Galiano Trip

[Scott]

July 7th eh? That's a Friday right? Unfortunately, I'm working that day. Hope you guys have fun! I'd say the Bluffs are worth the hike. I could sit up there all day!... my wife can't;)

tsawwassenterminal said:

Unfortunately, as with most transit systems, most of our system's volume has historically come from commuters going to and from the downtown core; some compare this model to the spokes of a bike-wheel. Just before the NDP lost their hold on provincial politics in BC they had approved an revitalization of transit in the lower mainland, focused largely on the under-developed suburb to suburb market, with funding from an unprecedented ("ballancing of the scales" as I think of it) vehicle-levy. Knowing full well that they were going to lose the upcoming election (within a few months), our premier Ujjal <sp?> (who you may remember as the last federal Liberal Health Minister) pulled the plug, as if doing so would win the election in which his party when down to 2 seats.

A bit off topic, but I just wanted to point out that there is a good reason that there is "bad" transit in the suburbs. The very nature of the suburbs (ie. Surrey, Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Langley) make it very unfeasable to provide affordable mass transit. Do people want a nice big home on a big lot with a nice sized back-yard? That's fine, but don't expect a bus to come by every 15 minutes. The reason you can build a skytrain and have very good accessable bus system in Vancouver, Burnaby, parts of Richmond, North Vancouver, New Westminster.. is because of density. If you put a bus stop on an average street in Surrey, you might have 2-300 people within a 10 minute walk. In Vancouver, you'd probably have over 1000. So it's not just because the suburbs have been "ignored" that transit is poor in the suburbs. And it's not that they're not getting their share of Translink's money... it's just spent on roads instead of buses.

You do make a good point about the "hub" setup of the transportation system, however. Historically, people worked in the city and lived in the suburbs. Now people are commuting between suburbs and out of the city. It does make transit planning challenging. But until some of the suburbs become more densly populated, it'll probably be too expensive to provide good rapid transit.

**If someone wants to discuss or debate this "off-topic", please quote it and then copy it into a new thread in the non-ferry discussion***

[Mike C]

Not a contribution to debate[/u]

Something came up (sadly) and the trip is now in question, in my world. I'll have to wait and see.

[Ferryman]

Alright, it's official. I have the day off on Friday (wasn't sure before), so I'm definitely going now. I will be giving Jordan a ride Friday morning from Park Royal around 8:30, and then we're off to Tsawwassen. This trip should be fun!

Who else do we have to persuade to go on this trip? Common guys, we need this to be the biggest turnout ever! It's a win/win situtation here. 1st, you get to take a ferry to go to an Island to watch the Ferries go by. 2nd, you get to meet the people you converse with on a daily basis over the internet, via this forum!

[Koastal Karl]

Yeah this should be a fun trip. So where should we meet on Galiano as you guys from Vancouver will be there first??? We could always meet at Bellhouse Park which is not that far and hard to find really. There are signs and you can get a map on the ferry probably. Sit at Bellhouse Park and watch me Scott and Graham come in on the Mayne Queen. I bet it will be easy to spot Graham. Just look with the guy with the camera, lol!

[Dane]

Trying to get Friday off. Working tomorrow as OT so they might budge.

[Mac Write]

I am in if I can convince my mom to let me go to SGI Friday evening even though she has said no since she has a house guest and won't be arriving until 10PM on the Long Harbour. If not 2 days of early mornings and long days
•0730 - Wakeup
•0805 - Get bus
•0940 - Arrive at TSA
•1015 - Get ferry
•1105 - Arrive at Galiano
•1650 - Take ferry
•1755 - Arrive TSA
•1800 - Get bus
•2030 - Arrive at home

[Doug]

Where will the people from the Mainland meet at at Tsawwassen? In front of the foot passenger building? Or is everyone fending for themselves?

[Balfour]

In front of the foot passenger building would be best.

[Ferryman]

Hah! That was something I never even though about, seeming most of us are taking the Nanny over. Good thing you mentioned that, Doug.

[Koastal Karl]

Are you still driving over Chris???

[Mike C]

I'm now out of the trip. My family is holding back at Nicola Lake until early Friday morning.

[Doug]

Well, looks like my mother will be joining us for the trip (but she will be off to the side) unless she works Friday.

[Retrovision]

And just to clarify, even though I'm a "mainlander," I won't be joining the group for the Nanaimo's crossing of the straight at 10:15. In fact, I'll be taking advantage of the "throughfare" ticketing system, leaving on the 8am route 1 departure from TSA of the Queen of Vancouver before taking the Mayne Queen from SB to Galiano with Scott and Karl.

Why the detour? Well, for the exact same fare I'm able to enjoy 3 times the sailing-time, and aboard 2 ships that won't be with us for much longer, even.

If anyone wants to join me, they're quite welcome; for the timing to work out, you must be on the 8am sailing from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, and be sure to ask for a "throughfare ticket to Galiano" to recieve the discount. If desired, one could even take the Spirit of British Columbia sailing from Tsawwassen at 7am; but she'll be around for a lot longer than the 'Vancouver, and you may not enjoy the extra hour layover at SB.

Cheers,
Graham

[Koastal Karl]

Anyone who is driving over from Tsawwassen the 10:15am sailing today(Thursday) is full and there is a 1 sailing wait. Make sure you have a reservation for tommorrow(Friday) if your taking a vehicle.

[Ferryman]

Alright, I'm on my way to Tsawwassen, starrrrttingg.............NOW.
See you guys there!

[Koastal Karl]

I am leaving in about an hour. See everyone on Galiano!

[Retrovision]

Unfortunately I missed this one (long story)
...I'll just have to rally the troops for another similar trip later in the summer.

[Scott (Former Account)]

I also missed out on today's tour - thanks to my alarm clock...

If we do plan another trip that is to occur sometime over the summer, I will gladly tag along...

[Mike C]

We'll figure something out, something that might cooperate a little better with everyone's schedules.

Hey, I'm back from a long and vigerous, yet enjoyable vacation to Monck Provincial Park in the Nicola Valley; after a Canada Day long weekend at Bear Creek Provincial Park in Kelowna.

Hope you guys enjoyed your trip; we'll see that we manage to pull together a trip in late summer; maybe Labour Day weekend or something?

Cheers,
-Michael

[Curtis]

So who did make it on the trip?
Anyway if someone wants to ride the Queen of Surrey again that can be arranged for me to join in sometime next week

[Doug]

Well...I guess I'm the first one back. So I'll give a brief overview of the trip.

Karl, Jordan, Chris, Dan and myself showed up. Jordan, Chris, Dan and I came on the Queen of Nanaimo at 10:15 and Karl arrived on the Mayne. As usual, however, Mac also showed up...but was not able to keep up with us.

Anyways, once on the Island, we walked to Bellhouse Park and sat waiting for some ferries for about half an hour. There was a small crevice that we had to get over (not to our knowledge, however, there was a trail right behind it)...and Mac couldn't make it across so that's where he stayed.

After Bellhouse, we set out for the Bluffs. We didn't make it all the way, but we did get to a beach along Active Pass close to the Bluffs where there were excellent viewing opportunities.

On the way back Dan's father bought us all ice cream (thanks ), and then we caught the Bowen, as planned, at 4:50. Overall, it was a great trip.

We may also be planning a trip to one of the other Gulf Islands this summer for those who didn't make it.

[Balfour]

I just got back in!

It was a great trip! Myself, Chris, Dan, Doug, Karl, and Mac came on this one.

It was such a perfect day, it wasn't too hot or anything and it was nice and sunny. No one had a vehicle but that was ok, we had fun walking everywhere. We started out from Sturdies Bay, and walked to Bellhouse Park (Mac got a ride from a BCF terminal attendant). We watched the Queen of Vancouver go into Active Pass then the Queen of Saanich come out. Afterwards we proceeded up the Bluffs Road. Enroute, we noticed a trail that goes to a beach, so we took that and it lead us right to a beach in Active Pass, and we timed it perfectly. Both the Spirits were coming through as we got there. We spent a good hour and bit there, as we watched the V's go through, as well as the Queen of Nanaimo and Bowen Queen. We left Mac at Bellhouse Park, as he seemed to be relaxed and enjoying himself there, and after hiking the trail to Active Pass, we realized it was a good idea. The trail was steep and narrow towards the end, and we knew Mac couldn't handle it. We ended off by walking back to Sturdies Bay to grab some ice cream before hopping on the Bowen Queen home.

[Curtis]

Sounds like you all had a good time

[Political Incorrectness]

Just got back from dinner at the Boathouse in Vancouver. I am very tired after that trip and feel like falling asleep right now cause of that beach. We did not end up going up to Bluffs because on the way up, Karl found a place to access the beach which is a great location for seeing the ferries go by. The Nanaimo ended up leaving about 15 minutes late because we had to wait for the New West to depart and the SOBC to get across to berth 5. We ended up going to Bellhouse since it was not too far away. It got boring there so we ended up going up the road, we would have gone to Bluffs but Karl found a beach access path. Completely overgrown and had a few slips but never got hurt. We ended up stopping for ice cream on the way back cause we had plenty of time. 9 ships in one day but never got to see the Cucumber, still it was fun and my camera's battery was shot at the end.

[Mac Write]

The reason I couldn't manage it is 95% due to my vision and balance which have been a problem since berth. That was some serious terrain that without help, I just couldn't manage on my own. I don't have depth perception (hence legally blind) along with peripheral vision.