The following article was published in the Travel section
of the Sunday Oregonian, September 26, 2004.
Gulf Islands on display from lofty Pender perch
Nine people share a getaway house with panoramic views and nearby recreational activities.
By DAVID STABLER
THE OREGONIAN
“Orcas!”
We dropped our knives and forks and dashed onto the deck of our rented house. Perched on a cliff overlooking the Gulf Islands, the house gave us unobstructed views of the water 200 feet below, but all we saw was the widening wake of a passing trawler.
OK, a false alarm this time, but we were only slightly disappointed. We had already spied a pod of killer whales from the ferry, and we still had three days ahead of us. Meanwhile, Pender Island offered plenty to do: hiking, bicycling, kayaking, exploring tide pools or hopping a ferry among the dozens of Gulf Islands between Vancouver and Victoria. Apart from the upscale Poets Cove Resort & Spa, Pender Island offers many affordable motels, B&Bs and rental houses. Our group of nine people – a college reunion that meets once a year – chose Oaks Bluff Lodge for what turned out to be a week of gorgeous 75 degree weather in late July. The three-story house, built in 1992 to accommodate large groups, can sleep up to 20 people and sits atop a corkscrew driveway on one of the highest points of the island. Split among eight adults, the cost (2,500 Canadian for the week) was a bargain: Each adult paid 2237 U.S. for the week. And what a house. In many years of renting vacation houses, nobody in our group had encountered one so well laid out or magnificently located. Panoramic views – south to the San Juan Islands and Olympic mountain range, west to Vancouver Island, north to Nanaimo –took in forested islands and white-dotted boats gliding among the channels. Eagles perched below us on treetops. Simply walking onto a deck on any one of three floors felt exhilarating. We drew straws for the three suites and two bedrooms. Our Brooklyn friends won the “Birds Eye Maple Suite,” which came with a king-size bed, bath Jacuzzi tub, private sitting room with fireplace and private deck. Alabama Bob had the rooftop cupola room to himself, a separate, octagonal structure with Chinese décor and windows all around. Our Phoenix friends settled in to the “Shangri-la Suite” with a round, nautical window above a king-sized bed. The rest of us took first-floor bedrooms with queen beds and a shared bathroom down the hall.
After dark the first night, we piled into the rooftop hot tub under a starry sky. Moonlight glistened off the ocean below. And then someone spotted a different kind of light shimmering to the north, and we jumped out for a better look. Yup, the northern lights.
Between shouts of delight, the silence was enveloping. According to our group’s custom, couples took turns cooking dinner each night. The island’s main market was surprisingly varied: local salmon and scallops, steak, Australian beef and fresh fruit and vegetables, washed down with creamy British Columbia beer.
Towels, bed linens, toiletries and flowers were supplied. While we never spotted more whales, we did just about everything else, including a two-hour guide kayak trip that hugged the rocky shore and brought us close to eagles and seals. We also spent a day island-hopping and, after a sweaty hike, dared each other to swim, for all of about three minutes, in water that felt as if it had flowed straight from the Bering Sea.
On our last night, we lingered in the solarium long after dinner, watching the sky turn from yellow to red to orange.
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