2019 On The Road Again #16

I had decided that I would get to the Island via the Duke Point terminal. The terminal is just a bit south of Nanaimo and I thought it would be easier than going to Departure Bay which is in downtown Nanaimo. That terminal is a long from the highway and I have never been able to figure out how to use the Nanaimo transit system effectively. Duke Point just seemed to be a better option.

I am fairly familiar with Vancouver's transit system - or at least I thought I was. I had never been to the station where I was let off and I was a bit confused. I had to make a call on the transit systems helpline to know what bus to take. I did eventually find the right bus, got detailed and complicated instructions from the bus driver and a young man standing beside him, found the right Skytrain, and then the right bus to Tsawwassen terminal. It felt like it took a long time to get to the terminal.

In my fantasy life, I hoped that someone on the ferry would see my sign "Duncan" perched on top of my pack and offer a ride. That did not happen. My second fantasy was that I would get off of the ferry quickly and catch the cars as they were leaving the ferry - that did not happen either. The cars on the ferry were long gone by the time I could walk to the point where I could see the cars. However, I was quite sure that it was not that far to walk to the Trans-Canada. I was wrong about that too. It is about six kilometres and it is all uphill. Not all of it was a steep climb, but it was all uphill. It was hot, I was tired, my foot hurt and I was done. I just wanted to get home.

Shortly after I started walking, a young man with a skateboard approached me....he said to me " I can't believe that we got here at the same time...actually as I got off first if we were racing, I would have won". I did not recognize him, but apparently, it was the young man I had met at the Flying J outside of Winnipeg. He kept pace with me for a bit, every time a car would go by I would stick my thumb out but there seemed little chance that anyone would stop - there seemed even less chance that anyone would stop and pick up two of us. I finally suggested that I needed to hitch alone - he said that he had been thinking the same thing and skateboarded ahead of me. I think he thought that he was keeping me company.

It was an interesting walk. I had no idea that there was a bit of an industrial park in the area. It was surprisingly busy with workers coming and going. None offered a ride. Finally, I got to the highway. The long walk had consumed any of the daylight, it was now just a few minutes into dusk and I knew that the possibility of getting a ride was limited. My daughter-in-law had texted me offering a ride. I accepted.

I slept at home in my own bed, and the next morning I got up had a shower and some brown rice for breakfast. It was good to be home.