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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 11, 2010 21:14:47 GMT -8
In less than a week, I'm departing on a trip to Alberni, Tofino, Ucluelet and area. Any recommendations on campsites to stay at, things to see, not-to-busy beaches to visit on the rim, etc.? I'll be doing the basics, like photographing the Esquimalt at Alberni, etc, but I'd like some suggestions. Thanks! -Viking If you have a free day, I highly recommend a trip on the MV Frances Barkley (Lady Rose Marine Services). It's a great way to experience what boat-day was like in olden days. If you time it right, you may be able to get yourself onto the Frances Barkley in Ucluelet one day at mid-day, and then the rest of your family could meet you at Port Alberni when you arrive there by boat......or same in opposite directions. The Frances Barkley runs to Ucluelet some days in the summer. - see their website for daily schedule.
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Post by FerryDude2012 on Aug 11, 2010 21:15:19 GMT -8
As a matter of fact, I'm heading out to Tofino myself next Tuesday. I strongly recommend the Lakeshore Campground and Cottages place, just past Port Alberni on the way to Tofino or Ucluelet. I've been there a few times, and never had any bad experiences with other campers and the hosts, and it is in a very beautiful location. For things to do/see, you could visit the Pacific Rim National Park for some hiking, and taking in the wildlife and scenery. Or simply walk along the beach, do some beachcombing, walking around the towns of Ucluelet and Tofino. If surfing is your thing, you could also do that. For beaches, Middle Beach and Mackenzie Beach are relatively quiet, depending on what time of the day you plan to go. May I suggest doing some sea kayaking while you are up there, it's always been a personal favorite, and it's very fun to do, especially if it's your first time. Hope your trip goes just as well as mine does And I'm looking forward in reading your trip review and photos.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Aug 12, 2010 7:56:47 GMT -8
In less than a week, I'm departing on a trip to Alberni, Tofino, Ucluelet and area. Any recommendations on campsites to stay at, things to see, not-to-busy beaches to visit on the rim, etc.? I'll be doing the basics, like photographing the Esquimalt at Alberni, etc, but I'd like some suggestions. Thanks! -Viking My two food recommendations are, firstly cinnamon buns at the Common Loaf just uphill from the CO-OP. You can also get a picnic lunch made up there and take it with you hiking somewhere. Secondly, save up and spoil yourself with breakfast at The Point Restaurant in Wickanninish Inn, especially if the day is a bit stormy and you need to warm up by a fire. After breakfast walk Chesterman Beach and if it is low tide you can hike out to the point - but watch the waves. You might even get a glimpse of the $2.6 Million Dollar "Cathie's Cottage" that is for sale along the beach. The $8 mil one is the other side of the Wick Inn and harder to see, I guess privacy costs . The interpretive centre at the Wickanninish Center (old location of the Inn inside the park) on Long Beach often has some interesting displays or talks. The food in the restaurant is good but a bit pricey. I always snoop around Anaranthic Point in Ucluelet. Hiking up Radar Hill is good too but once they took down the old installations, not as interesting. The view from the top is great.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Aug 12, 2010 8:00:33 GMT -8
WCK reporting in from Skagway, Alaska. Tomorrow I, along with my wife, will be heading south for Prince Rupert. We will be aboard the Malaspina as far as Juneau, and the Matanuska after that. We just completed an 8-day canoe trip on the Big Salmon & Yukon rivers in the Yukon Territory. A friend of mine just did the same trip without the canoeing. I have yet to get the whole trip details as we just had a quick conversation. She has never done the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert and I haven't gone north on the Alaska Ferries, so it will be fun comparing notes. She loved the trip but was disapointed at the lack of wildlife spotting.
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Post by lmtengs on Aug 12, 2010 8:53:05 GMT -8
Thanks Mike, Jason, and Northern Exploration!
After discussing it, I think we're going to tent in Port Alberni the first night, take the Barkley out to Sechart and Bamfield the first full day, tent in Alberni again for the second night, then drive leisurely out to the Pacific Rim the second full day. We'll hang around Tofino for a few days, then head south to Ucluelet, where we'll hang around there for awhile. Then on the 22, the Pacific Swift will arrive from Port Hardy, and on the 25th, I will catch the 'Swift on her trip up to Cape Scott then south to Victoria, where my mom will pick me up at the end of the ten day sailing trip. Then we'll make our way home via rte. 1.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Aug 12, 2010 13:36:29 GMT -8
Thanks Mike, Jason, and Northern Exploration! After discussing it, I think we're going to tent in Port Alberni the first night, take the Barkley out to Sechart and Bamfield the first full day, tent in Alberni again for the second night, then drive leisurely out to the Pacific Rim the second full day. We'll hang around Tofino for a few days, then head south to Ucluelet, where we'll hang around there for awhile. Then on the 22, the Pacific Swift will arrive from Port Hardy, and on the 25th, I will catch the 'Swift on her trip up to Cape Scott then south to Victoria, where my mom will pick me up at the end of the ten day sailing trip. Then we'll make our way home via rte. 1. Stop at the rest area near the summit on the trip from Alberni to Tonfino for any necessary pit stop, because the rest of the way there aren't too many pull offs . How leisurely you go will be determined by two things. Firstly a trailer with a scared driver in front of you. Secondly, a local in his pickup breathing down your neck wanting to get back to his place on the coast. The road in most parts has to be taken leisurely. If the Kennedy River still has a good volume, there is one pull off with no services that you can stretch your legs and get some shots of the water.
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Post by FerryDude2012 on Aug 12, 2010 15:02:12 GMT -8
Thank you Mike and Northern Exploration. I will also be heading out to Port Alberni, Tofino, Ucluelet, back to Port Alberni and staying the night in Parksville. The next day, we will possibly head up to Courtenay and/or Campbell River, then head back down to Nanaimo. The ferries will most likely be Route 30 both directions, with the 7:45am Coastal Inspiration next Tuesday, and going back will most likely be the 5:45pm Queen of Alberni. Everyone's suggestions are greatly appreciated. A few questions before I go: - Between Port Alberni and Tofino, approximatly how long is the drive? - Between Parksville/Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni, are there any points of interest, or beautiful rest stops to check out? - Any photo requests or suggestions both ferry or non-ferry related?
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 12, 2010 15:19:20 GMT -8
A few questions before I go: - Between Port Alberni and Tofino, approximatly how long is the drive? - Between Parksville/Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni, are there any points of interest, or beautiful rest stops to check out? - Any photo requests or suggestions both ferry or non-ferry related? It is 1.75 to 2.0 hours between Port Alberni & Tofino, with no stops. That's my off-season normal driving time. On Hwy 4 between Oceanside & Port Alberni, the main attractions are Cameron Lake and Cathedral Grove. - Cameron Lake is deep, has a rail line with trestles visible on the far side, and has a few picnic pull-outs. - Cathedral grove is just west of Cameron Lake, and has huge trees. there are some short trails to walk. - Just east of Alberni is their WalMart. Go to Alberni Quay, and look south-west to see the Princess Jacquiline. You can also find a side-street and photograph her from a hill looking down on the ship. =============== For Luke & Jason both in Tofino: - find the "North Vancouver Ferry No.1", and photograph it, and try to get a better zoom-photo of her life-ring than I was able to get (from the 4th Street dock). You can see my photos from February 2010 in one of the historical photos threads. The ship hull is located on Strawberry Island, just off of the Weigh West marina in Tofino. It is beached and a fellow lives in it.
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Post by FerryDude2012 on Aug 12, 2010 15:35:22 GMT -8
A few questions before I go: - Between Port Alberni and Tofino, approximatly how long is the drive? - Between Parksville/Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni, are there any points of interest, or beautiful rest stops to check out? - Any photo requests or suggestions both ferry or non-ferry related? It is 1.75 to 2.0 hours between Port Alberni & Tofino, with no stops. That's my off-season normal driving time. On Hwy 4 between Oceanside & Port Alberni, the main attractions are Cameron Lake and Cathedral Grove. - Cameron Lake is deep, has a rail line with trestles visible on the far side, and has a few picnic pull-outs. - Cathedral grove is just west of Cameron Lake, and has huge trees. there are some short trails to walk. - Just east of Alberni is their WalMart. Go to Alberni Quay, and look south-west to see the Princess Jacquiline. You can also find a side-street and photograph her from a hill looking down on the ship. =============== For Luke & Jason both in Tofino: - find the "North Vancouver Ferry No.1", and photograph it, and try to get a better zoom-photo of her life-ring than I was able to get (from the 4th Street dock). You can see my photos from February 2010 in one of the historical photos threads. The ship hull is located on Strawberry Island, just off of the Weigh West marina in Tofino. It is beached and a fellow lives in it. I never knew Walmart was such a big attraction in Port Alberni ;D For the Weigh West Marina, do you park in the Resort, and walk down to the marina? According to google maps, there is a little side road that doesn't go down all the way to the shore: maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&q=Weigh+West+Marina&ie=UTF8&hq=Weigh+West+Marina&hnear=&radius=15000&ll=49.150612,-125.895123&spn=0.006372,0.019205&z=16
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 12, 2010 15:39:27 GMT -8
For the Weigh West Marina, do you park in the Resort, and walk down to the marina? According to google maps, there is a little side road that doesn't go down all the way to the shore: you can access the marina by walking past the entrance to the pub & restaurant......which is right by the parking lot. Easy to find, tough to miss. The trick is that there is a very STEEP driveway into the resort from the highway.
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Post by lmtengs on Aug 12, 2010 15:42:32 GMT -8
- Between Port Alberni and Tofino, approximatly how long is the drive? The driving distance between the intersection of Highway 4 and Johnson Road in Port Alberni, and Tofino, is 123 kilometers. The drive should take about 2 hours and 30 minutes, maybe more. I've heard rumours of three hours Rathtrevor Beach in Parksville, best explored at low tide, when it takes about 20 minutes to walk from the head of the beach to the water. Beautiful area. If you want to take Highway 4a from the inland highway to highway 4, there's Old Country Market in Coombs. Neat store with a bunch of cool stuff. Did I mention that goats live on the roof of the building? About halfway between Parksville and Port Alberni, you'll find Cathedral Grove, where there are some absolutely HUGE old growth trees growing. It would take 8 full grown men locking arms to wrap a full circle around some of those trees! In Port Alberni, stop by Victoria Quay, where depending on the time of day, you'll almost ALWAYS see bears on the far side of the river. Waters Edge Restaurant in Port Alberni has really good seafood with a touch of class, and their prices aren't horrendous either! While you're at it, walk just a few doors down to see if the Frances Barkley of Lady Rose Marine Services is in Port. And of course, you can't forget to stop in with our old friend the Queen of Esquimalt, under the guise of Princess Jacqueline. There's my little trip guide for ya
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Post by FerryDude2012 on Aug 12, 2010 15:48:26 GMT -8
Thank you Mike and Luke for the trip guides I probably won't have enough time to stop and take pictures of everything you mentioned, but I will do my best to take a lot of pics, and visit the places you have suggested.
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Post by lmtengs on Aug 12, 2010 15:52:09 GMT -8
I'll be visiting all of them too, getting photos of each and every one, so don't feel pressured On second thought, I think I'll skip Rathtrevor this time around. I told my mom about Lady Rose Marine today via fellytone, and she said that she'd been wanting to take that trip, so it's been arranged that we're going to travel from Port Alberni to Sechart to Bamfield and back to Alberni. I think I may have already said that... :-\
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Post by Northern Exploration on Aug 13, 2010 8:15:25 GMT -8
I did the Alberni to the hotel once in just under 2 hours. I warned the hotel about timing as it was very late after taking the last ferry from TSW to Duke. He knew the road perfectly and I just watched his tail lights. It was a bit icy so I was glad to be following. We certainly drove a lot faster than I would have if I was alone. We only passed two other cars going in the opposite direction and really only stopped once for a big buck who ambled across the road. The guy in the truck came back to see if I was someone he knew and turns out he worked at the hotel. So he escorted me right to the turn off.
Certainly though, on your first drive on that windy road and the possibility of trucks, campers and trailers, best to count on three hours then you will be glad you are early. I second the comment on Cathedral Grove (if it isn't overwhelmed with bus loads) and have had lunch at the restaurant at the Quay in Alberni.
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Post by FerryDude2012 on Aug 18, 2010 20:44:57 GMT -8
Hello everybody. I just came back from a 2 Day Trip from Surrey to Tofino/Ucluelet/Port Alberni, and stayed in Parksville for the night. The next day, we went up Hwy 19A to Qualicum Beach, Buckley Bay, Courtenay and back down the Inland Hwy to Nanaimo for some transit watching, and took the ferry back home. Gradually, within 48 hours, I will be posting and adding on to my trip report, with LOTS of pictures included. -TRIP REPORT COMING SOON TO A COMPUTER NEAR YOU-
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Post by FerryDude2012 on Aug 19, 2010 9:50:03 GMT -8
Alrighty then, here's my latest solo trip to share. I woke up at 6:00am, got ready, and went into my mini van with my family, and left the house at 6:30am. We arrived at Tsawwassen at 7:10am, luckily we had a reservation, because the sailing was full. We boarded and departed Tsawwassen on time, and saw the 'New West get ready for her day: After that, I decided to go on a "photo-spree" and took many pics outside on the Coastal Inspiration(please see CI photo thread). An hour later, we passed by the Queen of Alberni: An hour after that, Nanaimo and Duke Point were within our sight We got off the ferry at about 9:50am, and drove through downtown Nanaimo. It really is amazing what you can do there, and to those who live in Nanaimo, you guys really live in a great city. We didn't have enough time to stop, so we kept driving through Parksville, and turned left onto the Alberni Hwy. We passed by Cameron Lake, but due to timing, we weren't able to stop, so here's a pic taken from the van: A short time later, we arrived at Port Alberni. Everyone took a bathroom break at WalMart, and picked up some supplies needed for school. Afterwards, we just drove down the Hwy up to the Pacific Rim. Here's a pic of Kennedy Lake on the way there: Our lunch break was at the Weigh West Marina restaurant, the Blue Heron. This is a great place to stop for lunch, because the entire restaurant has a view of the Marina, and the inlet, so you coudl watch boats and seaplanes arrive and leave. Now Flugel, I did take pics of that North Vancouver boat you requested, but I wasn't able to zoom in on the lifering, due to several boats parked in the Marina, obstructing the view of the lifering. Here's a consolation picture: Afterwards, we went around downtown Tofino, and drove back to Long Beach, where it started to become overcast, but the waves and temperature was just was I expected: Afterwards, we drove off to Ucluelet, where we met up with my old friend, Canadian Princess: As soon as we left the Pacific Rim area, the weather turned perfect: The Alberni Hwy passes over some strange named creeks, such as this one: and another one down the road was "Lost Shoe Creek" with actualy lost shoes on the sign. A short time later, we arrived in Port Alberni again. No Canadian road trip is complete without a stop at: An hour later, we arrived at our stay for the night. The Sunrise Ridge Waterfront resort. This place was almost perfect. The lobby is very well decorated, the rooms are nice and clean and HUGE. Also, for each room, the place is divided into 2 places. For example, if you stay in Room 221, when you enter, there are seperate doors, A and B. The only difference is the size of the place. A has a balcony and 2 bedrooms and bathrooms, with a large kitchen and living room, B has a small kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Everything has a TV. And there are 2 different buildins for the resort. Here are the concluding pics for Day 1:
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Post by FerryDude2012 on Aug 19, 2010 10:27:20 GMT -8
Day 2/2 on our trip: We checked out of the resort at 10am, and went next door to the Tigh-Na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort. We had breakfast at their restaurant, "The Cedar Room." It was one of the best breakfast experiences I've ever experienced. The service was fast, the waiter was very outgoing, and the food was outstanding! Not to mention the prices are reasonable, because of the large portion of food you get. A few pics to share: Afterwards, we drove up the Oceanside Hwy to Courtenay to visit some friends. Here are some pics of Qualicum Beach, Buckley Back and Union Bay: A little taste of history to share. In Union Bay, just before Courtenay, there used to be an old railway that ran from the existing VIA rail line, up to the little bay right on the highway, it used to transport cargo to ships that would dock here, and be transported up to the North Coast. After visiting some friends, we went back down to Nanaimo via the Inland Hwy, and made a stop at Vancouver Island's largest shopping centre: i942.photobucket.com/albums/ad270/FerryFare2010/SDC10536.jpg I also did some Nanaimo Transit fanning, and took some pics of busses coming and going (Please visit the Transit Fanning Thread). Afterwards, we went out to the Duke Point Ferry Terminal, with our reservation, and we made it with time to spare. We check out their Marketplace, which has more stuff than last time, and took a lot of pics of the terminal. (Please visit the Ferry Terminals Photos and Discussion Thread) Here's one pic I will share here: Clearly there was a sailing wait for the 5:45pm sailing... I also went photo-crazy and took several pics around the Queen of Alberni, before my camera died just before we reached Tsawwassen. (Please see Queen of Alberni and CI Photo Threads) Here's the last picture I took before my camera battery died: Thanks for reading And don't worry, there will be more ferry trips from me coming soon! Including a round trip on the Queen of New Westminster, and possibly a trip to Gabriola Island at the end of August. For much more photos, you can visit my Flickr site. Moderator Edit: Changed tags on one photo due to it exceeding the 800 pixel limit.
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Post by lmtengs on Aug 19, 2010 13:41:00 GMT -8
I'm leaving for Tofino/Ucluelet/Alberni/Pacific Swift tomorrow morning, so I'll make sure to get a lifering photo, Mike.
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Post by SS San Mateo on Aug 24, 2010 12:08:25 GMT -8
On the 13th, I did a trip to Port Townsend and back. For the first part of the trip, I took the #119 bus (King County Metro) to the Vashon terminal and went over on the 5:45 am to Fauntleroy. From there I took the #116 to downtown and stopped at Bartell Drugs to get a few snacks. After that I wandered around looking for buses with ad-wraps before heading to Colman Dock to take the 7:55 am ferry to Bainbridge. After that, I wandered around Bainbridge for awhile before catching the #90 bus (Kitsap Transit) to Poulsbo @ 9:25. After arriving there I wandered around as I had nearly an hour to spare before catching the #7 bus (Jefferson Transit) @ 10:40. While wandering around I remembered seeing a picture of an old (at least a half century old) traffic light in downtown Poulsbo, so I went looking for it and found it: Upon taking a closer look at the light, I got a pleasant suprise: Those particular lenses (refered to as command lenses that read either GO, CAUTION, or STOP) are hardly ever seen on in-service signals nowadays (I think this may be the only signal in the Puget Sound area that has a command lens). After finding that I headed back up to the bus stop. I read the schedule to see what the fare was so I would be ready. It said $1.50, but I missed the fine print that stated that it was an additional dollar for out of county transportation so I had to dig out another dollar. After that it was time to head on up to Port Townsend. After getting off at the ferry terminal, I wandered around some more before getting on the 12:45 to Keystone. After returning on the 1:30 from Keystone, I made a stop for some snacks before catching the #7 back to Poulsbo @ 3:15. There was a very long line of cars on northbound Hwy 3 heading towards the Hood Canal Bridge (fortunately I was going the opposite direction). There was a slowdown which caused me to miss the connection to the #90 bus back to Bainbridge @ 4:37. Fortunately there was an unscheduled bus (otherwise I would've had to wait until 5:30 for the next bus). I got to the Bainbridge terminal in time to catch the (what I think was) 5:30 ferry, but I wasn't sure as the ferries were off schedule. The ferry heading to Bainbridge had to wait outside the harbor until the ferry I was on had exited the channel. Once I got back to Seattle, I proceeded to head up to 3rd Ave to catch the #54 bus back to the Fauntleroy terminal and catch the 7:35 back to Vashon. Then I took the #118 back to downtown Vashon and got back home around 8:30 or so. Overall the trip took about 15 hours. Pictures (almost 300 photos) from the trip can be found here: picasaweb.google.com/vashon118/WestSoundTripAugust132010#
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Post by Kahloke on Aug 24, 2010 12:56:16 GMT -8
On the 13th, I did a trip to Port Townsend and back. I wandered around looking for buses with ad-wraps before heading to Colman Dock to take the 7:55 am ferry to Bainbridge. I was walking off the boat you got on. I typically take the 7:05am Bainbridge-Seattle sailing when I head into work. I got to the Bainbridge terminal in time to catch the (what I think was) 5:30 ferry, but I wasn't sure as the ferries were off schedule. The ferry heading to Bainbridge had to wait outside the harbor until the ferry I was on had exited the channel. Yeah, I was on the boat waiting for yours to leave. It was the scheduled 4:40pm out of Seattle, which left at 5:10. Nice trip report, photos, and videos. You captured several aspects of my regular commute quite nicely, from both the ferries and Kitsap Transit. I ride the #33/90 bus between Poulsbo and Bainbridge.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 24, 2010 17:20:18 GMT -8
On the 13th, I did a trip to Port Townsend and back. LB, thanks for that report and the videos and pics. The videos were helpful to me in understanding the Admiralty Inlet route.
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Post by SS San Mateo on Sept 4, 2010 20:14:43 GMT -8
I'm glad you liked the videos The videos were taken with a Canon VIXIA HF M30 camcorder that I got a couple of months ago. The 2 ferry trip videos each consisted of 2 - 3 dozen short clips that were combined into one video using Windows Live Movie Maker. This was the first real test of the camcorder and it was definitely up to the task.
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Post by Curtis on Sept 28, 2010 13:29:13 GMT -8
Greetings from Swartz Bay.
It's a beautiful day for Ferry Travel. My day started this morning on the Queen of Alberni. Was a nice quiet sailing and I covered a lot of photo ground. Next it was off to the Nanny which I also haven't been on since Coastalization. Another nice sailing, got some great recordings of her 3 Tones blasting at Tsawwassen and Active Pass. After a short lull at Mayne Terminal, I boarded the Cumberland for Swartz. I guess since she's getting her Coastalization soon this trip was the reverse of the first 2 trips. Now I'm waiting at Lands End Cafe for the SoVI. After that, I'll be on the 5:15 CI crossing and hopefully home by 8.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 28, 2010 13:49:08 GMT -8
Greetings from Swartz Bay. That's a nice trip. I've done that combo before, and it's a long day, but good. Did your Cumberland trip go to Saturna, or just from Mayne to Swartz? ...and did you just barely make the Nanaimo sailing, after arriving at Tsawwassen at 9:45am? did you have to run to the Tsawwassen ticket booth? Cheers!
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Post by Curtis on Sept 28, 2010 15:20:24 GMT -8
To answer your first question, Flug. No, it was direct from Mayne. As for your 2nd, I don't think I had to run from Berth 5 to the Ticket Area and on to Berth 2, but I did anyways just in case. I boarded via the Car Deck with a bunch of bicyclists with a bit of time to Spare.
Good news is. I managed to get a good batch of SoVI photos and a video tour of her as well as the other vessels I rode today. Bad news is, my camera batteries are pretty much out of juice for the CI, but there's a silver lining to it as I've already got a ton of photos of her already. About 15 minutes away from Tsawwassen now so I guess I'm technically writing this from US Waters.
Catch you later all.
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