Recently I was on a Long Beach trip with my good friend Shirley who lives in my hometown of Calgary. We have known each other for 40 years. Shirley and I stayed at the Middle Beach Lodge about 2 miles from Tofino. Below are images of the lodge and surrounding area. That is a picture of Shirley just behind the globe.
Shirley and I enjoyed a whale watching cruise with "Marine Adventures". Wow, what a lot of fun. The covered boat holds 12 people but this day there were 9 of us on board We saw lots of gray whales fairly close to the boat, first you see a puff of steam coming from the blow hole and then a slow movement of their back just out of the water and slipping back into the water. Those on board who hadn't seen this before screamed in glee each time! At times we sped along really fast and slammed down and up and down and up, into and against the waves, I really enjoyed it and found it thrilling. On our way back we stopped by a small island with an outcropping of rocks where sea lions, puffins and many other sea life and birds inhabit.
I fell in love with the tangled networks of seaweeds.
I was in total awe by the tidal pools and all the sea life. I am so inspired that my next series will be based on the tangled networks above and the sea life below. I have already started my initial drawings. Stay tuned for sneak peeks along the way.
