If winter weather’s a thorn in your side, it’s time to gain new perspective. A recent trip to Black Rock Oceanfront Resort in Ucluelet on Vancouver Island with Audi Canada and BC Ferries taught us there’s nothing so exhilarating—or cosy, if that’s your MO—as watching a storm roll in off the ocean, whip the waves into a froth and cast an ominous gloom cross the sky. Here’s how to make the most of your storm-watching adventure:
sojourn: Travel to the westernmost point of Canada requires several vehicular aids, and we were lucky enough to make the trip aboard BC Ferries (offering a number of excellent storm-watching packages), in a sporty, stylish Audi S4 sedan. The car, which accelerates to 100 km/h in but 5.1 seconds, handled the twists and turns of winding Highway 4 to Ucluelet with ease—like a volcano red bullet through a storm, in fact. Heated leather seats kept our backs and buns toasty and a music interface with seamless iPod integration let us listen to something other than the howling wind outside our windows (though that was fun, too). An unexpected luxury: the windshield, embedded with sensors, measures how hard the rain is falling and adjusts the wiper speed accordingly. www.audi.ca
stay: The secret to a successful storm-watching trip may lie in where you lay your head. Whether you want to snuggle up by the fireplace to watch the rolling waves or trek along the Wild Pacific Trail to snap the perfect pic, Black Rock Oceanfront Resort is just the place to take in wicked winter weather. We loved warming up with specialty coffees in Float Lounge and relaxing in our giant soaker tub, which offered a front-row seat to an awesome Pacific Rim storm (and frolicking sea lions each morning, to boot). When we finally left our lovely corner suite for a wet-‘n’-wild walk ‘long the seashore, the hotel lent us coats and brollies to keep warm and dry (we’d left ours at home; talk about coming unprepared). Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, 596 Marine Dr., Ucluelet, B.C., 877-762-5011, www.blackrockresort.com
storm watch: The District of Ucluelet offers plenty of storm-watching tips and tricks online, and even gives insight into how a winter storm is brewed (think arctic and subtropical air masses colliding over the Pacific Ocean). The best time to view tempests in the area is between November and March, when gale-force winds tear along the coast at over 70 km/h. A favourite storm-watching spot is the Amphitrite Lighthouse—an easy walk along the Wild Pacific Trail—where powerful waves often send ocean sprays over the lighthouse itself. In the calm after the storm, beachcomb for driftwood, trees and Japanese glass fishing floats brought in by the sea. http://ucluelet.ca
satiate: Storm-watching works up an appetite, and a fun, 30-minute drive through Pacific Rim National Park (with plenty of beach stops and photo opps along the way) to nearby Tofino yields such culinary options as fried buttermilk chicken and navy bean chowder at the Spotted Bear Bistro, freshly landed salmon and foraged shrooms at the Wolf in the Fog and signature donuts (try the maple bacon) at Rhino Coffee House. But that’s all after the fact; to fuel a full day of watching wind and waves, head to Ucluelet’s Blue Room Bistro, where a "Ukee-Ranian Breakfast" starring perfect potato pierogies is served all day. Blue Room Bistro, 1627 Peninsula Rd., Ucluelet, B.C., 250-726-4464, www.theblueroombistro.com
Let it storm, let it storm, let it storm. —Noa Nichol
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