Monday, November 9, 2009

Well, it started to rain last night shortly after we got home and it POURED all night, I kept waking up and thinking about how wet John was going to get this morning hooking up. Well, just imagine our surprise, and pleasure, when it stopped raining just as he was ready to head out. He got us hooked up without getting wet – great.

The first part of the drive to Victoria was in and out of sunshine, I had a hard time keeping up with taking my sun glasses off and on, but just after Nanaimo the rain started and it rained all the rest of the way, very disappointing as we didn’t see much when crossing the Malahat.

We arrived at West Bay Marine & RV park around 1;30 and although it was raining it wasn’t pouring, so we both got wet but not soaked while parking and hooking up. This is a nice park, right on the bay overlooking the city with lots of boats in the marina and there are water houses here – neat. The sites aren’t huge but at least they are gravel and the road is paved so it’s not as muddy as where we were. The off-season rate (Oct 1 – Apr 30) is $220.50/week, including tax, or $500/month plus tax. The site we are on is $45/night, plus tax, during the in-season so the winter rate is a good deal. The park has full hook-ups, cable TV and internet that seems to work.

Our Home for the Next Week


View from Our Back Yard








Water Homes & Marina










Sandra asked if we found things more expensive on the island than on the mainland and my answer to that is that all of B.C. is far more expensive than Ontario and it doesn’t matter where in B.C. you are. I just about went into shock the first couple of times I went into a grocery store, but have found that Superstore and Super Wal Mart have the best grocery prices, but they are hard to find.

Campgrounds are comparable with Ontario – very expensive and most of the ones we have seen that are reasonably priced aren’t really nice. This park is nice, but expensive, the sites are close together, but the view is wonderful. We saw a really nice park right on the ocean at Salmon Point, not too far from Courtenay, but have no idea what the price was. The sites there were large with cement patios and the wi-fi worked really good. The park at Qualicum Beach was okay, but was very wet and had voltage problems, as well as wi-fi problems, but on the other hand it was $138.60/week, including tax. Hope this helps you Sandra.

Our daughter Nan and grandson Brent just got back this morning from Las Vegas where Brent’s hockey team played in a tournament – they won the tournament so that was great and Nan said they had a good time. The weather was hot and sunny so that was nice for them – gave them a chance to warm up before winter weather arrives in Ontario!

Tonight is left over turkey, so an easy dinner and a quiet evening is in store. And so ends another great gift of a day and we look forward to another nice day tomorrow.