CANADA, HERE WE COME!

Steve and I were married in the month of May almost 20 years ago, and his birthday is also in May so we decided it was time for a quick three day adventure getaway to one of our favorite places to commemorate both occasions.

Warning- I’m going to be longwinded on this one so grab your favorite beverage and enjoy the ride.

Salt Spring Island is one of the Canadian Gulf Islands and is located just off the east coast of Vancouver Island. For us to reach Salt Spring Island, it takes two ferries…one from Port Angeles and one from Swartz Bay, which is just up island from Victoria.


After unloading in Victoria we thought it would be fun to retrace a favorite bicycle route to see it all from a different perspective. Besides, this was Coop’s first Canadian adventure and we wanted to make sure he saw the island! We motored south on Douglas by Beacon Hill Park (which is a must see when you have time) and out to Dallas Road where we headed east. Winding around on the coast roads there are gorgeous views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and so many spectacular houses it will make your head spin!
 
We eventually found our way out to the Pat Bay Highway which took us up to Sidney. After a quick, delicious lunch of chicken from the grocery store in Sidney, (and why can’t our grocery stores make chicken that good?!) we were back on our way to Swartz Bay and the Ferry to Salt Spring Island.

 

Can you see Coop?

The BC Ferry Terminal at Swartz Bay is an amazing sight to see. It’s like an airport, only for ferries. BC Ferries go to many different places from here including mainland Canada, so you have to pay attention when they tell you in what lane you need to park. The trip to Fulford Harbor on Salt Spring Island is a quick 35 minute ride on an open, one deck Ferry.  
It sort of sets the tone for being in the Islands. And here is a tip: When in the Gulf Islands, try to relax. Shake loose the fast pace of where you came from and enjoy a slower, gentler atmosphere. The people are nice and the scenery will knock your socks off. Things happen in Island Time here and to avoid unnecessary frustration, just relax!

If you like tent camping, Ruckle Provincial Park is the place to be. It’s out on a point of land with fantastic views and you can see all the boat traffic glide by. It is a bit in the middle of nowhere, so make sure you have adequate provisions.

Motoring in to Ganges, we had

to stop at the bakery. Embe Bakery is THE place to pick up some breakfast goodies or just a snack.
There used to be a great little campground at Mouat Park just up the road from Embe Bakery where we have stayed before, but they no longer allow camping there.
Bummer!



For this trip, we decided to stay two nights at the Wisteria Guest House and booked The Cottage. This is a really lovely place and our hosts Len & Beverly were wonderful. Let me tell you, Beverly’s breakfast alone is worth the trip. The Cottage is a cute, rustic place to stay and if you don’t expect high end furnishings, it is perfect for a nice get away.

The Gulf Islands are full of artisans, many of whom work out of a studio at their home. Salt Spring Island has a map of all the places who welcome visitors and as you motor around exploring the island, you can stop in and check them out.

 
One of the main reasons we wanted to stay in Ganges is because if the weather was nice, we wanted to drive over to Tofino which is on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Saturday rolled around and the weather was, shall we say, unpredictable. We didn’t really know what it was going to do but decided we wanted to make the drive anyway. So off to Vesuvius we went to catch the Ferry to Crofton (on Vancouver Island). We landed after a 30 minute crossing and motored up the 1A until just before Chemainus where we met up with the Trans-Canada Highway (Or Hwy 1).


Side note- Chemainus is a great place to visit and needs a day to explore, we skipped it this time because we had been there so many times before.


Up Hwy 1 we went past Ladysmith to Nanaimo where we continued on Highway 19 to Parksville and then turned off to Port Alberni. Once through Port Alberni, the scenery really starts to get good. If you need a potty break, there is a campground off to the right at Sproat Lake Provincial Park and the bathrooms are nice.

 
Sproat Lake is also home of the Sproat Lake Mars Water Bombers, and if you get lucky you will see one of the coolest things ever…a gigantic Martin Mars water bomber scooping up water from the lake. We saw this on a previous visit to Tofino and it was so amazing, I will never forget the sight!

A word of warning to anyone motoring in Canada. If you see this road sign, really pay attention. This means slow down, scary, rough, bumpy road ahead and you had better tighten your seatbelt!


Highway 4 to the west coast of Vancouver
Island is one of the most beautiful, wild,
rugged, twisty, scary roads I have ever been on. You can tell mother nature objects to having a road cross that region and takes every opportunity to ensure everyone who drive it knows how much work it takes just to maintain it in some semblance of drivable form. The scenery is truly magnificent, and I didn’t mind so much that my hand was cramping from holding on to the door bars so tightly. :-) After a time you come to Kennedy Lake, mind you this is after 50 some miles from Port Alberni, and there is a sign across the road-a really nice electronic scrolling sign- that said something like “Narrow Twisty Road Ahead”. We looked at each other and started laughing. Thanks for the timely warning!


As we made our way to the junction where
you either head left to Ucluelet or right to Tofino, we decided since it the weather was not really nice and we had been to Tofino before, we would go into Ucluelet and see what it was all about. The drizzle became wetter when we stopped for a photo op at a beautiful ship that had been made into a hotel and restaurant, and we found ourselves not really keen to explore further.


We made a stop at a nice little grocery store where we stocked up on Pellegrino sparkling waters (Blood Orange, Yum!) and Steve found a candy aisle with all the different, nostalgic, Canadian candy anyone could ever want. It was enough to get us back across Highway 4 and safely back on the ferry at  Crofton.  All in all, starting from Crofton, the round trip took us about 7½ hours. If we had gone into Tofino, it would have been longer.


Once back in Vesuvius, it was dinner time so we stopped at the SeaSide Restaurant, which is just several hundred feet from the ferry dock, and had some really good fish & chips then it was on to our little cottage and a nice stiff drink!

 
Our Sunday was spent motoring our way back to Victoria in time to catch the afternoon ferry home. Sometimes logistics suck, but it’s all a part of the great adventure and we had a wonderful three days.

 
Happy motoring!