Today was our first day of vacation that didn’t involve a lot of driving.  We figured today would be a pretty casual day with few plans.  We took our time getting out of bed and also took some time to make a pancake breakfast and a quick walk along Weir’s Beach before heading out.

We started out at Whiffen Spit Park, a long narrow strip of land protecting the Sooke harbour from the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  The dog had a great time, greeting all the other dogs and their walkers who were out enjoying the morning. 

Whiffen Spit Park in Sooke, BC

After driving around the countryside for awhile we finally decided it was time for lunch.  We spent a lot of time trying to find the sort of place we were looking for.  Keeping in mind that I had been poking around piles of driftwood and climbing under bushes in my constant quest for the elusive Geocaches, we couldn’t exactly eat anywhere high class.  We also knew that we wanted some form of seafood — we are on the coast, after all.  We wanted someplace that would be casual and cheap — the hunt for the quintessential “dive”.

After failing to find anything that met our low standards, we finally decided to search the Points of Intertest in the GPSr and see where it would lead us.  The result was “London Fish and Chips” in nearby Langford.  It was about 18km away and by the time we got there we were starving.  The parking lot was tiny and the restaurant itself was attached to a Co-op Gas Station — well, we certainly found our dive.

With “fish and chips” on our brain, we ordered — a two-piece halibut for me and a one-piece meal for Shirley.  The food looked promising — the fries were thick homecut style and the fish was large.  My first bite of coleslaw was great too.  I was digging this place.  Fries and coleslaw were going down easy.  Then I decided to try the fish.  Unfortunately, the pieces of fish appeared to be so large because they were covered in really thick batter.  Really thick batter.  The batter wasn’t great either.  If you managed to get through all the batter and to the halibut itself it tasted pretty good.  I don’t mind batter so I was OK with it, but poor Shirley was less than impressed.

The Catch of the Day?

It wasn’t the greatest start to our coastal culinary experience, but we know we’ll rebound.  It’s wasn’t the worst restaurant attached to a gas station I’ve ever eaten in.

After a few more caches we returned to the RV Park for a lazy afternoon.  After doing some reading outside in the sun we pretty much crashed and watched TV for the evening.  I think we both needed to be out of the vehicle for awhile as the last two days featured a lot of driving.