Our hosts for our stay in Victoria were Brian, my cousin, and his wife Elaine. They shuttled us around the Victoria area from their home which is actually in North Saanich. As it turned out Brian’s brother Dave, obviously another cousin and his son Connor, my second cousin, spent time with us. The second part of our Vancouver Island visit was in Port Alberni and hosted by Maxine and Bud whom we first met in 1966 when Gail and I moved to Seattle as newlyweds. We have visited with each other two or three times over the subsequent 56 years but it felt like we had never been apart. After eight days, 5,000 km, motels and fast food, our hosts made it feel like we were home again and we have been able to recharge for the Rocky Mountaineer adventure and the return road trip.
Today we took the short trip to Nanaimo or more accurately, Departure Bay. We arrived in time to have a light lunch before boarding the 1:25 PM ferry trip on the Queen of Oak Bay along with nearly 300 other vehicles. These BC Ferries are able to discharge and reload their three of four decks of vehicles in less than 30 minutes. Gail and I climbed the stairs from Car Deck 2 to the Sun Deck 5 and walked toward the bow of the ship only to discover cousin Dave on the same ferry and we spent the trip chatting. Approximately 90 minutes after boarding the ferry arrived at its destination and we drove out of the terminal past the hundreds of cars waiting to take the trip back to Nanaimo.
The trip into Vancouver was slow, as expected. The Lions Gate Bridge is a major choke point entering Vancouver from Horseshoe Bay. It is a three lane bridge and one of only two bridges across Burrard Inlet and incredibly slow because of the number of traffic lanes merging from the north shore. The traffic in downtown Vancouver is no picnic either but we arrived at our hotel got checked in to both the hotel and to the Rocky Mountaineer tour. Friday is a free day in Vancouver before an early start on the train.
Herman Melville
It is not down in any map; true places never are.
I remember our trip to Victoria and the trip Port Albernni by boat to Bamfield, what a great sunny day it was. Wonder if the boat is still running mail and the boat stops just nose the boat into shore and people out of no where pop out to get their supplies and mail. Boat trip back I think half the people sound asleep even me in the sun.
What a great trip! Hopefully some Blueberry Pie in Vancouver!!
Sounds like a lovely visit with family and friends! Which hotel are you at in Vancouver? White Spot?
Enjoy the train!
hugs
Claudia
Your trip thus far looks and sounds wonderful. The Rocky Mountaineer is a trip we would love to do someday, we’ll see what happens down the road. Enjoy and keep safe.
Dave
Glad you guys are recharged for Part 2 of your vacation – keep the daily reports coming…