Crofton is a small west coast town within the District of North Cowichan of southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The ferry terminal close by goes to Saltspring Island, which if you get a chance
you should make a trip there. Click here to check the ferry schedule. We found a cute AirBNB right on the ocean with a hot tub of course. Click here for bookings.
Always go to one with a patio hot tub. Check in time was 4pm, so we packed the night before and lugged all of our things in. Which packing a toddler, newborn and 3 adults can be alot of stuff. Our AirBNB was fully equipped with a full kitchen, washer and dryer. Perfect for 5 days and two small kids. We enjoyed the hot tub and went to bed as we all knew with the kids being there it would be an early wake up.
The first official day, started out as a casual morning. Which included coffee and hot tub views peering out onto the ocean. This was the start of a very rainy November 2021 week. We decided to go check out a beach called Cherry Point. We stayed here for a bit, Graeson played with sticks and rocks throwing them into the ocean, while my sister and I played on the swing we found! After we found a cute little coffee shop called "Third Wave." Which is right beside the Saltspring Ferry. We ended this day with another hot tub sesh.
Next day started at 730 am, we watched a couple movies as the weather was overcast and we had to mostly plan our days around nap schedules being that my son is almost two and have my niece who is two months old. We decided to do Crofton Lake, which says 6 km and takes about 1 and 45 minutes. Considering it was very wet, muddy and Graeson walked on the way back it took us just over two hours.
This was my niece Harper's biggest hike yet. I can't wait to see her accomplish more in the future with us. Graeson is getting heavier and heavier, I don't know how much longer I will be able to carry him on my back. So I'm training him into hiking longer ones. He had several meltdowns however it made all those happy puddle jumps and smiles worth it. If I can give any advice for hiking with a toddler it's about making it fun for them, just know you are going to have to have extreme patience with it.
The next full day was a slow relaxed morning, I'm so thankful my child allowed me to sleep in. My husband gets up with him for the most part. So getting up 5 days in a row was not something I'm used to, but this time he slept in for the whole time we were there, starting the day for 8AM. This time we checked out the Crofton Seawalk which is right near where we were staying. It's a very short boardwalk but great for kids. The front lawn goes right onto it, we had a lovely walk and played on the beach there for a bit until Grae decided he was tired and needed a nap.
We drove out to Duncan Garage for some tasty treats and delicious lattes. I recommend stopping here in Duncan for sure, there is so much in that place, from a bookshop, food and more. We went searching for a playground, (a shitshow and we laugh about it now.) Getting lost in Crofton, I'm not sure how that was possible but put 3 women in a car and chaos can happen. We hung out at a local playground near our AirBNB, it was pretty neat they have a bin full of basketballs and more that children can play with.
On this trip we decided as much as we love bringing the kids, next year will just be a mother-daughter bonding time. Even though the kids were pretty chill for having a newborn and toddler, it's still not as relaxing as it could be. You’re still getting up earlier, tending to their needs first and going by different sleep schedules.
After, we decided to head out to one of the local breweries in Chemanius called Riot Brewing. I've been here before and it never disappoints. They even had a pin ball machine that kept Graeson entertainted, BONUS! Anything to keep the kid quiet right. This was probably the highlight of the trip, Harper and Grae were really good and didn't fuss once. We got our adult time in, drank beer and were all happy. I also recommend if your in that area check out Sawmill Taphouse for food, it's right by the brewery, and super good. Cody and I had our second date there, so it will always be a special place for me.
We soaked up every last minute in that beautiful hot tub, I love hot tubs, as Cody always says. He also says "Why do you love floating in poo particals." I don't care, I love a good soak haha. I don't have one and probably never will, too much up keep. So I will enjoy them from AirBNBs. I gotta say, watching Cera have Harper, reminded me of how I don't miss the newborn stage. I quite enjoyed sipping wine in the hot tub right after that 8 pm mark once he was down for the night. Establishing that night time routine was the best thing ever. Trust me.
Check out was 11 am, so we packed up everything and of course the day we leave is beautiful and sunny. As I'm writing this, I'm actually so bagged from this trip. The whole thing can be a process, especially the packing. Having to pack for a toddler is a lot. I need another vacation already lol. It was good to get away even if it was only 45 minutes away. Change of scenery is always nice. Until the next annual girls trip.
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