Burnaby to Qualicum Bay

Woke up early this morning anticipating the trip to the island. We left Burnaby Caribou RV Park on schedule around 8:00 after hooking up the car. Oops, forgot to install the Brake Buddy. Pulled into a parking lot (hoping to be able to get out again) and did the install. Back on the road at 8:15. We reserved a place on the ferry, and we have a 30 minute window to pick up the reservation.

It's a rainy morning in Vancouver and it's rush hour. These drivers are nuts! We will NOT live in a big city if we move...we agree on that. Anyhow, we arrived at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal in plenty of time for the 10:15 ferry to Nanaimo. It cost $185 to get the motor home, car and us on board. Had one of their breakfasts and tried to calm down Tucker. The motor home is big enough that we get to park with the 18 wheelers, and we were also near the stern of the ship and therefore near the engines. Tucker doesn't like noise!

We docked in Nanaimo (Duke Point) just after lunch and got off the ferry with no problems. Although it has obviously rained recently here, the clouds are definitely lifting and the road is starting to dry. We arrived at Qualicum Bay Resort around 2pm; it's just a few miles north of Qualicum Beach. Elaine researched the entire park with the dogs before we finally settled on site #60. It's roomy and there are shade trees. Besides, there's a chinese restaurant on site and chinese food has been on our minds for a few days now. That's where we'll have dinner tonight. Rhonda and Paul will be here on Sunday, looking at some 5'ers and we'll likely do dinner.

Had chinese food at Henry's; it was as good as advertised. Following dinner, we walked around the campground; it's fairly large and the staff are friendly. We'd recommend this resort to others. Sunset wasn't spectacular, but maybe tomorrow. During the night, the rain started.

Saturday dawned and there's so much rain that it's beginning to lay on top of the ground. This will change the golf plans somewhat. We drove down to Qualicum Beach (12 km or so away) to check it out and to get some groceries. The golf course looks like our style; not being serious golfers, we judge each course by its green fee. The only oddity is that the pro advises that weekdays book up quickly whereas weekends are fairly free. Apparently there are lots of retired people in Qualicum Beach.

We talked with Sheldon (son) back home around supper time. Cell phone reception here is iffy, with it working sometimes and dropping calls regularly. On the other hand, internet, although slow, is reliable.

It's Sunday, and Happy Fathers Day! And today is cleaning and laundry day. A bit of a cleanup inside and outside in preparation for our visitors this afternoon. Rhonda and Paul arrived mid-afternoon, after looking at fifth wheels in the area. It was a good visit and we'll get together again in Victoria on either Friday or Saturday when we're there. Maybe they'll have a 5'er for us to look at when we get there.

We went for a walk along the beach with R & P and the dogs. We saw a bald eagle very close (except about 100 feet up in a tree). We also saw what we think was a seal out in the water, and the eagle flew out there to see what was up. So maybe it was a killer whale attacking a seal and the eagle was out looking for scraps.

Jun 15, 2007

Show all 4 photos