"The Most Relaxing Place on Earth! " a Vancouver Island Travel Page by Camping_Girl

I am always so far behind on finishing my travel pages...... in typical fashion, I have hastily posted my favorite pics here, with the best of intentions of coming back soon to fill in the much-needed text. Here's hoping that day actually comes!

One of the highlights for me of every trip to Vancouver Island is the ferry ride. I love the ferries. True, the cost adds a considerable amount to your trip - about $60 CAD for a car with four people, or in the neighbourhood of $105 to $120 CAD for an RV - but I just never tire of the ferries.

The ferries from Vancouver to Vancouver Island charge for travel in both directions. The ferries from Horsehoe Bay to Gibsons and also the one to Powell River only charge for travel in one direction, so you pay one way, and can ride back for free! There is also the option to walk onto the ferries. This is the most economical way of all to travel - I haven't done this for a few years, but it used to be about $10 CAD for an adult.

BC Ferries has introduced a new Circle Pack, which makes travelling a little cheaper, if you intend to take several ferries while on your trip. The Circle Pack allows you to travel on up to four ferry routes during a specified period of time, based on your first travel day. It will save you a fair bit of money if you are planning on four or more ferry trips on your vacation.

One thing I don't like about travelling by ferry is the waiting lines! I have waited up to three hours for a ferry at times. You can make a reservation on almost all ferries now - for an additional $17 CAD. I'm too frugal to do this. I would rather wait for the next sailing. The ferries are busiest on the weekends (Friday through Sunday), so those are the best days to have a reservation if you are not the "waiting" type, like I am. If I have to take the ferry on a weekend, I generally try to catch the first sailing of the day, as this is usually the least crowded ship of the day and you will usually get on.

Here is the link to the BC Ferries website, where you can get answers to any questions you have about the ferries:

http://www.bcferries.com/

The coast on the Island is so beautiful. Everywhere we went, we had fun walking along the beaches and poking around in the tide pools. Kyron and Chantal almost lost their shoes at Qualicum Beach when the tide came in and caught them unaware!

We went fishing one day and caught: 8 dog sharks (UG-LY!), 4 flounder, 1 ling cod (which was 3 cm too short), 7 rock cod (almost as ugly as the dog sharks, but this was softened somewhat by the fact that they are so tasty), several dungeness crab (which were all too small and had to be thrown back), and more starfish and sea cucumbers (ugh!) than I could count. The good news was, everyone caught at least one rock cod, so we never went home empty handed.

The only thing the hubby really wanted to do while we were on the Island was to go to the Fanny Bay Inn and get an "FBI" sticker for his bike helmet. We drove all the way north to Fanny Bay, found the Inn, and discovered it was closed indefinitely for renos. Who Knew??? We never even got a drink, let alone a sticker. Oh well. Just another reason to return another time, possibly with the bike!

On the return drive from Fanny Bay, we stopped in Coombs for a few hours. We got to see the "goats on the roof" at the General Store, but unfortunately most of the goats were actually on the ground behind the store that day. (The best laid plans.....) While we were at the store, we picked up some great cheeses, amazing home-baked breads, and a chocolate pecan pie that was to die for. Mmmmmm.... I'm salivating, just thinking about it! There are numerous artisan shops along the streets behind the General Store. I picked up the most beautiful silver bracelet at one of these shops, and it's a beautiful memento from my trip.

Other points of interest from this trip: seeing my cousins again after so many years, the fish fry at my cousin Greg's, walking around the harbour in Nanaimo, the rugged coast line, collecting sea shells, getting seasick while we were fishing & ending up spending half the day sitting on a dock near Gabriola Island...... the seals were so cute and they were everywhere. (Guess that explains the cr@ppy fishing!) We saw cormorants near Gabriola Island, which was pretty cool. My favorite part of the trip was definitely the ocean. I am enthralled by the ocean every time I come back to the coast. The quality and abundance of fresh food here is amazing to me.

I really loved the "laid back" atmosphere that seems to be so prevalent on the Island. I returned to the main land relaxed and completely recharged.