Vancouver Island

“5+1” Anniversary 

The day started off a bit hectic as we woke up a little too late and rushed to get ready and leave and barely made it to our Ferry reservation, but we are used to last minute situations so that was pretty normal. We had to stay in the car during the ferry ride due to Covid-19 (just a few months into the pandemic). I had allergy/minor cold symptoms including a runny nose and occasional sneezing which is a big deal during the Corona era, so I was a little worried but things brightened up once we got off the ferry. 🙂

Anniversary Lunch:

We had made a reservation at a restaurant with great food and a really nice view which was in the opposite direction of our final destination and would add a 2 hour detour. The restaurant was part of a hotel which we had stayed at before, but it was winter and all foggy during our last stay so the supposedly great view was just a big wall of white nothingness at the time! This time the weather was iffy again. It was switching between rain and no rain but consistently cloudy as we drove towards the south of Vancouver Island, so despite my love for rain and clouds, I was kind of hoping the clouds would go away.

Spring really does its trick to nature! The drive near the villa was absolutely gorgeous. So many wild flowers creating a yellow wrinkled blanket below the tall green trees. We got to the restaurant and there was no fog! Yay! The combination of the blue water and the green mountains that wrapped around it followed by the cloudy skies was really beautiful. There were so many hawks (or some other large pray birds) out in the sky. It was a Monday during the pandemic, so we were the only guests and got to sit at the table with the best view.

I was trying hard to not sneeze, but I felt a really strong one coming and tried to stop/hide it which resulted in a really loud bomb like sound that got MM and the restaurant staff to jump a little! I also went to the bathroom and changed from a casual look to a long dress with a dramatic skirt that I had to hold up as I walked, ordered ketchup for the fancy pasta I had ordered (which is never welcomed in a posh restaurant), and rearranged the chairs to get a nice picture frame, so probably not their most welcome guest!

Goats on Roof:

I wanted to surprise MM by taking him to a cool market called “Goats on Roof” which literally had goats on the roof! He really likes goats, so when we parked I couldn’t wait to see his reaction! It was raining at the time and there weren’t many people outside, but luckily we saw 2 goats playing on the roof! So cute!

Inside the market was really cool too! They had a nice bakery with cool breads, some of which had goats on them! (Goats on Bread :D) They also had a nice selection of cheese and a lot of artisan food and decorative items that you would find in a high end supermarket. We picked some items for our cozy anniversary dinner.

The outside was a series of markets connected through the same grassy roof. The markets included the main one with a goat house on top, one with fresh produce (in which we found tiny cucumbers), and a few cute shops. My favourite spot was the Doughnut Shop which had the cutest design both outside and inside! They had a large selection of fresh baked doughnuts which I took a long time to decide on and MM as usual went with the most classic item ( It comes as no surprise that his basic doughnut was a lot more tasty than my Nanaimo Bar doughnut)

Melody – The Free Spirit Sphere:

We got to our home for the night and it was magical! How often do you get to sleep in a sphere hanging from the trees? 

Some notes on the spheres:

• “Melody” is a Fiberglass sphere hanging from the trees which we stayed at
• It was a lot more spacious than we thought! The interior is designed and crafted very well, with a lot of space saving options and a Murphy bed, which makes it a great place to hangout/eat during the day and the perfect bedroom for the night
• The windows with the tree view could open up a bit to let the air in. The details on the the metal work for the windows were artistic and showed creativity and great craftsmanship
• It started raining around 1:30 am at night and the sound of the rain and small movements of the sphere due to the wind were soothing and memorable
• The first light of the morning from the top window combined with the sound of the birds and the rain was the perfect way to wake up
• The hosts had left us a welcome/happy anniversary basket with a really tasty cheese cake and fresh berries, Champaign, breakfast yoghurt, and some other snacks including local cheese and bars
• The mushroom outside and near Melody was an outhouse which looked pretty both outside and inside! The walls were filled with writings and drawings from the previous guests with a few really creative ones. They had left a pencil case filled with colourful pencils and pens, so I ended up spending quite a long time in there 😀
• Rapid movements in the sphere would result in the whole sphere moving which was really cool

While Melody was the star of the show, the surrounding area was very interesting as well:

• A large pond with small fish in it which we hadn’t seen before. The fish looked similar to a star fish and had white borders around the fins and tails.
• A swing set with a nice view of the pond, perfect spot for chatting and drawing
• The weather was great! It was fresh and cloudy and all green! ❤
• We met so many cute animals; lots of birds, cute rabbits, a very artsy slug, and a black tail deer!
• They had full service bathrooms and showers and a kitchen outside as well. There was a book in the bathroom titled “Weird Canada” which was a fun and interesting read!
• We were the only guests at the time and checked out the outside of the other spheres as well! I loved the older spheres with a wood exterior!