The Tale of the Doctor and the Ukee Dog

Today saw us heading north to Tofino to get ourselves enrolled with our new GP (there are no doctors in Ucluelet itself). We had to go to the clinic near the hospital in Tofino to sign consent forms so our wonderful doctor in Langley (we'll miss you, Dr. Mason) could forward our records. We also wanted to have a bit more of a spook around of Tofino and the surrounding area to get better feel for what stores etc are there, as it is the closest town to us.

In particular, we wanted to look for one of Trip Advisor's highest rated restaurants, the Tacofino Cantina. The cantina is actually a truck parked at the back of a small plaza containing many surf-related and craft shops, and apparently serves scrumptious Mexican fare. Now that we know the location, we will plan a dinner there at some point to test out the high praise.

On the way back home, we took the road to Grice Bay, which seems to lead only to a boat launching site on the east side of the peninsula. The drive is very pretty, however, and the view at the end of the road quite attractive.

The images in this post were taken with my tiny Sony TX7 point-and-shoot camera.

On the drive back, I stopped at where a small stream runs under the highway, to get a quick shot.

Back in town, we did some shopping and then decided to have lunch at one of Ucluelet's highest rated (Trip Advisor again) restaurants, Ukee Dogs.

This tiny restaurant serves wonderful gourmet hotdogs that are just delicious. I decided on the "Imperial", with Teriyaki sautéed onions, Japanese mayo and nori. Served along with cheddar bacon soup, it was fabulous!



Marcelle went for the "Bavarian Smokie", with sauerkraut and jalapeños.

The rolls were every bit as good as the dogs themselves, and we sat in the steamy heat of the small restaurant and slowly stuffed ourselves!

While we were there, the friendly staff told us of this Friday's upcoming Midnight Madness event, wherein the stores and restaurants in town all welcome you with free drinks and good bargains between 5PM and midnight. Ukee Dogs will serve a Mexican meal that night and have promised to have some exceptional beer to accompany it. It all sounds quite fun, so we plan to walk into town and do our best to blend in, now that we are locals ourselves!

As we came out to head home, I spotted the image you see at the top of this post, a wonderfully gnarly tree set against the foggy backdrop of the mountains behind. This picture reminds me of the lovely Japanese brush and ink prints.

If you are visiting Uclelet and want a great meal, be sure to look for Ukee Dogs... highly recommended!