Click here for a Video of our Day in Nanaimo
Forty years ago I would have never dreamt that one day we would be able to take a cruise...let alone the dozen that we have enjoyed! In fact, we felt like we were living large by taking a 4 day honeymoon in Branson, Missouri. (And that was well before Branson became the tourist destination that it is today.)
I wish I could remember what we paid for a night at the Cloud 9 Cabins on Lake Taneycomo outside of Branson, but I'm sure it was WELL under $50/night. Our one room cabin was right on the lake and had a creaky old double bed and a quaint kitchenette which we used to prepare some of our meals to save money. Nothing fancy, but the memories are still special.
 |
| Bob on the steps of our little cabin on Lake Taneycomo. Our mode of transportation? The little orange VW Beetle that we named "Burpy"! |
As we left the ship there were guys in golf carts waiting to shuttle anyone who was mobility impaired down the long dock to the terminal. Bob said "hello" to one of them and he said. "come on...get in!" We didn't need the ride...but it was appreciated!
Once we were in the terminal, I gave Budget a call to request that they send someone to pick us up (per their email instructions.) We were told to wait in the parking lot and someone would arrive soon. Well...we weren't the only ones waiting and it took quite some time before an unmarked minivan pulled up. There was only room for part of the waiting group and the ones left were not happy when they were told it would be another 20-25 minutes before the van would return to pick them up.
Both representatives at the Budget office were busy so we waited...and waited...and waited while they went through minute details with the customers ahead of us. I kept checking my watch wondering how long we were going to be stuck there. At last it was our turn and we stepped up and gave the gal behind the counter our names. She pulled out a large envelope and said...everything is ready...I'll go pull up your car. And that was that! I guess Budget means it when they called their loyalty program "Fastbreak!"
Our first destination was Cathedral Grove, home to giant Douglas Fir trees in MacMillan Provencial Park.
There were gravel pullout areas on both sides of the highway by Cathedral Grove, but no real parking lot. Bob dropped me off and then went about a 1/4 mile further down the highway until he found a spot to pull over and park the car.
Trails were on both sides of the highway, but we opted to go left to see the biggest tree in the park. The trail through the giant trees was beautiful. Many trees had come down during a wind storm years ago and other than clearing the trail, they were just left to decompose.
The largest tree was over 800 years old, 76 meters tall and 9 meters around the circumference. They estimate that the tree was over 300 years old at the time Columbus came to North America in 1492!
Moss covered many of the trees and ferns grew in abundance. At times the trail followed along a little creek.
Leaving the park, I'm sure we could have found a nice spot with a picnic table to eat the lunch we brought, but instead, Bob pulled the car over and we sat on a rock overlooking Cameron Lake.
Leaving Cameron Lake, we continued to backtrack towards Nanaimo. Our next stop was at Little Qualicum Falls where we walked the trail to the Upper Falls. The water was flowing fast down the gorge.
The next stop on our road trip was at Coombs Old Country Market. The store sold just about everything...groceries plus lots more...
 |
| These shelves were filled with different kinds of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. |
 |
| Honey was available in bulk! |
The market was a real zoo...figuratively speaking. Not literally unless you consider the goats. The parking had spilled over onto the sides of the highway which made for some treacherous crossing when we squeezed into a spot on the opposite side.
I'm not quite sure if the whole area was all part of the Country Market business but there was also a fruit & vegetable market and a pizza place right next door.
Well...almost. Our last stop on the way back to Nanaimo was at the Qualicum Trading Post. From the highway the place looked like a typical tourist trap. But the research notes that I had compiled said that it was a great place to see and purchase authentic native art so we stopped...and it was true.
Bob really enjoyed looking at the carved masks but I made the only purchase...a piece of abalone shell that I hope to turn into a necklace pendant. The already inexpensive item was an even better deal when I got the favorable exchange rate on the credit card purchase.
There was enough time left in the afternoon that we could have squeezed in another stop or two, but at this stage in the trip, we were content to return to Nanaimo in a more leisurely fashion.
We dropped off the car and joined another family in the shuttle back to the ship.
I thought this photo of the terminal building with the reflection of the Sun was interesting. My guess is that there was free wi-fi!
 |
 |
| A great photo op! Say "cheese"! |
It was such a beautiful day that I kept the balcony door open and checked periodically to see if I could see Kent & Laurel returning. As soon as I would step outside, I would get distracted and forget what I was supposed to be doing!
I had the best time watching a couple of seals (sea lions?) playing right next to the ship. They would pop up and then disappear and it was fun to try and guess where they would surface the next time.
It was obvious that logging was a big industry in this area.
Their friends waited at the dock and waved to us as we sailed away.
After watching the ship leave the harbor at 6:00 pm, we decided dinner at the buffet was a good idea. As we were eating, we sailed past an island with a lighthouse. I was so frustrated because all I had was my old pocket camera that I kept in my purse. No chance of getting a good photo. 😧
But...Laurel had brought her good camera and got a great picture. We usually ended up taking the same photos, but it was nice to know if one didn't get a shot the chances were good that the other did. What a difference a good zoom makes!
The mountains were beautiful along our route by Vancouver Island. So nice to see all of the mountain instead of having the peaks shrouded in fog and clouds as we had at so many ports.
I was very confused about the travel logistics of our last night. The distance from Nanaimo to Vancouver is about 50 miles, yet we were leaving at 6 pm and weren't due to dock in Vancouver until 7 am the next morning.
Following the show, we went back to the cabin to enjoy the sunset and then it made sense...we were going in a giant circle! I'm sure they wanted to be "at sea" so the casino could be open, but yet even sailing as slow as possible it wasn't going to take all night to go 50 miles.
Using his binoculars, Bob discovered that he could actually SEE Vancouver from where we were! We must have just slowly turned and turned all night long because when I woke up the next morning we still hadn't gone under the bridge!
 |
| With binoculars, the Lions Gate Bridge was barely visible through the haze. |
 |
| From the gentle wake, you can tell the ship was turning S-L-O-W-L-Y. |
 |
| Good night, moon. |
No comments:
Post a Comment