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May 21, 2013. Heirloom property in historic Cowichan Station area of the expansive Cowichan Valley, the "Warm Land" of Vancouver Island.  The dream rural acreage can be yours!  In historic Cowichan Station neighborhood, with an authentic 1900 era character home (only 5 owners over this timeline...a very cherished property), which has been beautifully upgraded & restored by current owners.  17 pastoral acres with a creek running through it...heirloom orchard, fenced veggie garden & vineyard, private trails through mature coastal forest, fenced pasture and barn/tack room...your horses will be very happy here! Separate garage for those classic cars.  Cabana, pool, easy care landscaping around the alluring home...a wonderful "natural" ambiance everywhere. Privacy, tranquility...close to amenities/services & yet serenely apart...this beauty awaits your discovery. Wrap around covered verandah style deck expands summer living pleasures...easy access from all principal rooms. Master "suite", formal dining, cook's dream kitchen, expansive library/ballroom (perfect for classic entertaining)...upper level offers inviting guest bedrooms/bathrooms...office. The home exudes a country atmosphere that enfolds & nurtures...perfect for a family, or a professional couple wishing to work from home. Be self-sustaining here...the "warm land" is the First Nations description of the Cowichan Valley. A temperate climate & scenic beauty feed the soul. Call me...the perfect country property awaits! A safe haven, just for you.... May 20, 2013.  Today is the Canadian Victoria Day holiday...it's seen as the beginning of the summer season, all across Canada. On Salt Spring, the annual big event is the Round Salt Spring Sailing Race. In some communities, there are May Day Parades. The signal for summer is this special weekend! On Salt Spring & the Gulf Islands, we are in the heart of the best protected boating waters in the world...which means sailing, kayaking, power boating discoveries of coves & anchorages...a big part of our beautiful summer does involve ocean pleasures. Barbecues, beach combing, hiking park preserves, kayaking, dining al fresco, swimming, idling in rhythm to the song of summer! I'm in.... May 19, 2013.  Looking for premier real estate service with exceptional knowledge of inventory & of market trends? Call me, Li Read, at Sea to Sky Premier Properties: local knowledge & international presence. Discover the difference! Cell: 1-250-537-7647 Email: liread33@gmail.com Web: www.liread.com My branch office, of a Whistler based company, is in the yellow character building, at the corner of Lower Ganges & Rainbow Roads, across from Ganges Marina, in the heart of Salt Spring Island's seaside Ganges Village. Great Harbour views! Easy parking behind, off Rainbow Road...shade for your dog, if traveling with you. Successfully connecting sellers with buyers, since 1989, I look forward to bringing my knowledge (of inventory & of market trends), & my negotiating expertise, to your benefit. Your success is my motivation. Salt Spring Island & the Gulf Islands, located in Canada's great Pacific Northwest Coast region, are not municipal areas...they are under the jurisdiction of the provincial government's Islands Trust...contact me & find out what this means for you. In the heart of some of the best protected boating waters in the world, this beautiful region awaits your discovery & pleasure. How may I help you to buy your special Salt Spring Island or Gulf Island property? Welcome! May 18, 2013. Here's a 33 acre private island, North Trail Island, just off Sechelt, on the Sunshine Coast. Connected to power & water...arable/pastoral plus forest...be self-sufficient here!  A unique and beautiful private island opportunity in the amazing Pacific Northwest Coast. Nestled in the Salish Sea (now known as Georgia Strait). North Trail Island is part of the Thormanby Group of islands, off Sechelt, BC.  North Trail Island, a 33 acre private island, offers a rural farm opportunity, with all the amenities of Sechelt (including a hospital) at your doorstep.  Water is supplied to the island by a waterline from the Mainland. This is city water. The waterline is shown on the navigation charts and is noted as "waterline".  Incredible viewscapes, ocean, islands, mountain vistas! A stellar opportunity to enjoy all of this beautiful coast! Secure an irreplaceable gem for your future -- a family holding, a hard asset investment to protect your capital, an immediate pleasure quotient of the best of the best, a corporate retreat gathering space? You decide! Terrific fishing, diving! Warm ocean swimming! 24 hour notice is essential (caretaker in place). See Li for details, and to arrange your personal viewing. A gem of a retreat property! It's truly "stellar"! May 17, 2013. Live & enjoy a spectacular work opportunity, on a very special coastal island. Savary Island is a WOW!  Savary Island is considered the Mediterranean jewel of the Canadian Gulf Islands. Beautiful sweeping sandy beach, Douglas fir forest & grassland, trails for walking across the island, and community dock.  Situated in the Strait of Georgia of the famed Salish Sea, across the bay from Lund (mainland village with serviced marina, shopping, water taxi). Savary is nestled in warm coastal waters with breath-taking views of the Sunshine Coast, and en route for cruisers plying forward towards the famed Desolation Sound Marine Park area.  The Savary Island Resort offers the ultimate get-away to enjoy this beautiful island experience. Opportunity! See Li for more information and appointment to view. May 16, 2013.  Pricing in a secondary home/discretionary region is an interesting part of the real estate market scenario. Buyers in such recreational/resort/retirement regions do not have to do anything at all...a purchase is always by choice. A purchase often occurs because someone visited, as a tourist, fell in love with the area, decided to buy. The Internet has opened such areas up to the entire world. The global village concept. The downside of that breadth of potential buyers? The other aspect of the Internet, from the buyer's perspective, is that all that choice can create indecision...the buyer doesn't want to make a mistake. So, why here? What about there? Better check it all out, area compared to area...& then decide. So, time ticks by. Whether it's an up or a down market is almost irrelevant...it takes time to discover a discretionary area...& still longer to make a decision to choose it. Meantime, market trends are the wave that sellers and realtors are treading water in. Is it an upcurve or a down in the trough moment? Is it a societal crash/rebuild or just a minor recessionary slowdown? Is it easing from a buyers market (lots of inventory & no buyers) to a sellers market (lots of buyers & little inventory)? Hmmm. In a discretionary marketplace, with a cap on growth, either by topographical limits or government policies, then limited inventory also has an impact. So, realtors and sellers do their best to price properties in a discretionary region, where each property is quite unique, & there are few if any "comparables"...almost every parcel is a custom property. In the end, though, it's a buyer who creates a market trend. In a downtime, price reductions do not generate action...the buyer decides the "where" & the "when" of a transaction...& the speed of a decision is at the discretion of a buyer. If price doesn't dictate a buying moment, what does? It's about consumer confidence, of course. To buy a second home or a recreational retreat or a retirement opportunity or a land investment, one has to feel at ease with that extra property purchase. In a downmarket, in a secondary home region, patience is an ally of a seller & a realtor. Nothing stays up or down...that treading water ability is the key to an investment strategy in a discretionary area. Buy in the troughs & sell in the wave's crest. Or, hold. Over time, a purchase in a secondary home market is an excellent investment choice. More details? Call me! How may I help you to buy your special Salt Spring Island or Gulf Islands property? liread33@gmail.com May 15, 2013. Beautiful pastoral waterfront, approximately 8 acres of sunny privacy, lovely beach at your doorstep. New house needed!  Here's a oceanfront property gem, an oceanfront farm located in the prestigious Yellowpoint area on Southern Vancouver Island...a rural pleasure, indeed!  Gently sloping land to the seaside...pasture for sheep, horses, cattle...or create an orchard...a market garden...many opportunities here. Protected bay, serene marine views of ocean/mountains/islands...warm ocean swimming here, too!  It is so rare to discover a property that has been enjoyed by a family for several years, and which has been essentially protected from development. Forest perimeter delivers privacy. Good all day/year round sun exposures...appointments to view essential...owner occupied and tenant in cottage.  Heirloom orchard on the property, blackberries galore, easy care landscaping around the existing dwellings...neighbours are also rural/farm parcels, also oceanfront. A beautiful enclave, private and unique. Older home and cottage are on site, they would require extensive renovation or replace with a residence worthy of this beautiful property. Let's view this soon...eight plus acres, generous ocean frontage, moor your sailboat offshore...it's a dream! May 14, 2013. Serene home awaiting your pleasure...just steps to a magical sandy beach, what Parksville/Qualicum is famous for! Golf nearby, too. Elegance in the country....  Spectacular oceanview home in quiet & prestigious Qualicum Beach location.  A premier home design, offering a pleasing retreat for a professional couple, or a family, or create an amazing B&B option or stylish guest/inlaw suite.  The plus? Subdivadable. Two road accesses. Close to beach access...beauty! May 13, 2013.  Has the real estate recovery arrived on Salt Spring & the Gulf Islands? Looks that way! Is tourism also showing a recovery? Appears to be.... In a secondary home/discretionary region, tourism discovery often begins a real estate process. Then, the designer & construction & site prep people get busy...& the lawyers & mortgage people...& the renovation specialists, landscapers, stagers...& on goes the list. The downturn has lasted, in our secondary home/recreational/retirement area since 2006. It may not have been understood until late 2008, but the slowdown had begun by 2006. Prices began to slide by early 2008. In the end, with the lack of activity in 2009, 2010, 2011, prices reduced around 30%, according to appraisers. Government tax assessments are now reflecting this suppression, too. 2012 saw a resurgence in entry level residential sales. Prices were not stable, & a further reduction was a part of a sale. 2013 seems to be showing a resurgence in upper tier priced sales...again, prices are not stable. Activity is a sign that we are moving forward. Strengthening prices will follow as inventory thins. When undeveloped land sales begin to take place, we will know that the turn from buyers into sellers conditions has firmed into place. Are you a buyer? This may turn out to be the last moments of a buyer's control over a real estate purchase. Low interest rates, good inventory choice, a strengthening economic picture...a classic good time to consider an affordable real estate purchase in a secondary home region. More info? Call me! Find out what Salt Spring Island & the Gulf Islands can offer you. An investment with a difference! How may I help you to buy your special Salt Spring Island & Gulf Island property gem? liread33@gmail.com May 12, 2013. A beach to inspire one...a beach that calls one to discover its sand & vistas...Canada's premier Pacific Northwest coast beach...well, it's Chesterman's Beach, of course, on Vancouver Island's wild west coast! Beauty awaits you....  The Perfect Beach  Well, it's Chesterman's Beach, on the spectacular west coast of Vancouver Island...of course!  This baby point of land, at mid-point along this amazing beach, has been enjoyed by the same family since the 1970s...yes, there is a hand-hewn summer/weekender retreat home on the property, which has mainly been a rental option in past years, but the value is in the location, the sun exposure, the privacy, the topography, the natural scape, as this land has not been "developed" with someone else's ideas...this beauty awaits your pleasure!  A property to savour...a vista to inspire...a beach to both energize & to soothe the soul. Arrive by private jet, or regular flight (airport near Tofino). Come in by floatplane, into Tofino's Harbour. A drive through Vancouver Island's unspoiled "middle" delivers you to this majestic west coast lifestyle...a two hour drive through this scenic wonderland connects Vancouver Island's east & west coasts. Don't delay...when this is gone, there isn't another one like it...totally unique & very alluring. Family retreat, corporate get-away, private enclave just for you? You decide! A WOW, waiting for your discovery.... May 11, 2013. Terrific retreat...incredible fishing in Vancouver Island river...this is beauty! Privacy & peace.  River of tranquility! A property of peaceful beauty awaits your discovery!  5.69 magical acres, with custom designed & built west coast style main home, plus delectable guest cottage, and state of the art "barn"...think: workshop of perfection, room for those classic cars, plus motor home or boat storage...all possible, here!  Custom home offers dramatic entry, expansive living with the perfect stone feature fireplace, den/office, with stone fireplace, guest powder room, separate laundry, peaceful master retreat (amazing walk-in dressing room, a spa style bath, tranquil sleeping space), plus formal dining with that dream river vista, plus cook's kitchen with breakfast area off.  Mudroom entry, plus easy access to deer fenced gardens (state of the art greenhouse!) from all principal rooms.  Upper (storey & a half design) level offers two bed, bath, dark room (convert to another full bath?), plus beautiful office/den space...with the same energizing & peaceful river and forest vistas. So lovely...a frieze of rhododendrons frame the home & property...imagine Spring! English Country style gardens & spacious lawns unfolding to the lovely river...we could be on the farther & private reaches of the Thames. We are in the heart of the beautiful & natural mid-Vancouver Island splendour. Close to all amenities & services, mere minutes to lake and extraordinary beaches, close to hiking & walking trails that rival world-renowned destinations. Private, sunny, peaceful, step in ready, offering a sustainable & self-sufficient lifestyle...ahhh...breathe.... 24 hr notice for viewings. Call...discover...enjoy! May 10, 2013. Own a private island? Absolutely! Time to turn that dream into your reality.  Looking for a private island, that offers many amenities (power connected from nearby Vancouver Island), just mere minutes from protected Canoe Cove (a private marina), and yet with all the allure and privacy of your own serene world? Here it is!  The very appealing country home, totally snug and ship/shape, enjoys the resonance of an English Country seaside retreat...custom cottage style windows, wood floors, stone feature fireplace in dramatic living, and stairs to the upper level master/sitting with fitted cupboards and ensuite...offering a "loft privacy" master "wing", plus entrancing ocean, islands, mountain vistas (see the Olympics from this south exposure viewscape).  Large entry/foyer offers cosy seating and woodstove to enjoy on winter evenings.  Country kitchen with oceanview solarium off...perfect retreat for afternoon tea! Spacious design studio, between kitchen and living room, would be a perfect formal dining room, if desired. Currently, dining is sited adjacent to French doors leading off expansive living room, onto generous Oceanside deck. Main level also offers an office space, plus den/library, with wood stove and garden views, plus guest bedroom. Full bathroom on this level, too. Upper level, reached by stairs from main entry/foyer, offers two further bedrooms, one at each end of this level, & linked by a library/gallery hall. Generous closet storage from this hall, too. A very unique design...gentle TLC would allow for retention of all of the character and charm, while allowing a lift into 21st Century expectations.... The plus? Wonderful and easy-care "natural" landscaping...walk your own paths, through a forest/meadow mix. Coves, points of land, easy access to beaches...so beautiful. Ponds, stone walls, all day sun exposures (e/s/w), & a quick trip by private boat to the boat slip at Canoe Cove and the two parking spaces (an annual lease via Canoe Cove Marina). Amazing workshop/boatyard (would appeal to an artist as well as to a boat-builder), separately sited from home and sweetie guest studio. Decks and patios in exactly the right places.... 170 +/- foot dock, helipad...arrive as you will! Johnstone Island is a true treasure. A special offering for the discerning island seeker! Call me...24 hour notice for viewings, and by appointment only. May 9, 2013.  Mother's Day is this Sunday...a lovely time to say thank you to all those people who have nurtured and encouraged us, over time. Sometimes, we're lucky...it may be that this recognition of mentoring is acknowledging a mother. Might also be a grandmother...a teacher...a club volunteer...a single parent of either gender...an aunt...an older sibling...the key figure in our life who said "yes, you can do this!", and then helped us to discover "how". They're no longer here? Doesn't matter. The "pay it forward" concept is alive & well. Sometimes we don't get to thank those who helped us to become who we are. We thank them by creating that outcome for another. So. Who are you thanking & thinking of this Mother's Day? Thank you is a powerful expression. Pass it on! May 8, 2013.  Here's a gem, a part of Vancouver Island's history. Union Bay is now a sleepy seaside community, but was definitely a destination at the same time Cumberland was a boom town...and coal was king.  On this site, at one time, was the Nelson Hotel. In this family ownership for some substantial time, what was a commercially zoned property, two lots, was amalgamated into one lot and downzoned to residential. It may be possible to reinstate the commercial zoning, and a discussion with "city hall" will best advise on this possibility.  Across the road from the ocean and beach, this oceanview property enjoys an amazing panoramic vista over ocean, islands, and mountains...a dramatic vista! A sunny property, pleasingly landscaped, with a one (or potential two) bedroom modular home, in excellent step-in ready order, plus fenced veggie & berry garden, orchard, & close to both Courtenay/Comox and to Qualicum Beach services/amenities, as well as on the doorstep of ferry to Denman & Hornby Islands...in the heart of a beautiful part of Vancouver Island! The property also has a 5th wheel or motor home "hook up"...the modular would be a great rental (year round or vacation rental possibilities) & the motor home additional option allows for an owner to head to the desert for winter & to enjoy the delectable summer season in this wonderful Pacific Northwest Coast destination...definitely a great investment! Plus? A major development opportunity is on the books...between Union Bay and Cumberland. Check this out with "city hall"...a different kind of investment opportunity. A best buy price...call me! May 7, 2013. Sometimes, a client wants to know the "best buy" investment in a region...often, it's undeveloped land, whether a building lot or an acreage. Why? To start with, a raw land property listing, in a downmarket, means that the seller needs to sell and most buyers prefer a residential investment, with potential of rental income, to offset mortgage costs. Over time, though, it's a land listing that appreciates more dramatically. The "hold" time is part of the equation, though. Here are some best buy opportunities on Salt Spring Island:  Here's a terrific opportunity to enjoy developing a private and sunny acreage, close to all of Ganges Village's many amenities, and yet in its own serenely private world. Expansive and panoramic ocean, islands, mountain views...including Mt. Baker's majesty! This 14+ acre parcel lies "width-wise" to the road frontage, and so enjoys scope to develop -- zoned for main home, plus separate guest cottage and separate studio. Bring your architect, and walk this one soon! A very best buy asking price for this parcel, which has retained its "natural" ambiance. Sellers are willing to trade for smaller property in south Okanagan-Kelowna / Summerland / Penticton area. Excellent holding property, if you're not ready to create your dream just yet. Motivated off island sellers.  One of the best oceanview lots is now available in Phase 6 of Channel Ridge. Enjoy the spectacular and wide-angle panoramic ocean and mountain views! Property is very sunny with South / Southwest / West exposures. On community water & sewer, in a neighbourhood of very fine homes, with property left in "natural state", for your development ideas, this gem is a best buy opportunity. An excellent "holding property" choice, too. Bring your architect, and build your Salt Spring Island dream! See Li today!  Looking for privacy? Great sun exposures (s/sw/w/nw...superb sunsets!)? All site prep done (driveway to both main home building site and to guest cottage site and to suggested studio site)? Beautiful stone work to incorporate into your dream home plan? This is a WOW opportunity! This stellar acreage backs onto substantial park reserve, ensuring privacy. Dramatic and wide-angle ocean/islands/mountain viewscapes...doesn't get any better. Oh, yes...did I mention a premier neighborhood of very fine homes? On community water and with underground power services? It's a WOW...and it's waiting for you. Call me! Let's view....  Wow...here it is! Heirloom oceanfront property, mainly level, some forest and some cleared...close to Village & all amenities, and yet potential for great privacy! Property size is 1.43 acres. Beautiful views out Ganges Harbour...over private Islands & towards dramatic Mt Baker. High bank with potentially easy access: beach at low tide! So many lovely features, here...call me, bring your architect, & let's view this one soon! A rare item....  A private building opportunity located close to a lovely beach access! Some seaviews may be possible with selective clearing (over the ownership of current owners, trees have not been limbed/trimmed to retain the oceanviews that were in evidence, on their property purchase). There is a trail leading you to a sleeping cabin, which is like a hard tent, perfect for summer camping out. Property is in a quiet & private location, and is mere minutes to the amenities of Ganges, yet is in its own serene world. Keep your boat at a mooring buoy in nearby Walker's Hook Bay (good swimming here, too), and walk home. Great kayaking in this area! Opportunity! See Li soon!  Here's an heirloom property, for your pleasure...in a quiet, rural area, just steps to beach & protected bay (keep a boat on a mooring buoy, here). Sunny 8.79 acres, in 3 to 4 gentle elevation rises, a mix of forest and meadow. Private! Develop a main building site at higher elevation, off Head Street...open up lovely panoramic ocean/islands/mountain vistas. Create a guest cottage site (come in off Victoria or Main Streets)...again, offering a very pleasing ocean & mountain viewscape. Place a studio on Walker's Hook Road...this pasture area is perfect for an orchard or veggie garden(s), or keep sheep or a horse. An artist would enjoy a studio space here...a farm stand is an option. So many choices, indeed! I call that opportunity. Call me! Let's view soon.... May 6, 2013.  Interesting items coming to the fore...Google Glass is one such, with augmented reality. The virtual reality option may be in place within 2 to 5 years. Gamers are working on this one already. These technology advances also bring forward ethical decisions...the divide between separated personal & public versus the seamless meshing of these heretofore distinct venues. These two options call forth different ethical responses. Marshall McLuhan alerted us to the impact of technology on us with his famous phrase, back in the 1970s: "the medium is the message". For those who remember when the personal was distinct from public experiences, privacy issues are very important. For those used to the digital environment, they don't understand the fuss...a seamless blending of personal & public means that individual and collective experiences become indistinguishable. No right or wrong: just what is. World views create a culture. What will the culture be in another ten years? Hmmm...augmented reality, virtual reality, bitcoins, mobile devices in lieu of other playbacks, the switch firmly clicked to the "on" position...and what do we need to be doing? Finding out where we parked our editing function? I think so. If it's always "on", then we need to relearn when & how to hit "off". It's called rest & relaxation. Technology's playthings are very alluring. Let's not forget how to tread water, enjoying the reality moment, the face time encounters with our nearest & dearest...let's remember to enjoy the natural world around us...& to breathe in place. On...then off...then on...then off. Even the binary rhythm of the digital world knows that pattern. On...then off. And your thoughts are? Always welcome! May 5, 2013. Here's a beautiful & unique oceanfront opportunity...exceptional custom log home in tranquil Maracaibo area on special Salt Spring Island!  Spectacular oceanfront opportunity located in prestigious Maracaibo Estates. Maracaibo offers hundreds of acres of pristine parkland, with miles of hiking/walking trails, plus year round boat moorage, tennis, salt water swimming lagoon, plus guest accomodation spaces. See Li for the details on this beautiful area -- close to all amenities, and just like one's own "private island"!  The custom designed & built authentic log home offers many appealing & dramatic features. Enjoying panoramic ocean & islands viewscapes, it is a true "natural" retreat.  Main level offers formal entry/foyer, expansive entertainment size living, galley style kitchen with dining off, master/ensuite with solarium sitting area off, plus separate laundry, "bunk room", guest powder room. Lower garden level enjoys office, storage, wine room, rec room, meditation room. Upper level enjoys two guest bed/bath, plus t.v./library space.  The property is a private 2.71 acres, & offers a coastal forest preserve at your doorstep (large, private park reserve is your neighbour -- watch the deer and the eagles. Whales and seals go by at oceanside!). Property enjoys shared access to year round docks, tennis, miles of walking trails, & private beaches. Maracaibo is like ownership in a private park -- see Li for the details, here! One owns one's private property, freehold, and there is a companies act aspect to the shared ownership -- the best of both worlds! Created by Bob Hassell, a noted Salt Spring architect of the coastal design ethic, this wonderful bare land strata development captures the best features of the Islands Trust's "preserve & protect" mandate, and actually predates the Trust. Located close to all amenities, yet like living in your own private park - the best ! May 4, 2013. Cottage in place, amazing dock in place...retreat for now & build your dream home when you're ready!  This very pretty property in "natural state" offers a 2 or 3 bed / one bath panabode style vacation retreat home (sep. panabode double garage), plus enjoys an almost new state of the art dock (keep your boat at home!) and sunny oceanside decks.  Dramatic & panoramic ocean & island vistas with South / Southwest / West exposures, and located on prestigious Scott Point.  Good tenants in place; would stay, if desired (24 hr notice required). A great summer/weekender retreat for now, or live in it while building your dream home. A perfect and private building site near the decking and dock, with the "allure" of a small point of land...very expansive views. The cottage is not on the best building site! A best buy opportunity, and a great holding property for later. May 3, 2013. Amazing Sweep of Sandy Beach goes with this sunny & private oceanfront, a "west coast contemporary" charmer!  Here it is...a very special oceanfront property on prestigious Old Scott Road...and it's waiting for you!  Private, sunny (s/sw/w exposures...sunsets!), with an amazing beach...sand and crushed shell stretch of beach to laze on, to beachcomb on, to swim from...and to consider going for a foreshore licence and to building your dock/keeping your boat at home.  Custom "west coast contemporary" home, a one owner opportunity, full of flair and artistic appeal. Approximately 20 years of family lifestyle has enjoyed this eclectic home...now, it's a moment for new ownership. Orchard, easy access to spectacular beach, sun splashed patios, arable areas for gardening, if desired....  Three bed, two bath, dramatic living with feature stone fireplace, country kitchen with breakfast area off, entertainment-size dining, den/studio (writer's retreat?), lots of storage.... Bring your ideas and create your story on this unique property... 24 hour notice for viewings. Call me! May 2, 2013. May Meanderings....  Wonderful May! Real Spring has erupted all around us, and the allure of the natural world, just one of Salt Spring's many charms, is the surround sound of our days...longer days, too! This is a time to adventure forth & to rediscover what it is that invited us to be here. When did you last enjoy a lunch-time moment at Vesuvius' Seaside Kitchen's deck? Great place to view part of the Round Salt Spring Sailing Race on Victoria Day Weekend! What about watching the sunset from Vesuvius Beach? Pack a picnic and be inspired by Ruckle Park, meander Burgoyne Bay Park, wander the Channel Ridge trail network, take the dogs for a meet & greet at Duck Creek Walk, discover the beachcombing pleasures of Walker's Hook to North Beach...don't forget to stroll Fernwood Dock. Coffee at Fernwood Cafe? Fulford Village welcomes you to a true village atmosphere: Salt Spring Mercantile, Rock Salt Cafe, Stuff n Nonsense...watch the ferry sidle to & fro without having to worry about schedules...work in a visit to Salt Spring Cheeseworks on Reynolds Road...see if Kismet coffee is open on Beaver Point Road. Apple Luscious and Laughing Daughters Bakery beckon. Ganges Village encourages a stroll through the inspiring galleries: Salt Spring Gallery of Fine Art on McPhillips, ArtSpring's gallery presentations, Gallery 8 in Grace Point Square, plus Steffich Fine Art Gallery & the rhythms of its wind sculptures, Pegasus Gallery of Canadian Art off the boardwalk at Old Mouat's, the Off the Waterfront Gallery, and what about the art installations at the coffee stops: Cafe Talia, Barb's Bakery, Roasting Company, TJ Beans, Penny's Pantry, Harbour House Hotel's lobby gallery...thank you all! Scattered through the Village lanes are the eclectic retail offerings found on Salt Spring: Dragonfly art supplies, Thrive eco-clothing, Treasures of the Heart metaphysical store, Frankly Scarlet gems & gifts, Fever Tree home decor & specialty clothing, Black Sheep Books, Persnickety children's wear, West of the Moon children's toys & books, Love My Kitchen's myriad offerings, Harlan's Chocolates & gelato, Salt Spring Books & magazines, Acoustic Planet music, Embe Bakery, Houseboat home decor, Salty Shop gifts, Mouat's Clothing, Martinus gems, Twang & Pearl home decor & specialty clothing, Rendezvous Cafe's French bakery, Casa Amber's gifts, Mouat's Hardware's furniture & staples, OMG clothing, Apple Photo, Pod gallery & specialty clothing, & so many more...a fabric of small entrepreneurs inviting our support. We, their buyers, are the audience for this business play. Dining out? Lucky islanders: Harbour House Hotel (farm to plate!), Piccolo's, Treehouse Cafe, Hastings House, Salt Spring Inn, Auntie Pesto's, Rock Salt Cafe, Seaside Kitchen, Clubhouse Bar & Grill at the Golf Course...choices to entice! Discover the myriad of talent at the island wide studios...pick up the 2013 tour map at the Chamber's tourist centre. So many lovely spaces to rediscover, to enjoy, to be inspired by. Often, within the turmoil of this early 21st Century moment that we call our time, we forget to "take five" as the great Dave Brubeck played. Stop. Look. Listen. We are so lucky to be here. Did we remember to thank the islanders who work hard to create our island dynamic? It's called "shopping local". Did we enjoy the talent of our fellow islanders? Breathe in this magical Spring time. And your thoughts are? Always welcome! May 1, 2013. "One side of a ridge is cold and foggy, The other is hot and dry. Just by choosing where you stand, You alter your destiny." (Deng Ming-Dao: "Tao...Daily Meditations") |
Contact Li Read at Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring), 4 - 105 Rainbow Road, Salt Spring Island, BC, V8K 2V5; Direct Tel: 1-250-537-7647