Whenever we stay in Parksville, we always include a visit out to to the Island’s west coast. The beaches of Pacific Rim National Park are beautiful, unspoiled, and I’ve never seen them over crowded, even in mid-summer. Of course I want to include the Pacific Rim and Tofino area in book 5, but how?

The beaches will be big players, of course. Swimming (hey, the water’s cold!), body surfing, board surfing, long walks along a moody, misty beach. So how to incorporate? Does all of the group go? Or selected characters? Noelle would have fun on Long Beach, running on the hard sand, perhaps with a kite because the beach is open and there is often a strong breeze. On the other hand, there’s a strong rip tide at all the beaches and warnings everywhere in the park.

There are also wild animals. One year when we were camping in the park. We had gone down to Long Beach. It was cool, even though it was early afternoon, so we were wearing jackets and wandering along the sand rather than playing in the water. Looking back at the shore we saw a bear ambling through the underbrush. We figured the creature was either coming from the campground or headed toward it. That was in June and by July or August the bears are probably on higher ground, but they are around.

What about Quinn and Christy? There are resorts in the Tofino area, widely known for their luxurious accommodations. What if Quinn and Christy went off to Tofino for a romantic couple of days away, while Aunt Ellen and Roy stayed in Parksville and manned the camp there? They could have long walks on the beach (any beach will do, they are all beautiful), romantic dinners with fine dining, perhaps an afternoon of whale watching?

Issues would have to come up, of course. Maybe a murder occurs there? Or perhaps they are chasing a clue and they don’t have the opportunity to indulge in lazy, pleasurable activities. What if some of the other campers decide to come along? I’m not going to name them because these characters are introduced in books 3 and 4, but at they are both guaranteed to disrupt a romantic getaway if they decide to tag along.

The only thing for certain, then, is this: look for Tofino and the beaches of Pacific Rim National Park to be a setting for at least a few scenes in book 5!