February 2, 2010 by Rae

Tofino Evening

I returned home, sopping wet, mid-afternoon changed into dry clothes, and had a late lunch as I uploaded my pictures. That done, it was still too early for dinner, but I was very sleepy, so I decided to head out and see if there were any shops open

Tofino is incredibly compact, so everything is within walking distance. ‘Downtown’ comprises about four square blocks. There is a street called ‘Main’ but the real main street is Campbell Street. I strolled down it until I came to the Mermaid Tales bookshop which had lights blazing. I spent about a half hour browsing the small selection of quality books. I really don’t like to spend full price on books, but having worked in the book business I know how tough it is for independents to compete against the big chains. So, I bought a reasonably priced novel before heading back out; the cashier (possibly the owner?) thanked me for supporting the shop.

I’d been told that the Dockside Pub, on the edge of town, as good nightly specials. I wish I’d known about them last night since they had an all you can eat salmon buffet for only $16. Tonight’s special was $6 burgers (veggie or beef) and $3.50 sleeves. A veggie burger sounded good and would have been a nice frugal dinner, but it sounded so mundane. I decided that I could afford one nice meal on this trip and splurged on the ‘caramelized bourbon salmon’, served with a basmati/wild rice mixture and a nice serving of grilled veggies for a very reasonable $17. Add the sleeve (which turned out to be a wonderful Okanagan pale ale) and a 20% tip and the meal came to an acceptable $27. The salmon was sooooo delicious. 🙂 After seeing the outrageously priced offerings of the other more visible restaurants I was especially grateful to find this place.

Coming home, I stopped at the Co-Op to get lunch fixings for tomorrow and a pint of ice cream for dessert (Ben & Jerry’s half-baked, for those curious about such things 😀 ).

I got in around 7 and planned to spend a couple of hours updating the blog, but I was interrupted by a German gal who had noticed my licence plate and wanted to know if I could tell her anything about Dawson. Much gabbing with her and another gal (the one who greeted me last night) ensued. 🙂

It’s now past eleven and quiet hour has started. Just about everyone has gone to bed but one of my roomies and me who are sitting in the atrium updating folks about our lives. I’m just about ready for a shower and then I’ll read a bit before retiring (all the bunks have a nightlight that doesn’t really illuminate the room).

Since I’ve exhausted my list of affordable things to do in winter in Tofino if you don’t surf, I will not be spending tomorrow in Tofino….

February 1, 2010 by Rae

A Tofino Morning

Quiet hour at Whaler’s on the Point starts at 11, so that’s when I shut off the computer and went up to have a shower. The showers here are very roomy and clean with good pressure. By the time I got back to the room, my two roomies were sound asleep, so I decided to turn in also. I can’t remember the last time I went to bed before midnight!

I had a pretty good night, even with one roomie snoring and there being a bright orange streetlight illuminating the room. I got up around quarter to nine and hiked down to the ‘Uncommon Bakery’ to get coffee since I hadn’t thought to bring my French press and own coffee supplies. A cup of joe was $1.75, and this with my bringing my own mug. Were my stay longer than a couple of days, I would have turned around and gone to the supermarket to get my own supplies.

virew from dorm room \’N\’, which is very similiar to the view from the atrium, directly below

Coffee in hand, I returned to the hostel to make breakfast and plan my day. There are numerous hiking options near Tofino, so I decided to spend my day exploring the trails. There weren’t really any other frugal options for today, with museums and shops being shut tight for the winter. I would have loved to take a cruise to Hot Springs Cove, but that’s something that my budget this week just can’t absorb. I’m just grateful to be in Tofino and getting a taste of the area.

Since all the hiking trails and beaches are located in Pacific Rim National Park, visitors require a day pass to use the facilities. At least, unlike Banff, you don’t need a pass to just drive through the park. A day pass is almost eight dollars, but the hostel rents them for just five dollars, so that was one more reduced expense.

There’s a small full-service ‘Co-Op’ grocery store in Tofino, so I stopped there to get snack materials, intending to return to the hostel for a late pasta lunch before going out for dinner at a restaurant on the edge of town offering good Monday night specials.

The sky was misting as I pulled out of Tofino and I knew that rain was forthcoming. I had brought my full rain gear, so I had no excuse not to get out into the rain forest and the beach even if spending the day by a hot fire with a good book sounded pretty appealing.

First stop, the Bog Trail…

January 31, 2010 by Rae

Whaler’s On the Point Guesthouse

Since I had no intention of driving Miranda to Tofino, I needed to find a place to stay. Research on my own revealed a serious lack of affordable options, so I turned to Trip Advisor. There, several people told me to check out Whaler’s On the Point Guesthouse, a hostel that is part of the Hosteling International system. The rates of $32 per night for non-members made the thought of sleeping in a dorm with strangers again quite palatable. But then I discovered that they have an amazing deal until February 11th: stay three nights (paid in advance) for just $60, taxes included! Staying three nights is feasible since I have four day weekends. Perfect!

When I found out about the deal, I emailed with the dates that I had off to ask if there was still space for those periods of time. My email was never answered. I called this morning before taking off and the guy pretty much brushed me off, telling me to ‘just show up’ and not even telling me that the office is closed from 2 to 4pm (thankfully I’d seen that on the website). So, I didn’t expect a warm welcome here, until I met the gal from Germany who checked me in. She was super helpful and patiently answered all my questions.

I haven’t hosteled since, oh, Chicago in 1999 I believe, and have only limited hosteling experience in Canada. So, don’t believe me, just believe the reviews, when I say that this is probably the nicest youth hostel in this country. It’s built like a mountain lodge, with lots of wood and stone. There is a lounge with a fantastic view of Clayoquot Sound and a huge, clean kitchen filled with everything you could need to cook. Some hostel kitchens in my experience are best avoided, but this one was a joy to cook in. I had packed a cooler this morning with vegetables and pasta sauce that would have spoiled by Thursday, so I made a big pot of that for dinner and will have left overs for two more meals.

There are quite a few people here, and my four-room dorm is full, but it’s definitely more relaxed than I imagine it would be in the summer time. Travel in the off season has its advantages.

October 18, 2009 by Rae

Like Paradise, Only Nicer

My first day on Vancouver Island was rainy and I wiled it away on the couch catching up on internet stuff. It was nice and mellow and a much needed break.

But today I woke up to sun and it was hot. Imagine how it must have felt, just a few days away from the bitter cold of Prince George, to be playing in the dirt under a hot sun while looking at the Pacific Ocean. It was surreal! I started my day by releveling the rig and then hooking up my water and then I was put to work.

I helped clean up the garden and lay down a small retaining wall. Norma and I fought the war of the roses and won with a few battle scars while Croft ‘supervised’ by sitting in his lounge chair while watching a football game. Don’t be fooled by the beautiful pictures of flowers in his blog; he has little to do with their growth. 😉

It’s been an awesome weekend and I am very grateful to be here.

October 17, 2009 by Rae

Back on the Horse

As promised, Miranda was ready to go by 10 on Thursday. She’d undergone an oil change, thorough mechanical inspection, and been washed. I hooked up without fanfare and slowly drove out of there.

In my exploration of Pemberton, I had concluded that the AC Petroleum gas station was the most RV friendly, so I went there to fill up and then across the road to the information centre next to which there is a sani-dump and a potable water tap.

It had rained all morning, but the sky had really cleared up, and I had ideal conditions for getting back on the proverbial horse as I drove out of Pemberton. There was one hill with a steep grade and a couple of hairpin turns that was going to make or break me. I approached it bravely, heart in my throat, geared down, and got down safely, having to tap my brakes only once. They held up fine. 😀

I was caught in a bit of conundrum, time-wise. It was too late to get to Horseshoe Bay, grab a ferry, and arrive at Croft’s place in daylight, but it was much too early to stop for the day. I decided to stop at the Starbucks near the Canadian Tire in Squamish to do some online stuff then go park at Shannon Falls to hike and kill a few hours before pulling into the Walmart for the night.

There was no really convenient place to park at the Canadian Tire, so I took up a bunch of spots and tried to make myself as inconspicuous as possible, but I ended up not feeling comfortable enough there to stay as long as I could have on the Starbucks connection. So, after a catch up session with Will and a quick check of my email I proceeded to Shannon Falls Park.

There, I paid the 3$ day parking fee, squared Miranda away, and went off to explore the falls and trail network. It was a nice way to wile away a few hours, but I was exhausted and ready to stop for the day.

Three o’clock is too early in my book to park at Walmart for the night, but I decided to make an exception to my rule provided the Walmart folks were okay with overnight RVers. The Walmart in Squamish is really not set up for big vehicles, so I wound up having to park almost in the middle of the lot, taking up a full row of spots. When I came out of the rig and saw a Walmart employee coming up towards me, I figured that he was going to tell me to get lost. But no, he just came over to save me the trouble of going in to ask for permission to park and to let me know that I was parked fine!

The long evening passed quickly as I watched movies and set off on a three hour marathon blog post writing session in eager anticipation of being able to post with pictures. I went into the Walmart a few times to get various sundries and the fourth time the greeter told me “I know you’re parked in that motorhome. Don’t feel obliged to spend the night in here!” LOL!

It wound up being a pretty good night in Squamish, quiet and reasonably dark by Walmart standards. It started to rain in the wee hours of the morning.