Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada
Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Andi and I woke up early this morning to catch a ferry to Vancouver Island. One of the many perks of having a Class C motorhome is that Tory and Aden were able to stay in their beds while we drove. Last night, we camped in Squamish, B.C. which is about 30 minutes from the ferry terminal. Traffic was light, and we had no problems finding where to go this morning.
Ferry travel is so interesting to me; they have it down to a science. Andi purchased our tickets ahead of time, so today all we needed to do was drive to the ferry terminal, scan our ticket at the entrance gate, and line up where the attendant told us to go. Then, we simply drove into the belly of the ferry, and the large ship took us across the water to Vancouver Island.
Passengers aren’t suppose to stay inside their vehicles while the ferry is underway, but nobody really checks. Most people would probably rather walk around the ferry or get something to eat in the cafeteria, but I wanted to do school work with Aden and Tory and knew we’d have less distractions if we stayed inside our rig.
The entire trip from mainland Vancouver to Vancouver Island took two hours. We spent the first half inside our RV doing school and eating breakfast. Then, the four of us walked to the upper decks for the remainder of the journey.
It was rainy outside today, so visibility wasn’t much. The four of us briefly went outside to see what we could see, and were nearly blown over by the wind. We decided it was much safer and more enjoyable to view the water from the comforts of the inside lounge.
There were some reports over the loud speaker of orcas in the water. I did see a quick flash of something black, but I’m not sure if that was an orca or a sea lion.
At 11:00am, the ferry docked at the terminal station in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Nanaimo is on the east coast of Vancouver Island and is home to nearly 100,000 people. Andi and I didn’t realize how large of a city this would be until we arrived. Here, I thought we might never see a Tim Hortons again! No reason to fear; the city of Nanaimo had every chain restaurant and store imaginable. In fact, our first stop was to Walmart to pick up an order of groceries.
Next, we drove about 30 minutes north to Qualicum Beach. It was pouring rain, so not exactly beach weather. Andi booked us a campsite for tonight at ROAM Beach Resort located on the water, so we hoped the weather would eventually clear.
We stopped at the visitor’s center in Qualicum Beach to pick up a map, and get a local’s opinion about places to go on the island. Then, we had lunch inside our RV in the parking lot. The water was right there — if only we could see something besides clouds outside.
ROAM Beach Resort turned out to be a really nice place to stay. There were a few cabins to rent on the property, as well as RV sites on the waterfront. Scott, the host/manager, was so kind and helped us get set up in our spot. We had full hook-ups at this location (water, sewer, and electric). There was also a sauna on the property for guests to use with an additional $40 CAD ($29 USD) charge, so of course we took advantage of that perk.
It rained nonstop for the next three hours. Despite Aden’s repeated requests to go down to the beach, there wasn’t much to do other than sit in the RV and wait for the storm to clear. Besides, it was high tide when we arrived and there wasn’t much of a beach to see at the moment.
Around 6:00pm, the rain stopped and the tide had gone out some. I promised Aden we’d go beach combing as soon as the weather cleared, so we grabbed a ziploc bag for shells and headed outside. Andi and Tory soon followed.
I told Andi, if I could sum up this trip in one word, it would be BLUE. We’ve seen so many gorgeous shades of blue throughout Alberta and British Columbia. The sky and the water were so many shades of blue this evening; photographs couldn’t capture the brilliance. As the storm cleared and night fell, the sky continually changed in color.
Aden found some unique shells and lots of crab skeletons on our beach walk. Back at camp, he sorted through his favorites. Tory used to be so excited about shell hunting when she was younger, but she seemed to think the activity was stupid now. I guess the lesson is to enjoy the moment you’re in with your kids today.
Scott, the property manager, had the barrel sauna heated up for us so Andi, Aden, and I decided to spend some time in there after our walk. Wow, what a gorgeous view! This sauna had a clear dome facing the water.
Aden came ready with a package of Super Nibs (like regular Nibs, but in longer strips; our latest Canadian find) and a Sprite. The three of us sat in the sauna and visited together for the next hour while Tory hung out in the RV alone.
To cool ourselves off, there were the options of jumping into the cold waters of the Strait of Georgia, or taking an outdoor shower. The shower was a bucket that filled up and dumped onto your head. Andi and Aden thought this was really cool!
Andi grilled chicken skewers for dinner served with green beans and mashed potatoes. We all took turns showering since we had full hook-ups at this campsite, and then watched the final episodes of Young Sheldon - Season 7.
Tomorrow, we’ll continue making our way north to Campbell River on Victoria Island. It’s forecasted to be another rainy and windy day, so we’ll see how the day unfolds.
