It is hard to write a blog when one is on the road and has
limited access to the internet. It is can be frustrating to want to write and
to not be able to.
My son, along with his wife and two kids kindly once again
drove me to Nanaimo. We walked around for a bit, the kids played in the park,
we watched people trying to catch crabs and then had a nice late lunch or early
supper. Unfortunately it was cloudy and threatening to rain for much of the
afternoon. It was a portend of what I could expect the first day of my trip. Nanaimo
is an interesting town. They have done a great job on their waterfront area. Unfortunately,
the town is so stretched out along the highway that without a car, one can not
see it all without a car. Even the walk from the park to the restaurant would
have been tiring for a three year old.
My son and I have ever been good at saying good bye. I am not
too sure why. While this time leaving
was perhaps not quite so traumatic for me as usual - it was hard. My son and I
did no better saying good bye or talking about how we felt this time than any
other time. I suspect we will never master that particular skill.
The hostel on Nicol Street in Nanaimo was great. It is a
rather deceivingly large house that had lots of rooms and surprisingly, a large
lot (for a city) that one could wander around on. While there were other people
staying there, they were either in their room or out and about. I had the nice
living room to myself. I was content to spend my evening reading. I didn't go
out except to look for a Bank of Montreal. There were no branches downtown and
so I had to pay $2.00 for the pleasure of withdrawing my money from an ATM.
A number of people came in after me. None of the 6-7 people
had cash on them so they all had to go to the closest ATM to get some. The
owner of the hostel appears to not like using technology. Usually one needs a MasterCard number to reserve a room and one does reservations all on line. For the
Nicol Street hostel, I had to telephone the hostel and confirm that there would
be room for me. The last person who came in around 9:30, didn't have access to
his ATM until the following morning. The operator wouldn't let him stay. It was
also the first hostel I have been in where it was suggested to the woman in the
"female" dorm that they lock their door - just in case.
In spite of all of the coming and going, I had a four bed
room to myself. The mattress was a bit thin, but the bunk beds were made of
wood and therefore there was no squeaking or shifting of the frame. Having a
room to myself meant that the next morning I didn't need to feel bad about my
alarm clock going off or the noise I would make in getting my stuff together.
It was a nice hostel - not quite as luxurious as that one I usually stay in
(and which had increased their rates) - but it met my needs perfectly.
The next morning I was up by 5:00 and outside waiting for
the taxi that I had arranged the night before. I got to the ferry terminal in
good time to catch the first ferry of the day. There were no problems with the
passage and I was on the mainland by just before 8:00.
I love it when a plan all comes together.
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