Vancouver Island

September 30

Making our trek across the border!!  We set our GPS to guide us to the border.  However the directions it was giving us and the signs on the road – were completely different!  We followed the signs on the road which took us to the right border crossing (the other one was apparently ridiculously out of the way).  At the border, the nice lady checked our documents and asked us a few questions. One question was where were we headed.  When we told her the town, she replied “Why are you going there. It’s not really a destination point!” We told her our reason. After declaring all that we had and why we were travelling, we were allowed to enter into Canada.  We made way to the ferry. The signs pointing us in the right direction suddenly had no ferry port listed, so we thought we had made a wrong turn. After turning around and driving another direction for about 5 minutes, we figured we originally had been on the right track.  So, back on our first course and just yards after our turn around point, we came into full view of the port.  We got to the ticket booth and found that we had just missed the last ferry (by moments!) and the next ferry was scheduled to leave in 2 hours.  If we didn’t make our turn around deals, we might have made the ferry, but no, we had to hunker down in the duty free shops until it was time to board the ferry.  We got seats on the ferry right at the front, being able to view the water.  The ferry ride was about 1.5 hours.  They made mention of a children play area, so I made a lap around the boat with B in her stroller to get a lay of the land.  When I got to the play area, it was a small room, a few things to climb on, chairs for the parents, and The Wiggles playing on a television… I think we are better off at the front of the boat.  The children did great and had fun. 

On our drive to the hotel, the children played with stickers – they’ve got quite the imaginations!  They had decided to make curly mustaches with their stickers, even giving a few to Baby B! 

Well, since we were behind in our travels, when we arrived at the hotel, we found F’s family ready to get dinner before the reception and his brother came to get the remaining decorations that we had brought with us.  We had just enough time to check-in, unload our stuff, get cleaned up, and over to the reception to help prepare the food.  This time, some friends helped keep the food going, which meant, F and I were able to sit back and enjoy this reception a bit more than the last.  The kids stole off into the nursery room with their Canadian friends to play most of the time.

October 1

F’s family (minus the bride and groom) left to head back home today (so we only saw them at the reception and a few minutes this morning).  We went to downtown Duncan and walked around. Downtown Duncan is famous for its totem poles.  We followed the steps to each one and had a great time taking pictures, reading what had been carved into each pole, pretending to be totem poles, and enjoying a little down time after the busy days we have had. 

Next we drove up the coast to Ladysmith and met up with F’s brother, wife, her mother, her sister and family, and a cousin (who follows F’s brother – everywhere!). There is a beautiful beach (Transfer Beach) with a large wood/metal/old tires filled playground.  The kids loved it!! 

The beach also had plenty of rocks to explore, an kids sized boat to play in, and for the big kids (F, brother, and cousin) – ocean kayaks.  They rented them for an hour, got instructions, looked absolutely hilarious in swimsuits, sandals, windbreakers, and life jackets. 

The rest of us played on the sand.  F’s brother also brought us some local cuisine from the Dairy Queen – poutine  (pronounced poo-teen) which essentially is french fries covered in cheese curds covered in gravy (the gravy melts the cheese curds). It felt as if all my arteries were clogging up from the minimally bites I had.

 

Before dinner, we drove through another town, Chemainus, to see there murals through out the city.  We met up with brother, sis-in-law, and her mother to grab a bite to eat. For dinner we tried some more local fare at White Spot.  The big hit there was the kids meal that is brought in a large paper pirate ship (I think there is one still sailing about our house!)

October 2

Today we checked out and headed down to Victoria. Our first stop and where we spent most of the day, The Butchart Gardens. The weather has been about 50-60’s through this trip, so we all needed our coats, but it was pleasant weather for walking around outside.  F and I were both worried about how the kids would take to walking around a garden, but they did well.  It was a lot of walking, but there was plenty to see.  They loved to find plants/flowers that they liked. Just as we arrived and were getting out of our car, a deer walked by, crossing through the parking lot.  That was a great start.  This garden has been around since the early 1900’s.

When we had seen all that there was to see and ate our lunch, we travelled to Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard lighthouse.  F got his enjoyment through the old naval base and I got to see my lighthouse.  We also saw a family of deer.  (Got to love wildlife!) Next we checked into our hotel and drove down by the harbor.  We walked around and saw the parliament building and the harbor.  Most places were closed because it was Sunday and others had already closed up for the day (it was about 6 pm when we were walking around). 

Right across from our hotel was a nice little restaurant (which we got a discount because of the hotel). The restaurant, named ABC Country Restaurant, was one of the greatest experiences!  We were greeted by an older man, not from the US or Canada (mid-eastern country) and our waiter was also an older man a Jordanian parent/ Italian parent (he told us).  This man was crazy!  After being seated and ordered, he asked if we needed anything for the baby.  We said, “No, she can’t have anything.”  (mind you – she is 7 months old, no teeth and only eats rice cereal, pureed veg/fruit, and milk). Our waiter insisted – these words we hear all evening – “No, don’t worry about it, It’s free. It’s free! (add your own little accent here).  He brought out – saltine crackers and a bowl of chicken noodle soup.  B didn’t get much, but it was a great appetizer for the rest of us. The waiter was all over the place trying to tell jokes, stories, and dancing for all the tables (about 3).  When it came time to order dessert, we told him F and I didn’t want any, but again – he quoted his phrase – Don’t worry about it. It’s free. and brought us each a bowl of vanilla ice cream.  We had plans to get some donut holes after dinner from Tim Horton’s, which we did, but we didn’t eat them until the next day.  We tucked the kids in bed and got ready to have another day long day of travelling.