{"id":17016,"date":"2014-11-11T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/?p=17016"},"modified":"2021-10-28T16:37:24","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T16:37:24","slug":"watching-storms-in-british-columbia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com\/stories\/watching-storms-in-british-columbia\/","title":{"rendered":"Watching storms in British Columbia"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not my norm to hunt for the perfect storm\u2014as a general rule, I prefer mai tais on the beach\u2014but when my weather app informed me the skies would turn from grey to ghastly, I bolted to the cusp of Canada\u2019s West Coast<\/a>\u00a0to suit up like a seal and take to the sand.<\/p>\n

Standing beside a kaleidoscope of kelp and grasses washed ashore by the enraged waves, I panned my surroundings only to realize I was on the edge of the world straddling the divide between land and sea in Tofino, British Columbia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Located five hours from Vancouver<\/a> via car and ferry (or 45 minutes via air), the sea-sprayed town of Tofino is one of Canada’s first points of contact with the Pacific Ocean. (If you had a NASA-grade telescope, you might spot Japan 4,600 miles in the distance.)<\/p>\n

A place where the flow of frothy waves never takes a break, the town of 1,600 has become famous for its physical features: multimile beaches, a centuries-old coastal rainforest, and inclement weather. During the winter\u2014a.k.a., storm-watching season\u2014 these natural \u201ccast members\u201d perform in a show so spectacular, it’s priceless. For VIP access, all you have to do is show up.<\/p>\n

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The storm is a-brewin’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“Tofino is Canada’s original storm-watching destination, and the best place to storm-spot from Alaska down to Mexico” according to Charles McDiarmid, a long-time Tofino\u00a0 resident and managing director of the splurge-worthy and award-winning Wickaninnish Inn.<\/p>\n

After nearly two decades cutting his teeth as a tourism director and hotel executive around the world, Charles was lulled back to his hometown\u2019s rainforest-meets-ocean perch to open his family\u2019s rustic-elegant inn in 1996. Enthralled by Tofino\u2019s art of the storm, he made sure each room was kitted out with swell-spotting essentials: aquarium-like viewing windows, a soaker tub for two, a fireplace, a balcony adorned with Adirondack chairs, and rubber rain gear for every guest.<\/p>\n

Viewfinder Tip: Stay in Tofino<\/a>\u00a0for three nights for an all-access, 360-degree view of winter storm season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While I highly recommend viewing the wind, rain, and sea synch-up like a Riverdance crew from your ocean-facing soaker tub, seeking the eye of the storm, in person, is a multisensory must. This is where my room\u2019s rubber rain getup came in handy as I traipsed down to 1.5-mile Chesterman Beach for the show of a lifetime.<\/p>\n

As the wind picked up and the waves started surging past my boots (now sinking into the sandbar), I sloshed backward, knowing Act 1 was about to unfold. By Act 2, I was awestruck by the wild, untamed, and raw power of nature swooshing the ocean to and fro as it pummeled the nearby rocks and shot upward like a geyser.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When the wind calmed down, my appearance, doused\u00a0in a unique “Eau du West Coast<\/em>” blend of Douglas Fir needles, sea spray, and ocean essence,\u00a0was the best evidence of my free, come-one-come-all VIP seat. The experience prompted me to add \u201cbring ski goggles\u201d to my list of storm-watching essentials for the next trip. That can’t come soon enough.
<\/span><\/p>\n

What sort of natural beauty do you like to witness while traveling?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scoring a front-row seat to nature\u2019s splashiest spectacle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1789,1813,1867,1782,1775,1788,1797,1792,1774,1800,1776,1896,1807],"tags":[],"authors":[2232],"class_list":["post-17016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","category-beach","category-canada","category-destinations","category-fall","category-interests","category-luxury","category-nature","category-occasions-and-seasons","category-romance","category-type-of-vacation","category-vancouver","category-winter","authors-trip-styler","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWatching storms in British Columbia | Expedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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