Back to my trip to Vancouver -bear in mind i had just had a skinful at the wedding the night before. Now read on :-
I slept rather well in my expensive hotel. However me and my mum had snoring competitions all night. Hers definitely woke me up once and I reckon a woke myself up a couple of times. Well it was too warm in my room, I said before! A few too many sherberts and all of a sudden I have sleep apnoea.
The plan was to all meet in the breakfast buffet in the morning and then rush off to grab a midday sailing (or was that earlier?) across the bay to Vancouver Island and the city of Nanaimo. There had been much to-ing and fro-ing over the last few days as to what was the best plan. As in catching the ferry. My uncle, to whose house we were all decamping on Vancouver island, usually has a plan and that is that he arrives a good 45 minute before departure and just waits in line. As long as you get there in good time you get on. No need to book. I guess the Isle of Wight ferry is similar (except for the Summer holidays.).
As pretty much all of the guests had stayed in the Marriott overnight we had a large area set aside in the dining room just for us. When My mum and I arrived our uncle was already finished. I enjoy buffet breakfasts as I am totally capable of eating my own body weight in bacon/eggs/hash browns/pancakes/ maple syrup etc etc. So I set about the food with gritty determination. I was soon ably assisted by my cousins 6 year old son.
My cousin was reclining in her room with a migraine of apparently unknown origin (really???). My aunt therefore volunteered my services to assist in him collecting his breakfast. I ensured that he had all he could possibly want and also made a point of asking if there was anything he wanted to try but was not usually allowed. This was his big chance with both parents being indisposed! So we both got stuck in.
My partner in crime really just wanted more fruit loops. Hey ho!
Breakfast done we were on a clock. We needed to be at Horseshoe Bay Ferry terminal for 10:30 (I think, my memory is dim). Me and my roomie went upstairs and packed, including the bathroom soaps that my Mum thought smelt lovely.
As we waited for the lift we met one half of the couple we met in the same place some 36 hours previously. The wifely half was still suffering and the husband rather bluntly described her as having her head down the toilet!
Lightweights
My brother and his wife had hired a car into which we were now loading all our complimentary shower goods. I like going on holiday and being driven around. I spend most of my life at home driving. Picking up kids, commuting, driving down south to see Mum. So it makes a nice change for me to be able to look at the country side without fear of crashing.
We drove, in convoy (of 2) through downtown Vancouver. The road cut through Stanley Park on it's way to the famous Lions Gate Bridge. Once over the bridge and having appreciated the views across the Vancouver area, we were into North Vancouver. Bordering North Vancouver is West Vancouver and is famous for having the highest premium for real estate anywhere in the greater Vancouver area.
There was small moment of consternation when My uncle realised that there had been some changes to the road network since he last did this trip. Our driver was in the "expect the unexpected" school of motoring and was able to keep up with no problem.
We arrived in good time at Horseshoe Bay to find that we had arrived in REALLY good time. The winter timetable started that day and our sailing left a half hour later. I was not too disappointed however. This was my first time to the West Coast so it was all new to me. I would have time to mosey round the harbour. Mum felt she would rather sit it out in the car with a newspaper. So we left the window down a bit as you would a canine and left her to it.
How to describe Horseshoe bay? Well you could look it up on Google Earth and see for yourself.
It is a small harbour and is turned over to pleasure craft on the whole. it is bookended by tree lined hills that plunge directly into the sound. The northern end of the harbour as all the stanchions and jetties that make up the ferry terminal. The waterfront is the location of a few high end sailing shops, coffee emporiums and a diner.
It was not a warm day. The clouds gripped the tops of the mountains in a picturesquely atmospheric way. It was comfortable for me to walk in with just pullovers on but I could feel a not unpleasant crispness in the air.
We were regaled with a tale of how dangerous it was for these ferries to hit the terminal too fast and a ferry had dodged the terminal completely after an engine failure and carved a path up the beach through a line of pleasure craft whilst in search of a soft landing.
Through the magic of youtube I managed to find a video of the event. Funny how camera's know where to be in such circumstances
Pretty impressive!
After myself and my brother had finished a sojourn around the harbour and his missus had finished her call to her daughter we crossed back over the road and repaired to Ye Olde Starbucks for a morning fix. It never ceases to amaze me what North Americans are prepared to put in their coffee - Soya milk!! it's not right! Anyway we took our caffeinated hot drinks back to the cars as it was time, nearly, to start loading our ferry. Mum had survived the isolation unscathed and we were eventually beckoned aboard.
The journey was going to be approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes so we had to ensure we had somewhere to sit. All hands to the pumps!
A row of 6 seats was duly requisitioned, but only just in time as the boat was fast filling up. We did the B.C equivalent of towels on sunbathers, newspapers! Then me and Mum were abandoned by the rest of the party to watch the boat leave the harbour. We spent the next 20minutes fending off Vancouver's unwashed from the vacant seats.
We were becoming mildly exasperated that we were hogging perfectly good seating for no reason and had decided on an ultimatum. If our relatives didn't return in another five minutes it would be to hell with them and we would give them away. They pitched up with 30 seconds to go. This was Mum's cue to visit the gift shop. She thought it sold unusual tourist tat that you just couldn't buy anywhere else.
As you can see from the video the ferry is a Ro-Ro (Roll on, Roll off) or sometimes known as Ro-Ro-Ro (Roll on, Roll off, Roll over). The upper deck was the passenger deck with another deck up top open as a promenade deck. Facilities on board rather outshone the Isle of Wight ferries I am used to. However the journey is a lot shorter to the IoW. At the rear (yes I know it is called the stern) was a cafeteria selling all manner of deep fried goodies. There was also a coffee shop and the afore mentioned gift shop. For those in need there was even Internet access.
The journey was as flat and calm as you could ever wish. the clouds blew away and we were treated to clear blue sky all the way to Nanaimo.
The view from the stern! Vancouver in the distance.
I am told that you sometimes see Orca's and Porpoises during the trip and there was a little flurry of excitement as an object was spotted off the starboard prow. It, unfortunately, turned out to be a stray log.
As you can seeIi did go up on deck for a bit but once underway the ferry hits the wind in no uncertain terms and there is only so much fresh air a man can take.
I returned to our seating and was given a running commentary of all the points of interest as we slid into departure bay.
Only one fly in the ointment. As we trod our way back to the cars we left one of our number behind. I was concentrating so much on getting my mum and her two metal hips back to the car as was my brother that we lost contact with his wifey. I felt that as a big girl and chief attorney to a CEO she would be able to cope but she was (understandably) put out by her abandonment.
That glitch aside we had all arrived safe and sound on the island and it was only a short ride to my uncles house on the northern outskirts of Nanaimo.
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