. They can't see people (we have to look through tiny windows) so they don't lose their fear of people, and the place is big enough that they can really fly around and exercise their wings. I think it's  1 of 2 in North America.

He's asking if he can hold the chicken. I told him he could, and when the chicken wouldn't let him it made him mad.

An injured raven lives here (I didn't realize how big they were). Ravens are like the birds at the parrot sanctuary in that they like to play with things and need something to occupy their time, hence the toddler toy perched up on the wall.

We accomplished many things this day. After all of our animal husbandry-ing we went over to Andrea and Joe's house for burgers and then back to the hotel to not swim in the too cold pool.