Well, Friday afternoon, when we realized we would get to Vancouver a day earlier, Carolyn called and moved the ferry reservation to the Island to Sunday. BC Ferries is really easy to book on line, but to change or cancel you have to call them. Carolyn was on hold for 30 minutes and talked to them for three, but was able to change the reservation to Sunday morning. She was also able to get a beach front room in a hotel on the wild west coast in Tofino for Sunday night. We are excited about the extra day.
This morning we are up early, have a nice breakfast, get the car reloaded and are ready to go 30 minutes ahead of time......Carolyn must be sick!! The Tsawwassen Ferry has a strict time window for loading. You can’t get in line more than 60 minutes before departure and you must be in line 30 minutes before loading or your reservation is canceled. Our sailing is at 10:15AM and we are a little early so we pull over and wait in a parking lot for about 10 minutes before getting in line at 9:20AM.
The weather is calling for rain, but it is just overcast as we leave for Vancouver Island. It is a two hour ferry ride that passes quickly. Just as we are docking at Duke Point on the Island the heavens open up. It rains hard for the first two hours of a long, rough, three hour drive to Tofino.
In our travels we have, at times, been surprised when our preconceived idea of a place and its reality are different. It happened to us today. We have heard that Vancouver Island has a very rustic remote feeling about it. We have only been down on the southern tip in Victoria and know that area has a big city feel, but the rest was different in our minds. Well that really isn’t the case. The first two hours of the drive north from the Duke Point Ferry landing and then half way across the island is on a very congested highway, parts four lane others two lane ...lots of traffic and pouring rain. The last hour plus does have a remote feel and the scenery is very beautiful...rough mountains and beautiful lakes. There are lots of rustic campgrounds. The road is something else....narrow, crooked, rough, and poorly paved with a steady stream of cars, big trucks and campers going both ways. It has been raining and the road is slick as glass. It is a white knuckle drive!
With several muttered, “this place better be good,” under our belts, we arrive at our hotel. It is the very nice, Best Western Tin Wis Resort run by the local First Nation Tribe. The grounds are beautiful, the room is well appointed and the view of the Pacific Ocean from our baloney is stunning!!! We check in and decide to drive on into Tofino and check out the eating places. We are in the mood for seafood again and find a good looking place. The little village is cute and is surrounded on three sides by water and spectacular scenery. Lots of water based activities available.
Carolyn wants to eat early and spend the rest of the evening on the deck watching and listening to the Pacific Ocean. So we go back to the room, have an early cocktail on the balcony, while enjoying the view, then head back to Schooners for another round of fish and chips...this time made with red snapper. Plus, Dick tries a bowl of salmon chowder which he says is very good. Pleasantly full, we find an ice cream shop and each get a cone to go.
Back at the hotel we watch the sun slowly set over the Pacific and are lulled to sleep by the relaxing ocean sounds. Pure bliss! Truly worth the drive!
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