SOUTHWESTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 311

oyster farm from the deck) and a healthy pecan and blue cheese salad. Mains include a per-
fectly presented bouillabaisse filled with local seafood. Even if you're full, try a slice of
melt-in-your-mouth bourbon pecan pie for desert. The Laughing Oyster is a well-signpos-
ted, five-minute drive from Lund.
Sea to Sky Highway
The spectacular, aptly named Sea to Sky Highway (Highway 99) runs 105 kilometers (65
miles) between Horseshoe Bay and Whistler. With the almost-vertical tree-covered Coast
Mountains to the east and island-dotted Howe Sound to the west, this newly upgraded,
cliff-hugging highway winds precariously through a dramatic glacier-carved landscape.
HORSESHOE BAY TOWARD SQUAMISH
Porteau Cove Provincial Park
On the east shore of Howe Sound, Porteau Cove is best known among the diving fraternity
for its artificial reef of four sunken wrecks, but it also offers good swimming and fishing.
In addition, the area's strong winds and lack of waves make for perfect windsurfing con-
ditions. The park holds boat-launching and scuba-diving facilities, an ecology informa-
tion center, picnic tables, and a waterfront campground for tents and RVs. Walk-in tent
sites are $16, vehicle-access sites $30, and powered sites $38. Between mid-April and
mid-September, sites can be reserved through Discover Camping (519/826-6850 or 800/
689-9025, www.discovercamping.ca ) .
Britannia Beach
Small Britannia Beach is worth a stop to visit the Britannia Mine Museum (604/896-2233,
9am-5:30pm daily mid-May-early Oct., weekdays only the rest of the year, adult $21.50,
senior and student $17.20, child $13.50), overlooking Howe Sound. In the early 1930s, the
Britannia Beach Mine was the British Empire's largest producer of copper, producing more
than 600,000 tons. Today it's not a working mine, but a working museum. Ever wondered
what it's like to slave away underground? Here's your chance to don a hard hat and raincoat,
hop on an electric train, and travel under a mountain, without even getting your hands dirty.
See fully functional mining equipment, along with demonstrations and displays on the tech-
niques of mining. Then take a step into the past in the museum, where hundreds of photos
and artifacts tell the story of the mine.