Cowichan Bay is a charming little community nestled on the East Coast of Vancouver Island, well off the highway and a little South of Duncan. To get there, one has to drive down back roads past rolling farms and miles of trees. The community itself has no chain stores. No Starbucks. No McDonalds. Nothing franchised. They actually don't allow them. In their place are quaint little shops that serve the tourists and little shops for the locals.

On the way into Whistler BC, there is wonderful lodge on the edge of Nita Lake. I’ve been there twice: in the winter of 2015 and the winter of 2016. When I first entered the lobby, it was like I stood in a welcoming wood stove. The smell of seeped in smoke hits you. The lobby is made of dark wood, wrought iron and stone work. Outside the windows, the frozen lake and snowy Mt. Sproatt fills the backdrop.