We went on a fishing trip with our good friends Darren and Carie. Matt and Darren have a good buddy that owns the lodge. This trip was such a fun vacation, but we missed the boys like crazy! Next time we will bring Brody & Wesley bc we learned that they offer a lot of activities for kids as well. Everything about this experience was top notch and phenomenal. When we got off the plane we were greeted by the entire staff singing us a welcome song while giving us drinks and appetizers. The service is unbeatable, the grounds are charming, the food is unreal (including a 5 course dinner every night), and the guides are hilarious. We saw countless whales, bald eagles, llamas, deer, and lots of fish. We caught a total of 44 fish and went home with 23 very large keepers split between us and Darren/Carie. When Brody saw the pictures from our trip he was cheering and yelling "FISH ON".
SEA PLANE EXPERIENCE. We were able to touch down and take off multiple times. The second to last picture is a map where the lodge is located. Across from Port McNeil (Vancouver Island) is Malcolm Island and Sund's Lodge. The 3rd picture is the plane shadow as we were taking off. It was surprisingly peaceful in that tiny plane and the entire view was unbelievably beautiful.
DAY 1. We caught 4 fish - 3 keepers. The boys decided to do kelp bongs (AKA beer bong). When we ran out of beer, the boys went net fishing for Kokanee from another guide boat. We saw a whale breach not far from our boat. Quote of the day from Darren "I chinooked my pants".
DAY 2. We caught 20 fish - 9 keepers. This was burger boat day. They come by in a boat and gave us burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken and a variety of salads. This day we made the Sund's blog for catching the "boat load" of fish.
DAY 3. We caught 16 fish - 7 keepers. This was beach bistro day. All the boats tied up together and once on shore, we were greeted with wine. They had blankets laid over large drift wood for us to sit on while eating. We even had a whale sighting durning lunch. They taught us how to crack and clean crab. They boiled the crab and served it to us fresh in the shell along with ribs, grilled chicken, and a variety of veggie and pasta salads. They sent us back fishing with brownies and a bottle of wine for the boat. 1st picture is Matt, Darren and their good buddy Scott that owns the Lodge, 2nd picture is the ugliest pink salmon caught by Darren, 5/6 are Carie and I cracking our crabs (boys did not participate), the last pictures are of me bringing in my 30lb halibut!!! One of the pictures Matt had to give me what they call a "Nancy Belt" bc it got so heavy at the end pulling the fish up 200+ feet below with a heavy weight, large lure and water pressure on top of the 30 pounds. It was exhausting but SO exciting. Our guide Jim said it was is first time he has ever seen or heard someone giggle the entire time they pulled in a fish. He told me it was his favorite catch yet and he has been doing this a long time.
DAY 4. The last 1/2 day we had 4 keepers and 3 really large fish that got away.
THE LODGE. The second picture is our cabin. The second to last picture is the main lodge where all the events are held. The last picture is of the amazing staff at Sund's Lodge. The rest of the pictures are just a few of the charming spots on their 40 acre lot.
Brody was able to have very special one-on-one time with Mimi and Papa while we were on our fishing trip. He had such a wonderful time!!! They went to the Children's Museum, Chuck E Cheese, visit from Auntie Lisa and Rick, splashed in the pool, played in the tub, toys in the pond, baking/cooking, baseball with Papa, side walk chalk art, crafts, morning snuggles, fun exploring sea life at the beach and lots of fishing. Brody (with help from Mimi) kept a very cute journal of everything - activities, funny things/quotes, food, bed time, etc. Definitely something that will be going in the baby book. My parents met us at the dock with Brody so he could watch our sea plane come in. We are beyond thankful that our babies were so well taken care of while we had some fun adult time together with friends.
