Parksville is a small community (around 11,000 inhabitants) on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, about 40km north along Highway 19 from Nanaimo. The town itself is a popular summer tourist destination, with a lot of beach action including a popular Parksville Beach Festival which…Read More

Parksville is a small community (around 11,000 inhabitants) on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, about 40km north along Highway 19 from Nanaimo.

The town itself is a popular summer tourist destination, with a lot of beach action including a popular Parksville Beach Festival which incorporates the Canadian Open Sand Sculpting Competition, a sandcastle building contest which takes advantages of vast areas of hard packed sand exposed when the tide recedes.

The waters of Georgia Strain warm up well and the weather is generally much better (read: drier) on the east coast of the island than on the west coast, so sunbathing and swimming as well as windsurfing (and kayaking) are all popular options.

There are plenty of facilities for visitors, including a good playground for the children and several golf courses in the immediate vicinity of Parksville.

Nearby is the Qualicum Beach, a picturesque and arty seaside town with more gentle beach and just outside Parksville the Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, with a huge sand-and-shingle area ideal for beach-combing

Parksville is a very convenient base for exploring Vancouver Island, sitting as it is on a junction of roads going north towards the Comox valley, Powell River, mountains of Strathcona; south to Nanaimo and Victoria and west via Port Alberni to Pacific Rim National Park with Tofino and Ucluelet.

But the interior of the island nearer to Parksville has also plenty to offer. Within an approximately half hour drive (and some accessible by public transport via the bus to Port Alberni) are three outstanding nature parks.

Englishman River Falls Provincial Park has a striking canyon linking two quite impressive waterfalls. Waterfalls seem to be everywhere on Vancouver Island and all quite amazing by our standards. A site that would be a major national tourist attraction in many countries in Europe is here a provincial park, warranting a couple of rough camp-sites and an outhouse loo. The Falls here are sited in an old-growth forests, not as spectacular as the Cathedral Grove, but still pretty impressive, with statuesque red cedar, arbutus, fir, maple and hemlock. Ferns spread lushly in the undergrowth and moss hangs from branches as the trail winds its way from the upper to the lower falls, and a clear pool of dark water by a small pebbly beach below the lower falls (locals swim here in the summer).

Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park is located slightly further away from Parksville, 15km west on the Highway 4. It is one of the bigger provincial parks in the area and follows the course of the Little Qualicum River, with more beautiful waterfalls, rapids and pools suitable for swimming in the summer. There are also trials to the nearby Wesley Ridge (2-3 hours one way). Cameron Lake, the beautiful lake surrounded by mountains and bordering the Cathedral Grove virgin rainforest, is part of the park.

The queen of them all is undoubtedly the MacMillan Provincial Park, furthest away from Parksville (30km west on Highway 4) incorporating the Cathedral Grove, a stand of giant Douglas-fir trees and a significant area of old-growth rainforest. The park area was, somehow ironically, donated by the logging company (thus the name), partially responsible for the fact that such preservation actions are even necessary. Still, the park presents a magnificent opportunity for all to experience an ancient rainforest. In addition to the giant Douglas Firs (encountered on the loop of the trail on the southern side of the road) there are also groves of ancient Western Red Cedar, the tree that not only is a main element of the local rainforest ecosystem but also an economical and cultural mainstay of the lives of the native inhabitants of the Pacific North West.

From cloth to house building, sculptures to boats, ropes to baskets, the cedar was known as a Tree of Life. The northern trail loop winds its way around the woodland area dominated by the cedars, many of them fallen after a relatively recent wind storm, but all utterly awe inspiring. I have never before been to such a magnificent forest.

The trees are tall and thick, but this is only part of the story: the branches are covered in hanging lace-work of moss and lichen, fungi pain the fallen logs in intricate patterns, the open and decomposing wood of the older logs takes all the shades from muted brick red to fire-like gold and rotten brown. The huge variety of greens, together with the plethora of surface textures produce an outstandingly rich sensory experience, despite the fact that in some ways it's almost monochromatic: everything is a shade of green or brown, and yet everything is clear and striking. The rain that is falling makes for a fitting background and in a swampy area a melange of rotting logs and freshly growing new shrubs and leaves create yet another symphony of greens. We can just make the Cameron Lake through the foliage, shrouded in mist, with the mountains faintly visible in the cloud.

It's no wonder Canadians adopted the word "awesome" so readily to express all things good and beautiful: after all Canada is a rich source of awe inspiring sights and experiences.

   Close

Vancouver Island is the westernmost part of Canada, and on Vancouver Island it's the west coast that is famous for its unique natural environment and associated outdoor pursuits. Originally, most of the island was covered in forest, bust as it has been intensively logged for…Read More

Vancouver Island is the westernmost part of Canada, and on Vancouver Island it's the west coast that is famous for its unique natural environment and associated outdoor pursuits.

Originally, most of the island was covered in forest, bust as it has been intensively logged for over a hundred of years, there are only relatively small vestiges of this original forest left. Some of it has been preserved as part of the Pacific Rim National Park, which incorporates incredible old-growth temperate rainforest, beaches, rock formations, caves and sea stacks, streams and waterfalls.

The Park is divided into three separate units. The West Coast Trail is a 75 km hiking trail accessible only on foot or (in an emergency by boat, starting at Pachena Bay south of Bamfield). This is a gruelling seven day hike, with limited access points and a lot of rough, wet and muddy terrain. The Broken Group Islands form archipelago of over hundred islands scattered throughout Barkley Sound between Ucluelet and Bamfield and is only accessible by boat, with some local operators offering kayak drop-offs. The most popular, accessible and the smallest of the Pacific Rim National Park units is the Long Beach, located between Ucluelet and Tofino,. Despite its name the Long Beach incorporates significant areas of coastal forest in addition to the sandy sea shore. Ucluelet and Tofino are themselves not parts of the national park, but both form convenient launching points for exploring the Long Beach (Ucluelet has also a choice of boat trips to the Barkley Sound & the Broken Group Islands).

The whole of the Long Beach and surrounding areas are an excellent location for many outdoor activities.

Surfing is among the big ones, especially in Tofino which is definitely a bit of a cult surfing destination, with a correspondingly relaxed and slightly New-Agey vibe and plenty of beach-bum culture in evidence). Sea kayaking is also common, particularly in the islands of the Barkley Sound. Sunbathing or swimming are not really a serious option, as the area has a huge rainfall and rather low summer temperatures (around 15C), while water never gets warm enough for swimming; but diving in the Long Beach resorts is excellent and by some considered to be the best in the world.

Hiking is deservedly popular, with numerous short trials accessible from the road in the Long Beach area of the national park, while Ucluelet has its own (and still growing) walking path under the name of Wild Pacific Trail, incorporating sections of the forest, rocky cliffs and beach.

Fishing cabins and resorts are present in many locations, especially in Ucluelet, while among the most common and most advertised local attractions are whale and other wildlife watching boat trips. There are many operators, usually running covered boat and zodiac (rigid hull inflatable) trips, charging around 100 CAD per adult plus minus 10% and various amounts for children. The area is known for frequent whale sightings, being on the migratory route of grey whales (these are most often seen in the spring) as well as having some resident local greys, humpbacks and an occasional orca. Some companies offer "guaranteed sightings" which sadly doesn't mean your money back if you don't see a whale, but rather a possibility of going on another trip for free. If your chosen tour operator offers such guarantee, make an effort to go on a trip earlier during your stay so you can go again if you don't see any whales on the first trip. There are also bear watching trips as well as tours that combine marine life watching with a hike on land, for example the Hot Springs trip from Tofino.

But perhaps the best thing to do when in the area is beach-combing. A gentle hike combined with a wildlife safari and a treasure hunt, a not-too-serious beach-combing expedition shows the endless fascination that the liminal space between the land and the ocean holds for human beings. Its hard to imagine a more overtly boring and actually fascinating activity than walking along a beach in a pounding surf, soles polished by the fine sand, feet caressed by the water (even when cold it's strangely pleasurable), iodine rich salt spray filling the lungs with joy, eyes shifting from the sand underneath (was this a piece of eight shining under that clump of seaweed?) to the sky (is it brightening up, perhaps?).

The Pacific beaches of the west coast of Vancouver Island are great for such aimless beach wanderings. There are living ecosystems to explore, with numerous shells and species of algae washed out onto the shore, and birds soaring above. There is lots of driftwood, mostly from logging operations, but some naturally produced, large and small pieces bleached and polished by the sea to a smooth perfection, convoluted, organic forms surreal like Jean Arp sculptures.

Storm watching has became a recognised activity in the recent years (whatever next?) and winter beaches of Tofino and Ucluelet are a fabulous location to indulge. The Pacific, in its raw strength, is pretty impressive even when relatively calm and I can just imagine how awe inspiring the power of a real storm here must be.

Anybody looking to stay in the Long Beach area would need to choose between Tofino and Ucluelet (although there is no reason not to split the stay between both places).

Tofino is prettier and located at the very north-western edge of the area accessible by road. The sandy beaches are closer to Tofino, as are the Hot Springs and other locations of the Clayoquot Sound. The village itself is more beach-bum, surfer kind of place, more overtly touristy, with every single shop front and business devoted to tourist trade.

Ucluelet seems a slightly more real place, although it's also very touristy. It's further from the vast surfing beaches (but it's all within a 20 minutes' drive anyway) but closer to fishing and kayaking areas of the Barkley Sound. It is also slightly cheaper as far as accommodation goes and has more hiking featuring rocky cliffs.

I personally liked Ucluelet more, though how much of it was to do with the fact that we had slightly better weather there than in Tofino is hard to say. Tofino does seem to have certain magical quality of its very own, which is still there despite totally relentless exploitation by the tourist industry.

All in all, some tourist traps are tourist traps for a reason: Tofino and Ucluelet form a prime example of that - unless you can reach some of the boat-only locations, one of these villages is pretty much unmissable in any Vancouver Island trip. Go on, dip your feet in the Pacific.    Close

Vancouver Island is located off the coast of British Columbia, about 20 nautical miles from the mainland and Vancouver city. The island is not huge, but still big enough to merit some travel planning. The island stretches roughly along the North-West to South-East axis…Read More

Vancouver Island is located off the coast of British Columbia, about 20 nautical miles from the mainland and Vancouver city.
The island is not huge, but still big enough to merit some travel planning.
The island stretches roughly along the North-West to South-East axis and is about 240 miles long and 70 miles wide. However, a lot of the island is mountainous and often pretty wild and undeveloped, especially in the northern part of the island, and thus areas that might seem near can only be accessed by road in a very round about way or not at all. Many roads are unpaved and some communities are only accessible by a rough track, boat or sea plane.
http://www.bcferries.com/schedules

If you are travelling by car, and intend to explore more than the southern and eastern coasts of Vancouver Island, it's essential to have a decent road map, which has indication of the road quality.

For those travelling by public transport, the main option is bus. Victoria has a good network of city buses, as do some other larger communities on the island (Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Courtenay/Comox and Campbell River). Inter city bus services are provided by Greyhound as well as a few other companies, but most of the services are well integrated and operate from the same bus depots.

The main roads are Highway 1, from Victoria to Nanaimo, Highway 19 from Nanaimo all the way to Port Hardy and Highway 4, which runs west from Parksville through Port Alberni to Tofino and Ucluelet. These highways also mark the extent of reasonably comprehensive bus service. There are four buses a day between Victoria and Nanaimo and one between Nanaimo and Port Hardy. Tofino and Ucluelet have two buses a day, operated by Tofino Bus, one arriving in the afternoon and one in the evening.

In addition to the Greyhound there are several seasonal services aimed explicitly at the tourists. West Coast Trail Express has a shuttle service (May to September) from Victoria and Nanaimo to the trail heads of the West Coast Trail and the Juan de Fuca Trail.

In addition to the bus network, Vancouver Island has also something of a skeleton of a railway service, with one train a day between Victoria and Courtenay that stops in Duncan, Nanaimo and Parksville among others. This is a fairly scenic journey, skirting the coast, and if bought in advance the tickets are cheaper than bus tickets on the equivalent route, but as it only runs once a day its usefulness is limited.

Many communities on Vancouver Island have small airports or (more often) an air service provided by float planes. Some places, especially on the west coast of the island, are in fact only accessible by air or boat.

Hitch-hiking is common and popular, especially in areas with little or no bus service (for example on the islands of the Vancouver Island coast, like Quadrant) and so is ride share.

On the west coast, there are boat services that connect otherwise inaccessible locations, for example a three-times weekly mail boat from Port Alberni to Kildonan and (in the summer only) between Bamfield and Ucluelet or the Nootka Sound trips from Gold River.
http://www.ladyrosemarine.com/rates.html
http://www.mvuchuck.com/

   Close

Vancouver Island is a large island off the coast of British Columbia, not far from Vancouver city. Most travellers will be arriving there from Vancouver or its environs (although it's also possible to travel to the island from the US). This article covers the options…Read More

Vancouver Island is a large island off the coast of British Columbia, not far from Vancouver city. Most travellers will be arriving there from Vancouver or its environs (although it's also possible to travel to the island from the US). This article covers the options for travelling to Vancouver Island from mainland Canada.

The island is 270 miles long (stretching roughly along the NW-SE axis) and approximately 70 miles wide, although the spine of the island is mountainous while the coast often indented and thus the actual road distances are much larger.

The principal way of travelling to Vancouver Island is by using the services of BC Ferries. Vancouver has two ferry terminals, one south of the city in the suburb of Tsawwassen (technically in Delta) and another in the north west (technically in Western Vancouver) at Horseshoe Bay.

Tsawwassen has frequent (hourly for most of the day) connections to Swartz Bay, 20 miles from the island's (and BC's) capital Victoria. There are also several daily ferries to Nanaimo, located 80 miles up from Victoria along the eastern coast of the island and the best launching pad for the west coast resorts of Tofino and Ucluelet. The crossing to Victoria takes 1h 40 minutes, and to Nanaimo 2 to hours. Horseshoe Bay has several ferries to Nanaimo, usually every two hours during the day.

There is also a connection from Comox (about half way up the eastern coast of the island) to Powell River on the Sunshine Coast.

At the time of writing (2010), the crossing costs 14 CAD per passenger, and 47 CAD per car (children aged 5 to 11 are half price and under fives travel for free), Powell River to Comox is slightly cheaper.

The precise schedules and fares can be checked on the BC Ferries site at http://www.bcferries.com/schedules/mainland/

The choice of the route thus depends entirely on the destination on the island and their initial location in Vancouver. If you are travelling to or from Nanaimo without the car, the journey from the Horseshoe Bay downtown is easier (one express bus) than from Tsawwassen (bus and SkyTrain, or possibly two SkyTrains).

If you are planning to tour the island (or, as it's often the case, its most popular parts, i.e. Victoria and the west coast resorts near Pacific Rim National Park) then the best option is to take a ferry to Victoria from Tsawwassen and then return from Nanaimo to either Tsawwassen or Horseshoe Bay. Both of these routes are very scenic and I personally think that it's nicer to arrive in Swartz Bay (you get a good look at many of the lovely Gulf Islands on the way) at one end and at Horseshoe Bay at the other end (the approach to the mainland is very beautiful here, with good views of the mountains).

Tour companies offer joint tickets from Vancouver to Victoria, but these costs about a double of what it costs to travel by public transport (approximately 45 CAD one way) and frankly are not worth the bother unless you have a lot of cumbersome luggage. The double decker city bus from Swartz Bay to Victoria takes you all the way to the centre of the city for all of 2.50 CAD and runs frequently.

You can also, of course fly to Vancouver Island, although it's by far the most expensive option, with the tickets costing at least around 100 CAD one way.

Island Express fly from Abbotsford to Nanaimo and Victoria, Air Canada has scheduled services to Victoria from Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto and from Vancouver to Nanaimo, Pacific Coastal Airlines fly to Campbell River, Comox, Port Hardy and Victoria to Vancouver while WestJet fly from Kelowna to Victoria and from Calgary and Edmonton to Comox.

The fastest and most exciting way to travel to Vancouver Island is by float plane, with several companies providing connections directly between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria as well as to Nanaimo. Campbell River and numerous other island communities. It's also likely to be the most expensive way to travel, with one-way tickets from Victoria to Vancouver around 150 CAD or more.    Close

Vancouver airport (YVR) is the main airport that serves western Canada and it serves major international and Canadian destinations as well as many local and regional airports. The airport is located in the southern area of the city and is easily accessible by public transport,…Read More

Vancouver airport (YVR) is the main airport that serves western Canada and it serves major international and Canadian destinations as well as many local and regional airports.

The airport is located in the southern area of the city and is easily accessible by public transport, car or taxi. The public transport connection is provided by the new Canada Line of Vancouver's Sky Train (which is actually an underground train for a substantial part of this line). It takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes to get to the airport by car (this varies vastly depending on traffic and will be much longer in the rush hour) from central Vancouver areas and around 1 hour by public transport. A taxi cost around 25-35 CAD depending on your starting point (we paid 35 including the tip from the area around Commercial/Broadway).

Despite being a fairly big airport (although small enough to have just one terminal), Vancouver is fairly low in stress-inducing characteristics endemic to such locations. It seems like a well designed airport that does its best to minimise this endemic (and probably unavoidable stress).

Check-in hall is long and narrow, with clearly marked desks and enough room for people to queue but not enough to get lost. The catering and shopping areas are located at two ends of the hall, and don't get confusingly mixed up with the check in.

The one feature of Vancouver airport that makes it particularly pleasant (or perhaps it would be better to say, not as unpleasant as airports mostly are) is the presence of artworks, foliage and water features.

At one end of the check-in hall there is a circular area with benches around a totem pole next to a stone (or mock stone, but realistic enough) wall along which a small waterfall runs. At the other end there is a magnificent brass of ancestor spirits in a canoe by the most famous Native North-West Coast artist, Bill Reid. On the air side, there are more artworks as well as a large fish tanks (when we looked there were two scuba divers in it as well as many colourful fish). There are trees, pond/stream water features and numerous seating areas. Shopping is present, with a good selection of gift items, travel essentials (though book selection was poor in all three locations I went to) and not-so-good but sufficient selection of duty free. But shops don't dominate.

In the gate areas, there is plenty of seating, children play areas and monitors playing The Treehouse (Canadian kids' TV channel, no ads).

The bathrooms are spacious and usually within easy walking distance, and the wi-fi is free.

Altogether, from a user point of view, a pretty good airport and one that makes the nightmare of flying just a little bit more bearable.

   Close

Victoria is very attractive. A large town (or a city, really, with a population of 80 thousand in the city itself and over 300 thousand in the metro area) it has a strong European feel and is the first place since Quebec City that I…Read More

Victoria is very attractive. A large town (or a city, really, with a population of 80 thousand in the city itself and over 300 thousand in the metro area) it has a strong European feel and is the first place since Quebec City that I felt I could live in.

The town is centered on the Inner Harbour, flanked by the ornate legislature building (very reminiscent of the one in Winnipeg) and the Empress Hotel (similar to other grand railway hotels we have seen in Canada, but only matched by the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec).

Seaplanes take off and land frequently (there is a regular service to Vancouver, as well as many sightseeing trips) from the terminal in the Harbour and little oval Harbour Ferries play the busy waters taking tourists round.

A couple of minutes' walk from the Empress is the Royal British Columbia museum, apparently the best in Canada and one of the best in North America. We (shamefully) give it a miss, on the principle that we have probably (more or less) seen all the museum material Canada has to offer (apart from the Royal Tyrrell one).

A. takes the children to see one of the "dreadful attractions" of Victoria (as per Rough Guide), the Miniature World. I skip, but they seem to love it!

The downtown Victoria is very pleasant indeed, with wide pavements, long stretches of pedestrianised streets, old buildings (old being a relative term here: we are in Western Canada and NOTHING is really old here, Victoria was founded in 1843 as a Hudson Bay Company trading post, but of this time only a single mooring ring remains) and tree lined residential streets. There are coffee and tea shops, chocolate and cake shops and numerous ethnic (this includes mock-British) restaurants.

We have a good fortune to stay in what's called the Cook Street Village, a lovely neighborhood of leafy streets, old houses with deep porches and eco-conscious inhabitants filling locally-run cafes.

Nearby is the large and lovely Beacon Hill Park, with large old trees, nice playground, petting zoo and a lookout affording lovely views to the snow capped Olympus Mountains in Washington state.

After two nights in the friendly house of our hosts we take a bus north along the east coast to Nanaimo. Our next host is to pick us up there and take us to her place near Parksville.

It's raining (as it should be, apart from the southern end/Victoria, the Island is a very wet place) but we can still see the views, inlets, rivers, gorges and more trees than one can shake a chainsaw at (but boy, they keep trying).    Close

First rainy day since the day after I arrived out west. It’s not raining hard, just a light rain, at times just a heavy mist. Breakfast comes with the room but there’s nothing cooked. Still, not a bad cold buffet though including hard boiled eggs,…Read More

First rainy day since the day after I arrived out west. It’s not raining hard, just a light rain, at times just a heavy mist. Breakfast comes with the room but there’s nothing cooked. Still, not a bad cold buffet though including hard boiled eggs, pastries, yogurt and the usual cereal, toast, etc. The best bus downtown from here is 98B B-line in case anyone needs to know but to get to the stop I have to walk a couple of blocks. It's a handy bus, though, just a half hour straight through to downtown with only a few stops along the way. The route goes along the south end of Granville Street which was an interesting ride.

One stretch was residential and most of the homes either had a lot of trees or very high evergreen hedges along the street edge of the properties for privacy and nose cutting. The last few blocks before the business section (called South Granville Rise) looked to have some very large and posh homes behind the foliage. The section called the Rise is on a gentle hill and there’s actually a nice view straight over to downtown with the mountains looming in the distance. There looked to be quite a few good shops too, keeping that in mind for the next visit.

Across False Creek on a bridge to the downtown peninsula. There is a lot of construction on the waterfront, condominiums mainly. You wouldn’t think there would be any land left on which to build but even through the city blocks I can see new buildings going up.

Off the bus at about 9:45 but the stores don’t seem to open until 10 so. . . Starbucks it is. After I left there, I hunted down the Pacific Center with the intention of walking through to the Vancouver Center, both below street level malls. There were the usual franchise shops and a few nice shops featuring west coast arts and gifts. I saw a free standing kiosk called Just a Second that sold little clocks for 10 dollars, all in many, many different shapes and forms. It was a tough choice between one set into a British style phone booth and a 35 mm. camera but the camera won out. (they only take cash though, no credit cards so keep that in mind)

Time for Robson Street, the Rodeo Drive of Vancouver. Or so I had planned. Only I did get momentarily distracted by the lovely Vancouver library which is built in a round shape with a tall building next to it that echoes it’s curve. There’s also Granville Street which is probably more fun than Robson as it has far funkier shops. Lots of second hand music and video shops as well. Robson is more upscale but a good place to window shop and there are plenty of restaurants. I spent much money in the MAC cosmetic store and I had to find the MAC in the Bay later to pick up an eyeliner colour that the one on Robson was out of. Not sure what I’m going to do with all these shopping bags for the flight tomorrow! I will see how much of it I can put in my canvas tote and maybe I might check in my roller carry on. That way I can probably get away with carrying a large shopping bag as well as the tote and my purse on board. I'm flying business class and there's usually a bit more leeway there.

Lunch was good. I was attracted to a restaurant called Milestones that had a full sized Harley in the front window. Apparently it's a chain restaurant with locations in B.C., Alberta and Ontario but it seemed a cut above some of those types of places. There’s a restaurant and bar and I sat in the bar and had a tasty lunch of chicken strips with a sweet red chili sauce and a Caesar salad with roasted garlic on top. The ale was an Irish style brew from a Granville island brewery called Palomino. Looked like they had an excellent brunch menu as well.

After lunch, a bit more browsing and walking down and back up West Georgia street but that was mainly all office buildings. I did see what I think might be a heritage house though I don’t know if it was open to the public. Came back past the other side of the Art Gallery but it was closed today and there I saw the Bay so I checked that it was the one I needed for the MAC store. It was. Out the other side, I realized I had come back full circle to the bus stop where I had got off this morning. A few things to do yet. Picked up a top in Pennington’s and walked toward the 7/11, planning to get milk to make tea in the hotel room but I spied an internet café. Cheap too! It only cost $2.00 including tax for about 45 minutes. Got all caught up while I got warm and somewhat dry. Sad, I know, as I am on the flight home tomorrow!

Got the milk and hopped on the bus. Don’t think the driver was having a good day because I could hear him being cranky with quite a few that got on. Back through South Granville Rise. I managed to get off at the right stop though was a little disoriented. I could see a familiar hotel that I had passed on the way there this morning and got on the right road back from there. Glad to get back too as I’m a sorry, soggy sight. The tea, made in the small coffee maker in the room, tastes a bit like coffee but it’s hot. I managed to get all my purchases in my canvas bag and I can carry the Lush shopping bag separately.

The Corrie get together at the pub in the Abercorn was fun too. Leanne did a great job of organizing and we were 13 in numbers in total. I knew about half of them, I guess though had only actually met in person 2. One of the men there was a dead ringer for Michael Caine I thought. The pub, called Bobby G’s (after Greyfriar Bobby) was very British looking in style and décor with carpeted floors, some tables and also some high backed armchairs and a dark wood bar. Leanne had organized a quiz and there was a gift exchange. One of the gifts had a lot of paper wrapping it and in the unwrapping, the paper caught fire on the candle on the table so we had a little flurry of excitement until the waitress threw a wet cloth over it. Nobody wanted to waste good beer after all! The party broke up about 10:30. I’ve got to be up to catch the 6:53 airport shuttle so I wasn’t long for my bed tonight once I had everything packed.

November 11

Caught the shuttle, got checked in and went through security. For the first time I set it off. Don’t know what did it but the hand held scanner bleeped at my bra hooks and rings and watches. Also I had to unpack a couple of things in the bag that they couldn’t identify on the x-ray. One was the little camera clock, a very solid metal.

Off to the Maple Leaf lounge. The view across the runways to the mountains rising above some high cloud was a sight to behold. Unfortunately I didn’t think ahead and had rewound my film though it wasn’t quite finished and packed my last new film in the checked bag. (pre-digital days!) Had a bagel and tea in the lounge in case they didn’t serve breakfast on the plane. Which they did do so I was pretty full. Business class serves a great breakfast with fresh fruit and juice, an apple crepe with potatoes and onions.

As we approach Ottawa, there are big cloud-mountains pulled up out of the spun cotton sea. We descend past the fluffy peaks and submerge into the white-gray depths, the plane now surrounded by opaque walls that soon turn gray, blocking out the sunlight. Terra firma isn’t evident until we’ve almost landed, only a couple hundred feet above ground. It’s been raining in Ottawa and the tarmac is wet, reflecting the lights yards out onto the runway. The plane stopped in Ottawa but I didn’t get off the plane though most people did. I just stretched my legs and read my book. Landed in an equally rainy Halifax on time.
   Close

Yet another sunny day and the nicest yet. Linda made omelets for breakfast and we left to pick up Cathy about 11 or so. The drive in to the city to the museum, which is in Vanier Park, was the better part of an hour…Read More

Yet another sunny day and the nicest yet. Linda made omelets for breakfast and we left to pick up Cathy about 11 or so. The drive in to the city to the museum, which is in Vanier Park, was the better part of an hour on the highway. Vancouver is quite large and all of the surrounding cities that add to the Greater Vancouver area go on for miles out. Maple Ridge is a good 40 km from Vancouver proper.

The Vancouver museum is all about the history of Vancouver and the lower BC area. We were lured by the special exhibits at the time, one on the history of underwear, one about Vancouver in the 1950’s and one all about the opium trade, popularly advertised as "Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll". There was also a room showing the elaborate kimonos of a famous geisha-turned-singer Ichimaru.

We also lucked into a walking tour/discussion about women in Vancouver’s early history, including First Nation, Asian and prostitutes as well. We had an hour before that was due to start, so we had time to look through the exhibit that explained the opium trade first. It was fascinating to see how it started as medicinal (and continues to this day in some forms) to an accepted recreation for the wealthier to an illegal substance of addiction for the masses. It showed how the stereotypes in portraying opium use evolved and how the trade was a huge contribution to may countries’ economy.

We had time to see the evolution of underwear, focusing mainly on women’s garments, stays, corsets and bustles, veritable instruments of torture! They had a washable rubber girdle and an inflatable bra as well, complete with built in plastic straws!

We enjoyed the talk on the roles of various groups of women. It wasn’t easy to research because women were usually omitted from history records or only very briefly mentioned. Much of the information comes from oral history, letters and journals, photographs and things like that.

At the end of that, we were ready for a break but there is no coffee shop in the museum anymore, just vending machines. We had a bag of chips and went back to see more of the Vancouver history permanent collections and had a peek into the 50’s gallery. That was great! Lots of artifacts, photos and newspapers. Also some interactive displays. We could have spent hours in there. I couldn’t take too many photos because you can’t use flash but a few of the neon and better lit ones did come out ok.

I had a good browse through the gift shop and came out $100 poorer! Got a new canvas tote bag and a lot of souvenirs and small items for Christmas presents too. We left about 4 and thought we should find a place for a snack. I figured I should actually have supper even if they didn’t because was checking into a hotel, not going back to Linda’s, ready for some time on my own in the City.

Not far from the museum we saw a café and a bagel place but there was also a White Spot which is a famous local chain known for it’s burgers. It was the local drive in fast food in the 50’s. Sold! We had cheeseburgers, big fat French fries and I had a lovely strawberry shake. We found the hotel all right, the Holiday Inn Express near the airport and behold! The place where we’re having the Coronation Street get together, the Abercorn Inn, is right across the street! Excellent!

Hugs goodbye and got settled in and put on the heat. Touched base by phone with a few local pals, had a bubble bath , organized my packing and settled down with a book. Going to do a little shopping downtown tomorrow I think.
   Close

Lions and Tigers and Bears! And Giraffes!!!!The sky started out overcast but turned out brilliant. What a great day for the zoo! First we had to drive to pick up Linda's sister Cathy and her daughter Megan. We are heading to FortLangley for lunch. We…Read More

Lions and Tigers and Bears! And Giraffes!!!!

The sky started out overcast but turned out brilliant. What a great day for the zoo! First we had to drive to pick up Linda's sister Cathy and her daughter Megan. We are heading to FortLangley for lunch. We got there on a small open top car ferry across the Fraser River. Fort Langley is about 130 years old and was the place where the charter that created the province of British Columbia was signed. They still have a restored old fort here that you can visit but we didn’t take the time to go.

Glover Road is the main street through Fort Langley and the shops, of various ages, are fashioned after the frontier style, with wooden siding and low cedar shingled roves. They have a historic old rail station, circa 1915, a 1930’s community hall and an old Anglican church as well. The main street is lined with interesting and sometimes kitschy shops including one that carries antique 1950’s memorabilia and a year round Christmas store. There’s also Gasoline Alley, a little courtyard with lots of shops and a few cafes but we didn’t venture into there or we never would have got to the zoo.

Lunch was in Wendel’s Bookstore and café, a busy spot but we managed to luck out and get a little table that the four of us huddled around, shifting for a bit of elbow room. They have soup, sandwiches and salads and some veggie options as well. After lunch, browse in the bookstore and a walk up and down Glover street window shopping. A garden store had some amusing things like cement "puddles" and an outhouse tool shed. We admired some really beautiful ornaments in the Christmas store as well.

Off to the Zoo which isn’t very far from Fort Langley. The Greater Vancouver Zoo used to be a game farm but has expanded considerably. We got there just in time to see the daily lion and tiger feeding at 1:30. The gamekeeper strode back and forth between the two cat compounds which were surrounded by high chain link and electrified barbed wire topped fences. He would throw the steaks over the fence and we watched the cats leap into the air to catch their lunch before it hit the ground. He also would lure the animals to the fence in front of the observers and push meat through the fence which had the tiger belly up on his hind legs against the fence, teeth very much in evidence as he tugged at the meal to pull it through, his giant claws holding him up! We were no further than 8-9 feet away from them!

Tigers are the largest cat in the world but I think lions definitely have the loudest roar. Later in the day we heard the male lion growling and muttering and it was enough to make your chest vibrate with the sound and pitch of it. And he wasn’t even in full angry ROAR.

Well that was interesting. Linda and I both love tigers but I’ve developed an affinity for giraffes after seeing them in Ireland last year. That was our next stop. We saw two but there might have been a third. One was male, you could tell he was more powerfully built through the body than the other. When we arrived there, the male was at the fence, lower than the cat fences, maybe four or 5 feet high and he was leaning that long graceful neck over the fence because…. Someone was feeding him grass or twigs or something! Oh I *had* to do that too! I searched for a small twig and went over. This huge head came down out of the sky towards me. I’m sure my eyes bugged out and my eyebrows met my hairline. Down came this long *black* tongue and he curled his tongue around the stick to take it. They don’t use their teeth apparently, only for chewing. I could have touched him on the nose but I wasn’t sure, as gentle as they seemed to be, that I should though my friend Rose says "You've never heard of anyone savaged by a giraffe! They are so beautiful, peaceful and seem to move in slow motion but they can run like ponies when they want to.

That was my thrill for the day! We walked around the paths and enclosures and took a 15 minute free bus ride in a section where there were black bears, wolves and Roosevelt elk. They even have an albino black bear, extremely rare but we caught a glimpse of him. Another wonderful sight was a baby camel. The mother and other adults were sitting in the late afternoon sun but the baby was standing and gazing our way, looking practically fizzy with curiosity but not quite brave enough to leave his mama’s side. These were two hump camels and were a lot larger than the one hump dromedary we saw earlier. The little one was a chocolate brown and very spindly on his long knobby legs. We decided he must be very young.

The zoo was really well laid out and very interesting. The animals had large to larger paddocks and enclosures and lots of natural settings as well. At one point near the end of the day something set off the white wolves and they all started howling at the same time. My God, does that ever make the hair on the back of your neck stand up! We left about 4:30 with the sun on its way over the horizon. We had some pretty spectacular views of Mount Baker down in very nearby Washington State on the way back to Maple Ridge. Linda made stuffed manicotti and salad which was delicious! Took some family photos and had a lovely evening over a meal and wine. Tomorrow the Vancouver Museum beckons. Cathy will come as well :)    Close

There was frost on the ground this morning, and that doesn’t happen too often round here. We got on the road about 10:30 and took the Inland Island highway to Campbell River. This is a fairly new road, and though there were some glimpses of…Read More

There was frost on the ground this morning, and that doesn’t happen too often round here. We got on the road about 10:30 and took the Inland Island highway to Campbell River. This is a fairly new road, and though there were some glimpses of the water, the views were mainly trees and some mountains inland on the island. We arrived about noon and had a drink before lunch. Alison’s house is lovely and very sunny and bright. Lunch was delectable, that salmon melted in our mouths and the garlic bread and salad were perfect side dishes with apple pie and cream for dessert!

We had a lovely visit there for the afternoon and drove back along a waterfront highway which is a bit more scenic than the inland road, stopping for a few photos along the way. The incongruously named Fanny Bay where there are a few oyster farms brought a snicker and we stopped by the beach at Qualicum where we’re going to shop tomorrow. The sun was going down by now, a pink haze over the mountains over on the mainland and gulf islands, the water deep shining blue in the last of the golden sunlight.

Another relaxing evening with friends and making plans for our shopping trip into Qualicum Beach tomorrow.

November 6

The town of Qualicum Beach has a bylaw that bars any franchised businesses from the town area so all of the shops and restaurants are locally and independently owned and you won’t see a golden arch or a Tim Horton’s within the town limits. There are some really lovely shops here too, lots of bookshops and gift stores. The streets are tree lined and many of the one or two storey shops have really lovely outside displays and entrances. There are also a few residences scattered through the downtown core but most of the pastel painted buildings are businesses now. Qualicum Beach downtown has one stoplight, one gas station and a small community theatre called "Get Into The Act".

We wandered along one street, poking our noses into a few little shops. Found a lovely small bookstore that we really liked and another wonderful gift store called Silverwood that carries imported and locally crafted gifts. But the piece de resistance was a store called Smithford’s (see review). It's one of those stores that has an immense variety of items from gifts, furniture, candles, crafts, etc.

We spent an hour or more there before working our way back to the main street, in time for lunch at a nice bistro called Lefty’s. Lots of menu items are left-handed termed and the menu opens "backwards" (though it isn’t backwards for us left handed individuals).

We did a few errands on the way home and Betty is leaving for Edmonton this afternoon. Today is Karen’s birthday and she is having a group of her women pals in tonight for a pot luck dinner. The guests all arrived by 6:30 and we had good food, good wine and good company. After the guests left, Karen, Don and I stayed up a while longer and spent some quality time chatting. I made sure I was all packed since I’m heading over to Vancouver tomorrow afternoon.

November 7

Last day here. I’m going to catch the bus from Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver via the ferry and meeting my cousin Linda there. We are heading into Nanaimo this morning for a little walk along the waterfront before the bus leaves at noon. It’s about a half hour drive to Nanaimo, where Karen grew up, with some spectacular views along the way. This is an extremely scenic part of Canada, as you might have guessed by now. The mountains in British Columbia are the highest of the Rocky Mountain chain that extends into the U. S. A. and there are mountains on the islands and Vancouver Island as well. Along this eastern coast of Vancouver Island you get views of the mainland and Gulf Islands, blue water and mountains rising out of the haze.

We arrived in Nanaimo about 10 and I sorted the bus ticket out first. It’s $21.40 for a one way to Vancouver including the ferry. We then went over to a waterfront park and walkway along the shore. Down one pier then over where a busy harbour of fishing boats, sea planes and passenger ferries to the Gulf islands including a fast catamaran to downtown Vancouver, the Lynx. This is privately owned and independent of BC Ferries. This ferry wouldn’t have worked for me because the timing was either too early or too late.

We walked and I got a few postcards at a shop in a strip that had a few nice souvenir and gift shops. There is also a little tea room with about a half dozen wooden tables so we went in there to have tea and scones, very delicious too I might add. Near the waterfront is a Bastion tower, built in the 10th century which used to guard the harbour. We didn’t walk up the stairs to get a closer look due to time constraints. There is also a wharfside fisherman’s market where you can buy freshly caught seafood off the boats and a seafood restaurant on a wharf as well.

Back to the bus depot, a tearful good bye and hugs. I hate this part.

The incoming ferry was late so the outgoing was as well and was nearly an hour late getting into the other side. The ferry ride was uneventful, views nice but I was surprised to see a haze of pollution over Vancouver. I didn’t realize that the smog does gather and sit in the Fraser Valley, the mountains more or less harnessing it in. Cold on deck but I was in and out a lot as the fresh air was bracing. I fretted about getting hold of my cousin Linda who was waiting for me at a downtown sea ferry and train terminus. A woman sitting by me on the bus i boarded once the ferry docked kindly lent me her mobile phone. Once Linda knew I was going to be late, I could relax. I caught the skytrain from the bus terminal to the terminus, humping my bag up the stairs. I’m glad I only brought a carry on roller case!

The ticket machine at the skytrain station seemed broken so I took the chance and got on anyway. Nobody came through to check. Linda was waiting for me at the Waterfront terminus and we got on a commuter train to Maple Ridge where she lives. They didn’t check for the tickets that she'd bought on that either. They seem to work on an honour system but if you don’t have a ticket and they check, you can be fined. I don’t know how that works for them lol I suspect a lot of people take great advantage and risk getting caught.

Linda only lives a few blocks from the train station so we were home fairly quickly. Her husband, Dave, and son Brian are there as well. Dave cooked supper while we sat and had a drink. We’ve discovered that we both love museums and galleries so Linda was keen when I suggested that I'd like to go to the Vancouver Museum. We may even try to squeeze in the Art Gallery if there’s time and we’re going to the Zoo tomorrow. After dinner, Linda and I chatted about family history, Halifax and all kinds of things, again, just like we'd known each other all our lives. I guess it’s that family connection but we seem to have a lot in common too.
   Close