Highway 4 is wild!  It is narrow and winding and busy.  We thought we were somewhat off-season, since school is still in session; however, there is no off-season on the west coast of the island.  Campgrounds near the ocean were booked up.  We ended up at a campground outside of Tofino named Longbeach Campground.  It was well-treed and the sites were quiet and private.  This campground had such potential, but the facilities were poor.  Instead of outhouses, there were Johnny-on-the-spots.  The shower houses were odd.  Each house had 2 showers, but the doors weren’t marked as male/female.  The shower heads were directly above from the ceiling.  Fortunately, we had enough water to use our own shower. 

   
Classic motel with palm trees:

The hospital looks like a ship.  It’s ship-shaped!

 Ucluelet is quaint.  Many buildings are on stilts, though I doubt it would help in a tsunami.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures in Ucluelet.  Tofino is very busy and touristy.  Most buildings are new and cater to the resort crowd.  Nevertheless, there are many trying to revive to hippy-surfer culture.  In fact, many people and dogs looked like they needed a good comb out.  These were in drastic contrast to the resort crowd.  The restaurants are excellent and focus on local ingredients.  We only tried 2.  Shelter was highly recommended.  They even have a small herb and vegetable garden out back.  The other on our list was the original Tacofino food truck.

I had Tuna Ta-taco  and a fish taco..  The fish taco was better.  Paul had a chicken burrito and fish taco, and he agreed the fish taco was better.  Lesson:  just order 2 fish tacos.  They are cheaper too.
On our last day, we discovered the kayak launch.  No one seemed to know if there was one when we asked.  The weather wasn’t great for most of the trip, but we were disappointed that no one knew where it was.  I guess it’s all about surfing here.  The surfers are hardcore.  The water is C-O-L-D!