A Week in Lake Cowichan, BC

Sunshine, blackberries, and getting what you need from a trip

When the Canadian customs officer asked, “and you didn’t have any lakes closer to home?” I froze for a second or two, pondering his question. He had a point. Why did I pick this random lake town on Vancouver Island for our vacation when I knew next to nothing about it?¹

But then my confidence found itself - “because we visited Victoria last year and loved it and wanted to explore more of the island!”

He seemed to be satisfied with that reasoning, waving us onward after that.

As we moseyed around Lake Cowichan this past week, his question kept popping back into my mind. I often let perfection get in the way of progress, so much so that it can paralyze me from trip-planning.

Having known I'd get this week off work nearly a year in advance was a double-edged sword. With almost too much time to plan, it felt daunting. What's the absolute best way to spend it? I’d hear about Wellness Week—as its dubbed at Nike—plans from my colleagues earlier in the year, which would add to the pressure I put on myself.

Oh my gosh, so-and-so already has their week planned? They’re taking extra time off before? And that person is taking extra time off after? Omg, that other person is doing it on both ends so they get a 3-week vacation. What am I doing!!?

These are just some of the thoughts that would flood my brain, making what should’ve been a pleasurable task of planning a vacation feel like an insurmountable hill. Where to even start? 

(I feel a bit a foolish admitting this to you now, because I chastise myself for this seemingly ridiculous comparison anxiety. But I can’t be the only one, right?)

As fate would have it, I thought I had all the time in the world to plan it and then before I knew it, it was less than a month away and I was stressing about the plans from an entirely different angle—now we were up against availability and last-minute-cost constraints.

But as it turns out, constraints are excellent for making decisions. 

My partner and I approached this trip from an intention angle, à la this travel advice from

Teresa Wu

. What were we looking to get out of it?

We agreed we both wanted relaxation. I wanted to be on or very close to a body of water—it had to be walkable. I also knew that I’d be more likely to relax if we chose a location that didn’t have much to do in town. In other words, I didn’t need a “happening” spot. I wanted it to be about enjoying the water.

Much like satisficing worked for me when deciding what car to buy, it was just the frame of mind I needed to employ in this situation too.

Last-minute planning allows for seeking what you really need in the moment. I think it’s no coincidence that we booked our Airbnb the day after I got some bad news. I felt like the world was ending but it somehow gave me the willpower I needed to create this experience for myself, and for us.

And it was just what the doctor ordered.

When I think about what made the trip so fulfilling, the common thread was how present I was in the moment.

So rather than leave you with a rave review about our Airbnb hosts or an aside on the gratitude in returning to a place you’ve been before with a loved one (both also fond memories of the trip), I thought it best to try and capture how it felt.

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After our third afternoon in a row paddleboarding, we shed our boards for the car keys and went to get ice cream before dinner. We found a bench with a perfect view of the spot where the lake and the river merged. The golden hour glow lit my face and threatened to melt my cone as I licked the mint chip mess. Pete sat alongside me, one arm around my shoulders and the other holding his coffee cone. The temperature was absolutely perfect. Just right for a t-shirt and shorts, the combination of the slight breeze and evening sunlight cancelling each other out. I spotted kids in the distance, laughing and hollering at each other as they enjoyed an evening swim. I couldn’t help but smile for I could feel their joy radiate a hundred yards away. An elderly woman and perhaps her grandson walked by us—she nodded in our direction and I beamed “hello” at her. I imagined she was touched at how happy Pete and me looked together.

After we finished our cones, we walked toward the water, stumbling upon a mother and son picking blackberries from the plants that bordered the river. Their faces were alight with excitement—the woman’s at the prospect of all the uses for these free berries, the little boy’s at getting to accompany his mom on the adventure.

I felt compelled to join them. When I ate a berry that was much too sour and remarked on it out loud, the boy walked over to me with an open palm—“Here’s some sweet ones, take them!” It might as well have been a peace offering between warring countries, for there was so much innocence in his gesture.

We ate our fill of berries and returned the next evening to pick some for our last breakfast.

Again cheerful from an afternoon on the water (floating this time), I found myself skipping with delight back to our car, my fingertips stained with the berries’ juices.

That night, as we sat reading on the patio in the waning light, our Airbnb host called out from the other side of the fence. Her sweet British accent prodded us, “Hey I don’t mean to disturb you guys, but look at the moon peeking out from the ridge! We’ve never seen it like that before!”

We watched as the moon rapidly rose above the mountain, a couple days shy from being full. Its reflection glimmered down below on the lake’s surface, much like the sun caused the entire surface to sparkle like a diamond earlier that day.

I felt so content and at peace. Just simply being.

It was the quintessential summer vacation.

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How do you approach trip-planning? Can it overwhelm you like me, or do you find it joyful? Do you have a vacation destination that pleasantly surprised you?

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1. I didn’t realize this until the time of writing, but Lake Cowichan actually touts itself as “Vancouver Island's best kept secret!” IYKYK. 🤫