Vancouver Island Reviews and Information

Do you have an amazing Vancouver Island wildlife video you'd love to share? Please do! Here are a few I came across while perusing You Tube this morning. Unfortunately, the Vancouver Island Marmot is the rarest and most critically endangered species in North America.

We decided to go for an impromptu breakfast on a lovely Sunday morning in Campbell River, Willie's Cafe was the closest to the in-laws. This is your average small-town diner that has quick, pleasant service and a relaxing atmosphere. It was relatively busy (as most all-day breakfast places are on Sunday) but that didn't seem to compromise the quality of food or service. We ordered a couple bennies, just the regular benny with ham and I ordered the Blackstone benny that came with bacon instead. Perfect portions and the hollandaise sauce was a delicious consistency. This breakfast hit the spot and I would definitely return to try a few other things on their menu.

Lisa Marie Young was last seen at a house party on June 30th 2002. She was 21 years old at the time of her disappearance, 5'4, 115 lbs. She has long dark hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black skirt, black top, high black boots and a silver hooped necklace. She also has a tattoo of a band of flowers with a heart in the middle on her right arm. She was last seen leaving a party in the Jingle Pot area with a man in a burgundy jaguar similar to this photo: Lisa's Song by Allison Crowe Anyone with information about what happened to Lisa Marie Young is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.

The Clayoquot Wilderness Resort is located near Tofino on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island . This resort is an eco-tourism and glamour camping destination that continues to attract rave reviews and visitors from around the world ( including hosting Ryan Reynold's and Scarlett Johansson's wedding in 2008 ) . Their short season runs from May.17 to Sept.30 and offer 3, 4 and 7 night all inclusive get-aways. You can choose from a variety of outdoor and wilderness activities to fill your time, anything from horseback riding, bear watching, whale watching, kayaking, archery, or a visit to the healing grounds (offers massage and therapeutic services). They are a proud member of the BC Sustainable Tourism Collective , which focuses on sustainable tourism = travel that ensures destinations remain unspoiled for future generations through commitment to environmental, social and economic responsibility as it relates to a company, its people, guests, local communities and the

Tracey Cook (twitter @wtbfl ) won a nice little contest through BonAppie (a $100 gift certificate to a restaurant of her choice!) and she picked The Mahle House Restaurant . Since this is a restaurant that is on the top of my list to visit, she so kindly agreed to do a guest blog restaurant review. Thank you Tracey and I am hoping to get my own review up here sometime over the summer. Last week we had the exciting opportunity to attend the second ever Long Table dinner at the Mahle house. We have had the opportunity of eating at many of the best restaurants around the world and this was on par with many of them. We arrived at this beautiful heritage home in Cedar just outside of the city of Nanaimo. This was the first time we had attended an event like this one and it was a unique and interesting dining experience all being seated at one long table. The night began with the Amuse Bouche which was crab and scallop beignet with parsnip puree prosciutto wrapped prawn, tomato

PRESS RELEASE $25,000 Rotary Club of Nanaimo Donation Brings Hospice One Step Closer to a New Home Nanaimo, BC – June 13, 2012 – The Expand the Heart of Hospice fundraising campaign has reached the halfway point with a generous donation of $25,000 from The Rotary Club of Nanaimo towards the purchase and renovation of a new Hospice House. There is now $450,000 left to raise towards the $900,000 fundraising target. “More and more people turn to Hospice each year and we are in urgent need of a new facility,” says Karen Boudreau, Campaign Chair, Nanaimo Community Hospice. “We hope that individuals, local companies and organizations will make a donation to buy a new Hospice House that will serve our community well into the future.” The funds come from The Rotary Club of Nanaimo’s Annual Book Sale. Rotary members spend countless hours collecting, sorting and storing books for the sale, which is held at Nanaimo North Town Centre every year. Rotary me

I happened to see this wonderfully inspiring video via Zac Whyte this evening and decided it was worth it's own blog entry. The best way I can describe how I felt while watching this thoughtful video can be best described through this quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead It's wonderful to see how much of a difference people can make with cooperation, teamwork and a common passion for nature. The Oyster River Enhancement Society was formed in 1983 to revive the decimated river (it was dead due to logging activities up stream) Fish hatchery with incubation capacity of over 2.5 million salmon eggs. (Coho, Pink, Chinook and Chum) on a budget of only $30-40,000 per year! On November 1, 2001, the Oyster River Enhancement Society received the "Excellence in Stewardship" award from the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection Volunteer Day is

According to Vancouver Magazine here are the best Vancouver Island Restaurants of 2011: Honourable Mentions: The Edge Restaurant : located in downtown Sooke, they serve creatively prepared delicious simple and affordable foods that everyone will enjoy. The menu features rare breed pork from their farm, fresh local seafood, awesome burgers and homemade ice cream. They are open Tuesday - Saturday for lunch 11:30am - 2:30pm & dinner 5pm-8pm. The Pointe Restaurant at Wickaninnish : With over 240 degrees of Pacific Ocean viewscape this place is arguably the best Tofino restaurant and a must-go eatery on Vancouver Island. Their focus is on farm fresh, organic and local ingredients. Fish and chips battered in Tofino Brewery beer? Yes please! Now for the top 3! (Bronze) = Amuse Bistro : Located in Shawnigan Lake and embracing local ingredients. Open Thursday to Sunday (dinner & lounge) and Saturday and Sunday for lunch. (Silver) = Stone Soup Inn : Located in the Cowichan Valley, the

The weekly edition of Vancouver Island videos on Youtube, please subscribe to us Campbell River Photographer Erin Wallis : Willie Mitchell the LA Kings defenseman grew up in Port McNeill Tsk tsk. Do you recognize this guy?

We had the pleasure of getting take-out at Kasira Fine Thai Cuisine last year and were very impressed, but I prefer to do a full review while actually dining in an establishment to get the full customer service experience. The perfect opportunity came up when West Coast Daily Deals happened to be offering a 50% off coupon that I quickly took advantage of. Kasira is located across from the Superstore at 6-6404 Metral Drive Nanaimo. On Monday and Saturday they only do dinner hours, 4:30 - 9pm. Tuesday to Friday they do a lunch 11am-2pm as well as their normal dinner hours (4:30-9). We arrived early at 5pm and there were already patrons in the restaurant picking up take-out, through our entire visit there was a constant stream of take-out pick ups. The dining area is somewhat small but cozy and comfortable, some relaxing instrumental music was playing at the perfect volume which added to the ambiance of the room. We started out with the spring rolls (5.95) as an appetizer, a mixture

It's fishing season on Vancouver Island! North Vancouver Island is rich with freshwater and saltwater fishing - here are the Top 10 fishing holes north of Campbell River. Freshwater: Nimpkish Lake Schoen Lake Roberts Lake Victoria Lake Woss Lake Quatse River Keogh River Nahwitti Lake O'Connor Lake Cluxewe River Saltwater Blackfish Sound Dillon, Daphne and Duval Points Gordon Group Masterman Island Telegraph Cove Cormorant Island Cluxewe River Mouth Wells Passage Haddington Island Quatsino Sound. Salmon tend to migrate May - September, peaking in the summer. Halibut are abundant from March - November. Be sure to visit The Department of Fisheries and Oceans for everthing you need to know about regulations, licenses and conservation areas.