Eco-Tourism and My Honeymoon

I had the most unique and wonderful honeymoon I could have imagined. There were two incredible components to the trip, so I will start with a little bit of history. Ever since my cousin Jessica got married at the Sooke Harbour House, I wanted to either be married there or spend my honeymoon there. I had no idea that years later, my dream would come true.

My cousin Buddy Cook, and his daughters Jessica and Sarah Cook are proud Canadians, and for 20 years, Buddy has been the head organic gardener at the Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island. This eccentric little B&B is well known for its restaurant, gardens and commitment to sustainability.

We began our honeymoon by visiting Doug's parents in Seattle, and then we drove up to Canada for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics! This was so special to me in that I attended the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and I thought that was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We attended Women's luge, Women's hockey, Men's curling and Women's downhill skiing events over the course of 3 days. It was a busy and tiring few days, but well worth the effort!

The night life in downtown Vancouver was vibrant and the local micro brews were delicious!

Our final day held the greatest treat of all...we got to see Lindsey Vonn win Gold for the USA!!!!

I am definitely now a lifetime lover of curling. It's basically shuffleboard on ice that allows cheating. The men tended to be a little more into shoving the opponent's stones out of the way with brute force, but the women would sit there and triangulate ways to out-maneuver the other team with precision.

We spent two days over on Vancouver Island, but did not get to see much. It was a very short trip, but I got what I wanted. I got to see my family and Doug and I had a very relaxing time in the Whale Room. I do wish that I could spend more time with the Cooks, they are lovely people and I have enjoyed getting to know them into my adulthood.

Aidan, Buddy, Deborah, Doug



British Columbia and Seattle offers a lot for the Eco-minded tourist. Everywhere we went there were public bins for composting and recycling, even out on the streets of Vancouver! Many restaurants and microbreweries we visited focused on locally sourced ingredients. Buddy often boasts that the only items on the menu at the Sooke Harbour House that are not local is the coffee, tea, sugar, chocolate and wheat flour (though Canadian-grown and milled). Seasonal, local food just tastes so much better! It is often not possible or practical to go 100% local, but every little change helps.


I think I have mentioned before that the goal of this blog is to educate my friends and family about the benefits of dining and shopping locally. Yes, local eating can be beneficial in the grand scheme of things (such as climate change, over-fishing, etc... but I'm not going there right now), the MAIN FOCUS is to SUPPORT your LOCAL ECONOMY, bringing food commerce back into your area (or keeping it there) and away from mass-produced products that are often stripped of character, culture and nutrition.


Food is less expensive and better for you when produced locally and minimally processed, which puts more cash in your pocket and more into the immediate community. It's not all about "saving the Earth," its about saving local, healthier ways of living.


You can do this even when you are on vacation. Pick a hotel or B&B that is environmentally aware and supports the community. Don't be wasteful...recycle when you can and don't eat at the mega TGIMcDougall's restaurants. It doesnt take that much research or effort, you can do it!

Back in Seattle after the Olympics, we went to the Theo chocolate factory!

Their tour was educational and the aroma was intoxicating. I wanted to morph into Lucy and step right onto the production line....except with Theo, they produce small artisinal batches of chocolate, so there is no "production line!"

Some awesome resources:

The only Organic, Fair-Trade Certified bean-to-bar chocolate maker in the United States: http://www.theochocolate.com/ Seattle, WA


Speaking of helping communities...what is Fair-Trade Certified?


This is not all just a bunch of hippie psychobabble....it's about doing the right thing for fellow human beings!