The leave-it-all behind fantasies kick in pretty quickly on a family trip to Vancouver Island. This is a place where the landscape is so alluring (ancient forests, broad beaches) and the lifestyle so wholesome (local farms provide the food, and farm animals provide the kids' entertainment) that it's easy to imagine e-mailing your resignation, chucking your BlackBerry, and taking up a new life as a family of jam-makers or cheesemakers or beekeepers.
It's a nice fantasy, even if you live it for only a week. And it's one that feels relatively novel—few tourists have discovered the 290-mile-long island off the coast of British Columbia (which is not to be mistaken for the city of Vancouver, about 40 miles away on the mainland). The island's northern part is rather rugged, so it's best to stick around the easier-to-access south—in particular, the 50 or so miles around the Cowichan Valley, just north of the capital city, Victoria. Cowichan, which means "warm lands" in the language of the valley's native Salish tribe, is known for its agriculturally rich grounds (as well as for its noticeable lack of that one Pacific Northwestern drawback: constant rain).
You can experience those riches firsthand at the Fairburn Farm Culinary Retreat and Guesthouse, a gracious inn run by chef Mara Jernigan that's set on a working farm. While Jernigan offers cooking classes for adults only, her day-to-day activities provide kids with a lesson or two in where food comes from (beyond the supermarket): On a typical morning, they can help gather eggs from the henhouse, watch the water buffalo be brought up from the field for milking, then sit down to eat a bright yellow omelet with some mozzarella made with milk from the herd, a few wild mushrooms from the woods, and a side of berries from the garden.
From Fairburn, you might explore neighboring farms, touring an apple cidery, a cheesemaker, and an alpaca ranch. You'll also want to stop in Duncan, where 41 towering totem poles made by First Nations people are scattered around downtown—and will make the kids' jaws drop. And while the valley is mostly farmland, within a half-hour drive are forests, bays, and beaches that are easily accessible, even if the whole family forgot their hiking boots. It's a quick walk from the car to densely packed firs, streams, and waters that attract gray whales and seals.
Along the way, you'll eat well. Really well. Most restaurant menus read like maps of the island, listing local sources for each ingredient, and a relaxed vibe prevails—even the places with seven-course tasting menus and phone book–size wine lists (the region is famous for its pinot noir) warmly welcome kids. But the most memorable dining experiences here are the simplest ones: eating a sweet, drippy plum from a farm stand along the side of the road, or diving into a family-size box of fish-and-chips on the dock as your feet dangle over the water.
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