Honeymoon Day 7

The weather wasn't necessarily cooperative this day

For day 7 we woke up early (not as early as planned... but early enough) to pack up, check out and return to the Tofino Whale Centre to head out on our bear tour! It had to be early for low tide, when the black bears take advantage of stranded fish and crabs for easy meals. It was a little rainy out, but not looking too bad. We got everything packed, ate some Clif bars then hit the road. We got there, paid and got suited up. They also gave us raincoats to take.

Howie getting the boat ready

Howie was our skipper again but this time it was just us. We boarded, choosing the front row after asking what seats would be the best, and headed out. It wasn't raining too hard, but at speed and in the front of the boat the rain pelting your face is quite unpleasant. Add to that my lack of sunglasses, and I was doing everything I could to keep the rain away from my eyes. I ended up just holding the hood on my coveralls over my eyes as best I could and trying to either face downward or to the side. Once I figured out what angles worked, it wasn't too terrible except that my hand was quite tired from holding the hood in place.

The other hand was occupied with my camera, which I had covered with an Op Tech rain sleeve. I also gaffer taped the front end of the rain sleeve to the lens hood so I didn't have to worry too much about the sleeve moving around. My camera stayed dry through the windy trip, which gives me a lot of confidence in the usefulness of these sleeves. It did get a bit humid inside the bag, but I think that's to be expected. I would definitely recommend keeping a couple of these on hand if you want to shoot in the rain, sand, snow, or near salt water.

After traveling for several minutes, we finally arrived to a less open area. By the time the skipper found the first bear, it had mostly stopped raining. I took my first couple shots, and checked the LCD. They were awful!

A wet front element doesn't make for a very good picture

I had anticipated this issue, and pocketed some napkins to dry off the front element. After a couple of quick swipes, big difference! (next time I'll leave the lens cap on until I'm ready to shoot...). Our first sighting may have been the best, since it was a mother and two first year cubs.

Following Closely

"Keep Up!"

"Wait!"

After that, the sightings seemed to come fast and frequently.

The bears would turn over rocks to hunt for crabs

There were always crows hanging around, looking for scraps

Chowing on crab

"I didn't do it"

Oops

Bald Eagle (cause I like bald eagles)

When it was finally time to head back we had seen at least 15 bears, a few bald eagles, some seals, porpoises and a lot of crows. The weather had also held out for us, with just a little bit of sprinkling after we had reached the area where the bears were. Once we got back and got our suits returned, we headed to lunch at Breakers Wholefood Eatery. I had a smoked salmon sandwich and Erin had a falafel wrap. Tasty. Once we finished lunch it was time to hit the road, so we headed toward Ucluelet. We decided to make a stop along the way at the intriguingly named Incinerator Rock, which was a neat beach stop-off with some huge rock formations. We spent a few minutes walking the beach there, but were really tired so we headed out and finished our drive to Ucluelet.

Incinerator Rock's shoreline (rock formations not shown)

Thankfully that was a short drive, but we arrived way early for check-in at the Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. Luck was on our side yet again, our room was ready!

The spectacular view from our balcony

This was the nicest place we stayed (though Delta Victoria was a close runner-up) throughout the honeymoon. I must admit, when we drove up I didn't think it looked that great. The front of the building looked plain and a bit dated, but once through the front door it was clear that the place was top notch. My pictures really don't do the room justice, but here they are:

Even the elevator was cool

We showered and rested up for a bit after we got settled in, and then it was off to dinner at Romans Pizza. I had veal parmesan and Erin had a margherita pizza. Then it was back to the hotel to relax for the evening. Once it was darker, I took some long exposures off the balcony.

Tim Horton's count - 10