Our last day in Parksville the weather broke.

The morning began with a thunderstorm, which was followed by rain that turned into a downpour. I was glad we were staying in a resort. We’d had a dump like this on one or our camping trips to Rathtrevor. It was a night storm that continued during the day. Despite the shelter we’d erected using tarps, we woke up to a flooded tent, water up the edges of the air mattresses and wet sleeping bags. We spent the morning in the laundromat and the afternoon at the mall watching a movie.

On this day, we did as we’d done before—we decided to go into Nanaimo and hit the mall until the weather cleared. It was still raining when we left mid afternoon, but by the time we reached Parksville, it had tapered off.

We stopped at Rathtrevor Park for a last visit to the beach. Along with the rain had come cooler temperatures, so we didn’t attempt to swim, but we walked on the beach and enjoyed the moody skies which are so much a part of BC life.