What I would like to tell you is that this place is horrible, no view, everything is far away, and it generally was a really crappy time. And that would be a lie, but maybe then I could keep this as my little secret.
The truth is that this quirky, funky little cottage was balm for the soul for 5 glorious weeks of working sabbatical. The view was mesmerizing. The location was perfect. The house is well-kept and was (mostly) very comfortable and efficient and everything worked ... including the hosts. If I lived in Nanaimo, I am certain that Judy and I would be fast friends and that is saying a lot because I'm a bit standoffish in such situations, but she is an absolute dear, as is her somewhat salty dad! I say "mostly" comfortable because I was working from the dining room table, so in the future I will know to bring a good desk chair!
The member of our family that probably loved it most is our Good Old Girl, a 14 year old lab mutt. We go camping with her all the time, but she has never been on this kind of trip (and neither have we, at least not for 5 weeks!), never seen the ocean, and (we live in the desert Southwest) never been on grass other than in parks. She was thrilled. She had a spring in her step and oh, the smells coming off the ocean, and under that tree, and down by the water. Her favorite thing was to sit with us on the deck in the morning with coffee and the evening with wine, watching the squirrels (and being duly scolded by them!), sniffing the air, running after the odd raven or two, and generally enjoying life. We agreed with her assessment that this was exactly what we all needed.
Now, when we are having a bad day, we look at each other and say, "I sure wish we were at our Other House."
So don't come here. Stay away. You'll hate it. Really. :-)