Journal

Friday 27. 08. 10 Drove north up the island, stopped in at Telegraph cove and checked out Whale Museum before moving on to Port McNeil. Visited museum in Port McNeil and were shown around by Joe who had lived and worked in the area all his life. Met Jo as we were in line for the ferry to Alert Bay so caught up on news whilst crossing. Went over to Dave’s boat before heading up to the house for dinner. Back to the boat Princeton 1 to sleep before setting out tomorrow. Daisy very excited about cruise tomorrow. Spent Saturday cruising through the islands. Visited several abandoned villages, burial sites and met Bill Proctor who was 75 and still fishing. After dinner, when it was dark, Dave took us out in the skiff and we were surrounded by phosphorescent plankton – a magical experience. Sunday more explorations and finally, much to Daisy’s delight, we were surrounded by a pod of dolphins playing around the bow of the boat. Monday we spent the morning with Jo in Alert Bay going around the museum where we talked to a couple of carvers then back on the noon ferry to Port McNeil. In the afternoon we drove back down to Campbell River and set up camp at Parkside again. It started to rain so we turned in early after dinner.

23. 08. 10 Monday Picked up the car at Hertz and took the ferry across to Nanaimo where we stayed at Howard Johnson’s. Tuesday morning headed north on the island. Took a mix of routes north, sometimes on the highway and other times on the coastal road. Camped at Buttle Lake in Strathcona Provincial Park. This was Daisy’s first night of camping but everything went well and she cooked dinner once I and a neighbour had figured out how the stove worked. Next morning we struck the tent and headed into Campbell River where we set up again at Parkside a private campsite just outside of town. Good site with flush toilets, showers and WiFi. We spent the afternoon at the museum in Campbell River- an excellent museum with a very good collection of native artifacts and exhibits on logging and fishing. Thursday we took the ferry over to Quadra island where we went sea kayaking. Inspite of the rain we had a great time and saw bald eagles, harbour seals and starfish. We took the ferry back to Campbell River and as it was still raining had dinner at the White Spot. Friday morning broke camp in the rain, had breakfast in the car and headed north up island. We stopped at Telegraph cove to see the Whale Museum and then went on to Port McNeil where we had a coffee and waited for the ferry to Alert Bay.

19. 08. 10 Thursday This evening we boarded The Canadian to Vancouver. We were assigned our cabin and were then welcomed aboard with champagne and snacks before heading west. Friday was northern Ontario – an endless corridor of trees. We explored the train and  sat in the dome car at the rear and enjoyed really good meals with linen, china and fresh flowers on the table. Saturday morning we stopped in Winnipeg for 4 hours so took the opportunity to have brunch with Sandy and Randy before continuing west across the prairies in the afternoon. Sunday morning found us in Edmonton heading south through the Rockies to Jasper where again we stopped for an hour before continuing on through the night to Vancouver. A great journey for both Daisy and I showing the diversity of landscape and the sheer size of Canada. We also met some interesting people and really enjoyed the meals!

Tuesday 17. 08. 10 I have been here just over a week. Besides catching up with everybody have managed to get to Yorkville galleries and also the Distillery District where there were a lot of exhibits by Quebecois artists. Last Friday Daisy took me to Rock of Ages at the Royal Alex for my birthday. Getting ready to leave on Thursday for Vancouver on the train.