Bader Beach

and fields of lavender

If you keep going down hill at the bottom of our hill, the roads curve among ferns and massive trees, blooming foxglove and daisies.

At sea level, you come to rocky, shell-crushed Bader beach. We watched miniature crabs fighting each other in shallow pools. Starfish can be found waiting for the tide. Water spurted from holes and we tried to unearth clams. We used sturdy sticks, and dug super quickly but it’s hard to be as quick as a clam.

Sadly, clamming season is closed on the island right now, so we can’t have a delicious fresh-caught clam feast.

Seaside restaurant did not disappoint, with exceptional fish & chips, grilled halibut, and views of the harbor and Vancouver island.

Then on to tour the island. Tiny farm stands abound, but it’s really too early for much produce and the farm fresh eggs seem to be so popular, they are gone wherever we go.

Farm to Table and Organic are labels on nearly every food here. And Gluten Free is very popular too.

Salt Spring Island Cheese has viewing windows to watch the workers making their popular goat cheeses, and you can watch the goats on the other side as you walk around the cheese making building.

Be nice! (It is not nice to feed the goats.)

Their cheeses are beautiful:

Goat milk Gelato is available for purchase, also.

Salt Spring Island has two lavender farms. We traveled to Sacred Mountain Lavender.

They steam distill their own lavender essential oil; which I thought was quite awesome.

And then, of course, the lavender fields…

We were a little early. The lavender is actually just starting to bloom. In a couple weeks it will be stunning on the farm.

We did other things today… stopped at lots of tiny tourist shops, stared at jellyfish in the water, watched inter-island ferries dock. Driving on the island makes me dizzy. The narrow roads curve and rise and fall. We drove in circles all day, but thankfully the circles ended at our home, with supper fresh grilled, and fawns walking by our deck, and the sun setting in dark blue clouds over the pale blue ocean.