Susan Forrest's Blog

We've all heard the story about Parksville: European settlers turned up and "discovered" the area, built a railway line which caused a boom in population, eventually a bunch of resorts were built and it became a preferred summer destination for city dwellers in search of a peaceful country escape.But there's a catch...it sounds like Parksville alright, but this is not OUR Parksville, this is the h...

Myths and legends represent the world around us...our ideas and stories. While many myths have been shown to have a basis in fact, others remain as vague stories passed down from generation to generation. And we have a ton of these stories on Vancouver Island!For many years there have been stories told of legendary "Turtle Rocks" on the island, somewhere around Campbell River. Most of th...

Ahhh...1967, the summer of Love, Peace, Flowers and all things Groovy!Half-a-century ago Parksville (population 12,000) was much smaller than today with a population of 1,426. Gasoline was a mere 33 cents per gallon, the average new car was priced at $2,750.00 (VW Beetle was the top seller), and Parksville's postmaster Harold James Parsley had just passed away after holding the position...

From our seemingly endless beaches to the towering forest of Cathedral Grove, from majestic Mount Arrowsmith to the beautiful Fairwinds trail system...residents of Parksville-Qualicum Beach are blessed to have such incredible natural beauty around us...each place is perfect for a nice hike!  The Amazing Places Project was brought to BC the purpose of educating residents and visitors about the...

Those smiles that you see on faces everywhere in Parksville-Qualicum Beach...there's a good reason for that. People have long theorized that living near the ocean can benefit one’s health, but now there is data to back it up. Here are 5 proven ocean living boosts from azula.com. Health Benefits of Living Near the Ocean