Coombs, BC

Last weekend Hubby and I woke early, packed our truck and set sail for Vancouver island. Our destination the Coombs Bluegrass festival. A three day holiday to enjoy bluegrass music, sleep under the stars, and explore Coombs.

It is a tad ironic that we had to travel so far to hear our neighbours. This bluegrass group (Barley Brothers) is from Salt Spring Island. They were the highlight bluegrass-wise for me.

Coombs itself had me scratching my head. My immediate impression was of a small rural town. Whose residents firmly embrace their agricultural background and glory in the beauty of nature. Yet scratch the surface and you find a city.

Travelling down the highway Hubby and I saw a number of small businesses we thought worth checking out. So we made plans for Saturday. We began our day with a hike in Englishman River Falls. This park is obviously well loved. There are many trails with well placed picnic tables and benches. The highlight of the park is the loud...

but beautiful falls.

Immediately after I took the above picture my camera's batteries died...oh well.

We made a mental note to camp in the park next year. Camping is very reasonable: $17 a night. Of course camping on the rodeo grounds (the accommodations provided by the bluegrass organizers) is free. Camping on the rodeo grounds does have its downside. Bluegrass pickers and singers never seem to rest. As well it is a rodeo grounds. Meaning the grounds are where the animals are kept well waiting to be shown at the rodeo. So you can imagination what is sprinkled throughout the grounds. Although the animals are long gone there ... remains.

Next we took in the Farmer's Market. Mayne Island's farmer's market is run from 10 am to 1 pm every Saturday. It is held outside. Coomb's farmer's market is run from 10 am to 1 pm every Saturday. It is held outside. Is there a farmer's market book of operation?

Hubby and I wandered into the market unsure of what treasures we would find.

I was rewarded by Hummingbird Fibre Arts' hand painted yarn (www.hummingbirdfibrearts.com) beautiful. I can't wait to create with it.

Hubby found some blueberry tarts.

Then we went to the Parrot Refuge. Parrots, many of whom have come from abusive backgrounds, are housed in an environment that it is as close as possible to their native homes. Parrots are allowed to fly around in large cages and interact with their flock. I read an adorable story of how one young parrot learnt how to speak English from another parrot. However, as his teacher was female he now says, "I'm a pretty girl." Other stories were heart breaking. One parrot was forced to live for years in a cage so small that he could not unfold his wings. His food and water dishes were old tuna cans. Due to the trauma the poor little bird tore his feathers and skin from his body. He is much happier in his new home. Although, he is still incapable of flight. The building consisted of three rooms. The first room was home for the large birds of the parrot family. It was extremely loud in there. I'm not sure if they were welcoming us or asking us,in no uncertain words, to leave. The second room was home to medium sized parrots. They delighted us with "Hello" and other cute antics. The last room was were humans and birds could freely interact with one another.

I am not proud of what I am about to write. Please do not judge me too harshly. However, I am afraid of birds. I'm not sure what I think they will do to me. Like most fears it is not grounded in reality. So needless to say I lasted less than five minutes in the room.

I just found this site: http://worldparrotrefuge.org/ I really wish I had visited the site before going to the parrot refuge.

Next we decided to visit the small shops we saw from the road. Ya, sure small shops. Not. We wandered into one that lead to another which lead to another which lead to another. It was a maze. We could still be shopping there.

The last day - Sunday - we left the festival early. I went to worship at the Grace United Church. If you are of the habit I would highly recommend worshiping there. It is a welcoming community with an inspiring, thought provoking minister. We topped off our weekend with a trip to a Nanaimo mall. There we took in a movie: Live Free - Die Hard. Hubby's choice. Although, I have to admit I enjoyed it.

So travel BC. Travel to Coombs.