Ray | Friday, 10 July 2015
We took a driving adventure to test our overland traveling skills, it was great and meant to be a fly fishing trip, but mother nature had her own plans. Ladystrange is the author, hope you enjoy.
The next few Front pages, will be mostly from Ladystrange, she wrote a Blog or journal of our trip along the West Coast, or what used to be called the “Wet Coast” . They may need to rethink that moniker for the next few years or millennia..
Please enjoy this peak into the travels of two very happy Gypsies..
Note: there is fishing involved but not as you know it!
West Coast trip day 1: interesting first leg. Great weather and light traffic made for a pleasant 11 hour drive in spite of the construction and the fact that RAVilloi can't get up to speed.
Stopped in Golden and Kamloops for gas, water... More water, pee breaks and road trip munchies. Munchies included fake twizzlers. I don't even want to get in to how bad those are. They were promptly replaced at the next stop.
We rolled in to the GVRD ( Vancouver ) at around 11 pm and I was greeted with the old familiar lane changes without signaling, hand gestures, ass riding and racing dweebs. Trans Canada not Formula 1 people...
Along the way we discovered my mom's flight from Vegas was cancelled due to mechanical issues and we received a request to swing by Seattle on our way. Because adding 6 hours on to the drive was a great idea, alas we had to decline because the RAViolli only has 2 seats. So without a place to stay we continued on to a parking garage at mom's condo. For the record, the over head height limit does not match the actual roof height. Needless to say this trip may be the death of RAViolli, but these life lessons will save FUGU from similar disasters.
We opted for a room at the prestigious 1350 Main St Canadian Tire parking lot. Mostly to get supplies to fix the slightly mangled roof rack and storage bins.
Excellent accommodations, well lighted, 24 hr McDonald's right next door. After some finagling with the air mats and sleeping bag, we managed to pretzel ourselves in for a sweaty night of cramped quarters sleeping. So happy to be short!!
Day Two..
West Coast Trip Day 2: After sleeping (if you can call it that) in a tangled pile of sweaty bodies we woke up to the din of 8 am McDonald's traffic. Still, it was handy to have fast food that is actually fast and a clean bathroom. We managed to repair the damage to the roof rack and replace the broken bins. It worked out because now I have more room in the bins for when FUGU arrives.
We spent the morning with Rick and Sharon, dear friends of close to 17 years. We had a wonderful brunch at Brown's on Lonsdale. As far as eggs benny goes, it was fair but over cooked. After we said our fair wells, we had to hightail it to the ferry.
Pulling out of Horseshoe Bay and rounding the cliffs, we were treated to a clear view of Mt. Baker over Vancouver. It was smooth seas all the way to the Island. We reached the island with RAViolli sucking fumes because I refused to pay a buck 30 a litre. We gassed up in Nanaimo at $1.269 and hit the low road to Campbell River.
We passed oyster farms, rolling farm lands, forests and mountains. I had forgotten the sweetness of wet moss, cedar trees and salt air. I am feeling a little homesick. Nothing makes me happier than sharing this trip with my soulmate Mr. Ray.
It was a hot afternoon, much hotter and drier than ever remember. Things are parched and dry. We even saw a grass fire at Tim Horton's. It was hot enough to stop and stick our toes in the ocean, and hot enough to cause an algae bloom. So no clam digging on this trip.
We found a wood carving competition in Campbell River as the day wound down. There are some amazing artists here. Eventually we made our way at dusk to Elk Falls Provincial Park and the Quinsam campground, got the last spot and finally had a decent, if not cramped sleep.
Tofino will be our destination for day 3...
Note : computer being an asshole for photos again, I will upload to photobucket and put into 2015 photo thread ASAP.