Hello Again You Guys…
If you have been following me for a while, you probably know how obsessed with Tofino I am. It’s hands down one of my favorite places on Earth, and I am always absolutely blown away by the sheer beauty of it. It’s hard to even put into words how it feels to stand on the beaches there, and look out at the miles of waves.. with the wind whipping through your hair. It’s a fucking thrilling TIME let me tell you. I first fell in love with Tofino when I was about 13, and I was begrudgingly dragged on a school Field Trip. I’m not a very outdoorsy person, and I was painfully anxious and afraid to sleep anywhere but my own bed haha. This was a three night school trip, and we would be sleeping in TENTS (this thought was a terrifying concept for me). Little did I know it ended up being one of the most memorable moments of my young awkward life. My best friend and I shared a tent, and I literally can’t even get into the laundry list of socially awkward things we did on this trip. Honestly some of the memories of my very slick attempts at flirting with the other Grade 9 boys.. still haunt me to this day haha. Lets just say, in case you weren’t aware of this… when you are in a tent at night… your voice TRAVELS. So if you were like planning to loudly discuss how you think the other boys in the class MIGHT have been checking you out (spoiler alert they 100% were NOT), just don’t do it. Take my word for it. Regardless of my adolescent humiliation, I also fell completely in love with Tofino. We did this weird journaling exercise, where the teachers separated us all on Long Beach, by like a few hundred feet.. where we had to journal & write letters to our “future selves”. We had to sit by ourselves on the beach for SIX HOURS, and reflect etc etc. I spent three hours of this time trying to spy on the boy who was a few hundred feet to my left. Then I wrote some very angsty letters to my “future self”, all about the things I felt I would have achieved by age 30. I found these letters a few years ago, and I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed harder in my entire life. After all my introspective journaling, I sort of wandered down towards the ocean. I had hours left to kill, and I was having a moody Main Character moment.. staring off into the waves (you know as one does). I will never forget that moment, and that feeling I had just looking down the miles and miles of beach. Seeing the surfers, the waves… just all of it.
So now, every year on my Birthday I always go to Tofino. My favorite place to stay in the Ocean Village Resort, on Mackenzie Beach. The little cabins are like treehouses, and I can’t even begin to hype it up enough. It’s also dog friendly which was fantastic, since this year we had our little puppy Kona along for the fun.
I loved everything about this trip, and I visited all my top Tofino spots. The Mermaid Tales Bookshop, SHED & Shelter Restaurants Rhino Coffee House… and of course the infamous Tacofino Food Truck.
I hope you all get a chance to visit Tofino for yourselves one day. If you do… make sure not to talk about your crushes loudly in your tent… and also maybe write a letter to your future self. Trust me, it’s fucking hilarious to read ten years later.
xoxo,
Love Carly
