Tod Inlet & Ganges

Aris in Garrison Bay (beautiful Mystic Blue hull!):

ToG and Aris departed Sidney on Tuesday August 1st to head north around Saanich Peninsula and then south again into Saanich Inlet and on past Brentwood Bay and into Tod Inlet. Nick and I took a nice paddle and I got this great shot of the two boats at anchor in Tod:

I'd forgotten about the whimsical purple martin birdhouses on the old pilings, most of them modeled after small travel trailers:

While paddling, I saw this jelly and small crab battling it out and I wasn't sure who was eating whom. After watching for a few moments I realized the crab was busily using both claws to push bits of jelly tentacle into it's mouth. Sorry moon jelly. (The inlet was full of them...moon jellies, that is.)

On Wednesday, the Aris and ToG crews met up with AT owners and Brentwood Bay residents Tara and Ross at the Seahorse Cafe. It was great to catch up with them and we had a great lunch, most of us ordering the fish tacos.

After lunch, we dinghied to the Buchart dock and spent the next couple of hours touring the gardens. Splendid! Weather was perfect, if a bit warm in the sun.

Nick, Janine, Deb, and Mike:

This photo makes it look like Nick and Deb were telling each other off! Ha! I assure you, they were not.

Aris crew member, the lovely wee Willow:

Both boats left Tod Inlet early this morning just before 7am. The cruise up to Ganges on Saltspring Island was absolutely gorgeous! No wind, warm air, calm water, hardly any boats. Just really nice...what we wait for all year!

Because Deb and Mike have stayed here before, we are at the Harbor Authority of Saltspring Island. We just never really new about it and were game to try it out. It's first come, first served but there was plenty of dock space when we arrived. The docks are decent and it's right in town. This will probably be our go-to in the future.

We've also always wanted to try the Tree House Cafe. Also a recommendation from Deb and Mike. We had lunch and it did not disappoint!