Let’s be real: It is difficult to leave the Pacific Northwest in the summer. So we asked travel expert Matthew Brumley to find a place that’s nearby, but still feels like a good getaway from the hustle of daily life.
He talked to us from the town of Ganges, on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
Getting There
Brumley took the Black Ball ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, and then drive up to Swartz Bay to catch a BC Ferries vessel to Fulford Harbor, on Salt Spring Island. With Brumley’s family of four and a vehicle, each ferry ride was around $100. They’ll pay that coming back, too.
You can also take the Victoria Clipper from downtown Seattle, but then you’ll need to rent a car once you’re on Vancouver Island.
If you have a lot of time, don’t come back the way you came. You can take a ferry from Salt Spring Island up to Tsawassen, B.C., and drive back to Western Washington on the mainland.
Regardless of your route, you'll want to make ferry reservations.
Once You’re There
Outdoor adventures are the name of the game here. Opportunities abound for kayaking, biking (mountain and road), and hiking. But you’ll also find wineries, cheese makers, and plenty of restaurants to enjoy.
The restaurants are worth your time and money, Brumley says, but if you’re looking to save a few bucks, rent a house or cabin with a kitchen, and visit the grocery store. Even with the U.S. dollar relatively strong against its Canadian counterpart, the higher prices in the restaurants make dining out kind of a wash compared to metro Seattle prices.
The Pig Heard Round The World
On Salt Spring Island, you’re roughly parallel to Bellingham on a map – still well below the 49th parallel, which forms much of the border between Canada and the United States. The border gets weird out here in some part because of what’s known as the Pig War, which maybe is better described as a skirmish, between the U.S. and the British Empire, triggered when an American farmer shot a pig that didn't belong to him, and ... well, it’s a long story, better explained by our Sound Effect crew in their “Creatures” episode. (It starts at about the 22 minute mark.) The only casualty, by the way, was the pig.
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"Going Places" is KPLU's weekly exploration of travel topics. Matthew Brumley is the co-founder of Earthbound Expeditions, which provides small group travel to clients including KPLU.
