July 27, 2010
10:30 PM
We woke up late in Medicine Hat. We were packed up and breakfasted by 10:00. We filled up with gas and hit the road for our last leg of the trip. B drove while S and P played XBox games.
We stopped briefly in Regina to take pictures of the Roughrider's stadium and to pick up some subway lunch.
Back on the road by 3:00 PM with D driving and the boys watching a movie..
We stopped again for gas just before the Manitoba boarder.
We stopped in Brandon to pick up a few groceries. Back on the road with P driving the final leg to Winnipeg.
We arrived at our house at 10:30 PM.
Everything was safe and in order at home.
Look for a prospective of the trip later.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day 17 - July 26, 2010 11:59 PM
July 26, 2010
11:59 PM
Calgary cruising.
We got up around 8:00 packed up and decided to visit the Calgary zoo before moving on. We spent 45 minutes in the car trying to find a drive through breakfast place. This was to save time. It would probably been quicker just to go in and order.
We got to the zoo about 10:30 AM. It is a very large zoo and took around 15 minutes to walk from the parking lot into the zoo proper. We visited most of the key exhibits including the elephants and giraffes.
We left the zoo about 1:30 and stopped to buy some water and moved onward to Drumheller. Every business seems to have adopted the dinosaur theme including a restaurant called "Fred and Barney's". There were many statues of various dinosaurs throughout the town.
We spent about an hour and a half at the Royal Tyrrell museum. The kids found it quite interesting to see what various modern day animals had evolved from.
We then visited the hoodoos. There were much smaller than the hoodoos that D and I had previously visited in Montana. The boys climbed among the hoodoos for pictures and S found a few caves.
Back in the car with the idea of going a few more miles. We finally decided to stop at Medicine Hat about 8:30 PM. Everyone went for a swim until 10:00 PM while I set up the room.
Once again it was difficult to find a place to eat at 10:30 PM so we ended up at a 24-hour restaurant called Humpty's.
Since this was the last night before we plan to arrive home, we held our awards ceremony. Various awards were presented to each other to recognize various aspects of the trip.
Back to the room for the final sleep on the road.
11:59 PM
Calgary cruising.
We got up around 8:00 packed up and decided to visit the Calgary zoo before moving on. We spent 45 minutes in the car trying to find a drive through breakfast place. This was to save time. It would probably been quicker just to go in and order.
We got to the zoo about 10:30 AM. It is a very large zoo and took around 15 minutes to walk from the parking lot into the zoo proper. We visited most of the key exhibits including the elephants and giraffes.
We left the zoo about 1:30 and stopped to buy some water and moved onward to Drumheller. Every business seems to have adopted the dinosaur theme including a restaurant called "Fred and Barney's". There were many statues of various dinosaurs throughout the town.
We spent about an hour and a half at the Royal Tyrrell museum. The kids found it quite interesting to see what various modern day animals had evolved from.
We then visited the hoodoos. There were much smaller than the hoodoos that D and I had previously visited in Montana. The boys climbed among the hoodoos for pictures and S found a few caves.
Back in the car with the idea of going a few more miles. We finally decided to stop at Medicine Hat about 8:30 PM. Everyone went for a swim until 10:00 PM while I set up the room.
Once again it was difficult to find a place to eat at 10:30 PM so we ended up at a 24-hour restaurant called Humpty's.
Since this was the last night before we plan to arrive home, we held our awards ceremony. Various awards were presented to each other to recognize various aspects of the trip.
Back to the room for the final sleep on the road.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Day 16 - July 25, 2010 11:30 PM
July 25, 2010
11:59 PM
Banff and beyond.
We woke up at 7:00 to get breakfasted and packed up before 9:30. Overall today seemed to be a bit lower energy day with people being less interested in the surroundings. At 9:30 we were off for horseback riding. It was a trail ride up and down some hills. It lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes. I stayed in the car and grabbed a nap and listened to CBC Sunday morning.
After horseback riding lessons we once again toured around the town checking out various points of interest. We stopped for lunch at one of the malls.
We then went to the Banff Springs hotel and spent an hour or so touring around this huge elegant hotel. B, P, S and D once again snuck up and gave themselves an unofficial tour of the rooms.
Then it was off to the Banff Hot Springs. We found these to be less impressive than the Miette Hot Sprints we visited earlier in the vacation. We then stopped for slirpies. J found a good deal on a snowboard and took the guys card in case we decide to order it once we get home.
B took over the driving and we headed out to Calgary. On the way we stopped to see Olympic Park. The boys ran down the bobsleigh run. We then went to find McMahan Stadium and the Saddle Dome. We also passed the Calgary Tower which has been dwarfed by many larger buildings around it.
After supper we relaxed a bit in the hotel pool and headed off to bed.
11:59 PM
Banff and beyond.
We woke up at 7:00 to get breakfasted and packed up before 9:30. Overall today seemed to be a bit lower energy day with people being less interested in the surroundings. At 9:30 we were off for horseback riding. It was a trail ride up and down some hills. It lasted about 1 hour and 45 minutes. I stayed in the car and grabbed a nap and listened to CBC Sunday morning.
After horseback riding lessons we once again toured around the town checking out various points of interest. We stopped for lunch at one of the malls.
We then went to the Banff Springs hotel and spent an hour or so touring around this huge elegant hotel. B, P, S and D once again snuck up and gave themselves an unofficial tour of the rooms.
Then it was off to the Banff Hot Springs. We found these to be less impressive than the Miette Hot Sprints we visited earlier in the vacation. We then stopped for slirpies. J found a good deal on a snowboard and took the guys card in case we decide to order it once we get home.
B took over the driving and we headed out to Calgary. On the way we stopped to see Olympic Park. The boys ran down the bobsleigh run. We then went to find McMahan Stadium and the Saddle Dome. We also passed the Calgary Tower which has been dwarfed by many larger buildings around it.
After supper we relaxed a bit in the hotel pool and headed off to bed.
Day 15 - July 24, 2010 11:59 PM
July 24, 2010
11:59 PM
Arrived in Banff.
Well, the overfilled Revelstoke due to the highway closure began to empty out early in the morning about 6:00 AM. I could tell that by the continuous noises of clomping of people past our room, slamming card doors and engines racing. We roused ourselves at about 8:00. We shook off the cob webs and any other crawly things which may have attached themselves overnight. We decided to avoid the shower and continental breakfast offered by the hotel and repacked the car in a thankful mood that we had made it through the night.
P's suggestion of breakfast from McD's almost got him left in Revelstoke.
We picked up breakfast at Timmy's. We stopped at the bargain shop in attempt to buy J a couple of shirts so that he would stop wanting to do laundry. Unfortunately none of the name brand merchandise offered in Revelstoke suited his discerning taste. He didn't want Baby Gap or John Deer. We headed out onto the highway at 9:45 bound for Banff with B driving. I for one was glad to see Revelstoke in the rear view mirror and will probably avoid the place next time.
There was much construction between Golden and Banff and at one point we clocked about a 10 KM line of cars waiting to head west. We were somewhat delayed but overall made reasonable time arriving in Banff 2:00 PM or so.
Banff has the beauty of Jasper but with a lot more touristy shops and traffic. We checked into our pre-booked hotel, Red Carpet Inn, a major step up from the previous night, and finally decided to give into the requests for laundry. We took over 3 machines in the laundry area and did planning and swimming while the laundry went through. Overall, it wasn't too much of a waste of time.
We then went for supper and the Magpie And Stump, a Tex-Mex place.
After supper we strolled the main tourist area of Banff and noted the following points of interest: a drunken group of cross dressers possibly members of a wedding party, all streets in Banff are named after animals, Various touristy type items repeated many times in the various stores, a fully grown deer including antlers nibbling bushes on a busy street, large number of taxis for a town of this size, and of course the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Someone trying to park actually bumped into our car while a few of us were sitting in it. The bump was soft and no damage was evident.
Tomorrow we have a full day of activities planned before moving on to Calgary around Esuppertime. Looking forward to a less adventurous night.
11:59 PM
Arrived in Banff.
Well, the overfilled Revelstoke due to the highway closure began to empty out early in the morning about 6:00 AM. I could tell that by the continuous noises of clomping of people past our room, slamming card doors and engines racing. We roused ourselves at about 8:00. We shook off the cob webs and any other crawly things which may have attached themselves overnight. We decided to avoid the shower and continental breakfast offered by the hotel and repacked the car in a thankful mood that we had made it through the night.
P's suggestion of breakfast from McD's almost got him left in Revelstoke.
We picked up breakfast at Timmy's. We stopped at the bargain shop in attempt to buy J a couple of shirts so that he would stop wanting to do laundry. Unfortunately none of the name brand merchandise offered in Revelstoke suited his discerning taste. He didn't want Baby Gap or John Deer. We headed out onto the highway at 9:45 bound for Banff with B driving. I for one was glad to see Revelstoke in the rear view mirror and will probably avoid the place next time.
There was much construction between Golden and Banff and at one point we clocked about a 10 KM line of cars waiting to head west. We were somewhat delayed but overall made reasonable time arriving in Banff 2:00 PM or so.
Banff has the beauty of Jasper but with a lot more touristy shops and traffic. We checked into our pre-booked hotel, Red Carpet Inn, a major step up from the previous night, and finally decided to give into the requests for laundry. We took over 3 machines in the laundry area and did planning and swimming while the laundry went through. Overall, it wasn't too much of a waste of time.
We then went for supper and the Magpie And Stump, a Tex-Mex place.
After supper we strolled the main tourist area of Banff and noted the following points of interest: a drunken group of cross dressers possibly members of a wedding party, all streets in Banff are named after animals, Various touristy type items repeated many times in the various stores, a fully grown deer including antlers nibbling bushes on a busy street, large number of taxis for a town of this size, and of course the beauty of the surrounding mountains. Someone trying to park actually bumped into our car while a few of us were sitting in it. The bump was soft and no damage was evident.
Tomorrow we have a full day of activities planned before moving on to Calgary around Esuppertime. Looking forward to a less adventurous night.
Day 14 - July 23, 2010 11:59 PM
July 23, 2010
11:59 PM
Way laid by the highway.
"pass me my food" I said as I sat on the curb in front of the 50's style motel that had obviously been featured in many slasher films from the 80's. B ignored me as he laid on top of a vending machine counting the number of Hell's Angels motorcycles. J didn't hear me as he was too busy ranting into the video camera; something about dying before his time and needing to do laundry. D worried over P who was having major stomach pains and threatening to fertilize the grass beside the parking lot. S handed me my bag of McD's drive through (sadly, the second of the day) and asked if we could just please sleep in the van?
How did we get to this sorry state when the day began with such promise and potential? Read on fearless reader for a story that will both thrill and disgust you.
I sipped my diet coke and remembered how we left the hotel in Vancouver. We started toward Princeton to visit my Auntie D and uncle B. We headed out with B driving. We bmade good time and were about 30 KM past Hope. D noticed a sign saying check your fuel level. About 20 KM further we asked a construction crew where the next gas station was. 75 KM ahead on or 30 KM back. We decided that we needed to turn back.
Having filled up, with gas and grabbed McD's for the troops, we headed off to Princeton, again. We drove through some extremely nice country and arrived at Princeton about 2:30 PM.
We visited for an hour and a half with Auntie D and Uncle B. The filled us in on the history and layout of the Princeton area. Uncle B also gave us prairie folk some tips on how to drive more efficiently down the hills by shifting down instead of using the breaks. Who knew, us prairie folk never had to worry about that. Auntie D and Uncle B helped us map out our next leg to take in some orchards on our way to Kelowna.
We were back in the car at about 4:00 with D driving. We stopped for delicious apricots, peaches, cherries and blueberries. We hit Kelowna by about 6:30 PM stopped for ice-cream at the DQ and decided to drive on as we were all feeling fine.
We listened to a couple of my podcasts during the drive to Revelstoke and arrived about 9:30 PM. That's when things took a nasty turn.
We decided to find a room. Little did we know that there had been an accident to the east near Golden which had closed the highway. Therefore almost all the rooms in Revelstoke had been snapped up. We tried a few hotels. Finally the only hotel left with a room for us was Alpine Inn. The guy at the front desk agreed to rent us a room as long as we didn't use the kitchen. He opened the room. Although the cleanliness was questionable, D checked for bed bugs and pronounced it clear. Against a mixed judgment we decided to rent the room. Into the car to attempt to find supper.
Revelstoke at 10:30 PM does not offer many options. We stopped 1 guy who was carrying a pizza box to ask where pizza was available. He claimed his box contained "nachos" but we think we was delivering some of BC's finest natural plant life.
Finally the only choice was McD's but only the drive through. The person at the window was not used to large orders at that time of night. P, for some reason no longer wearing pants, used his charms and his employee card to get 50 percent off the order.
We returned to the hotel only to find that our key card would not work.
The "Ring for service" was apparently also not working. While we were deciding what to do we ate our supper in the parking lot. P had a disabling gut attack. Everyone was generally tired and miserable. A kind couple from another room let a couple of us use their bathroom while we plotted how we all were going to sleep in the van.
Finally at midnight the desk guy happened to show up and spent 10 to 15 minutes attempting to get into our room. He finally had to leave his card with us so we could use the room.
It was quite a scene to decide who had to use the beds. While there were no bed bugs, cleanliness of the room itself was an issue. The dead bugs in the bathroom and looking in the kitchen did not help either. We left our suitcases in the van to limit contamination. I finally told everyone to go to bed and went to sleep.
It was a peaceful night with the cigarette smoke drifting in from the parking lot and various people peaking in the windows as they passed. Very restful. Tomorrow it’s on to Banff.
11:59 PM
Way laid by the highway.
"pass me my food" I said as I sat on the curb in front of the 50's style motel that had obviously been featured in many slasher films from the 80's. B ignored me as he laid on top of a vending machine counting the number of Hell's Angels motorcycles. J didn't hear me as he was too busy ranting into the video camera; something about dying before his time and needing to do laundry. D worried over P who was having major stomach pains and threatening to fertilize the grass beside the parking lot. S handed me my bag of McD's drive through (sadly, the second of the day) and asked if we could just please sleep in the van?
How did we get to this sorry state when the day began with such promise and potential? Read on fearless reader for a story that will both thrill and disgust you.
I sipped my diet coke and remembered how we left the hotel in Vancouver. We started toward Princeton to visit my Auntie D and uncle B. We headed out with B driving. We bmade good time and were about 30 KM past Hope. D noticed a sign saying check your fuel level. About 20 KM further we asked a construction crew where the next gas station was. 75 KM ahead on or 30 KM back. We decided that we needed to turn back.
Having filled up, with gas and grabbed McD's for the troops, we headed off to Princeton, again. We drove through some extremely nice country and arrived at Princeton about 2:30 PM.
We visited for an hour and a half with Auntie D and Uncle B. The filled us in on the history and layout of the Princeton area. Uncle B also gave us prairie folk some tips on how to drive more efficiently down the hills by shifting down instead of using the breaks. Who knew, us prairie folk never had to worry about that. Auntie D and Uncle B helped us map out our next leg to take in some orchards on our way to Kelowna.
We were back in the car at about 4:00 with D driving. We stopped for delicious apricots, peaches, cherries and blueberries. We hit Kelowna by about 6:30 PM stopped for ice-cream at the DQ and decided to drive on as we were all feeling fine.
We listened to a couple of my podcasts during the drive to Revelstoke and arrived about 9:30 PM. That's when things took a nasty turn.
We decided to find a room. Little did we know that there had been an accident to the east near Golden which had closed the highway. Therefore almost all the rooms in Revelstoke had been snapped up. We tried a few hotels. Finally the only hotel left with a room for us was Alpine Inn. The guy at the front desk agreed to rent us a room as long as we didn't use the kitchen. He opened the room. Although the cleanliness was questionable, D checked for bed bugs and pronounced it clear. Against a mixed judgment we decided to rent the room. Into the car to attempt to find supper.
Revelstoke at 10:30 PM does not offer many options. We stopped 1 guy who was carrying a pizza box to ask where pizza was available. He claimed his box contained "nachos" but we think we was delivering some of BC's finest natural plant life.
Finally the only choice was McD's but only the drive through. The person at the window was not used to large orders at that time of night. P, for some reason no longer wearing pants, used his charms and his employee card to get 50 percent off the order.
We returned to the hotel only to find that our key card would not work.
The "Ring for service" was apparently also not working. While we were deciding what to do we ate our supper in the parking lot. P had a disabling gut attack. Everyone was generally tired and miserable. A kind couple from another room let a couple of us use their bathroom while we plotted how we all were going to sleep in the van.
Finally at midnight the desk guy happened to show up and spent 10 to 15 minutes attempting to get into our room. He finally had to leave his card with us so we could use the room.
It was quite a scene to decide who had to use the beds. While there were no bed bugs, cleanliness of the room itself was an issue. The dead bugs in the bathroom and looking in the kitchen did not help either. We left our suitcases in the van to limit contamination. I finally told everyone to go to bed and went to sleep.
It was a peaceful night with the cigarette smoke drifting in from the parking lot and various people peaking in the windows as they passed. Very restful. Tomorrow it’s on to Banff.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Day 13 - July 22, 2010 11:59 PM
July 22, 2010
11:59 PM
Diving and driving.
The boys were scheduled or a 9:00 AM scuba session. D got them down to the dock while I finished up packing at the hotel.
The guys got suited and sorted and were off on their adventure.
D and I packed up the car. D spent the morning wandering through the various art stores of Tofino while I caught up on my podcasts in the car (shopping is not my thing).
At 1:00 the scheduled time I heard on the radio there were gale warnings for the area with swells up to 2 meters. The diving party did not get back until 2:00 PM. Stories of fish they had seen were mixed in with descriptions of how cold they were. Apparently S could not pressurize his ears properly so was left snorkeling at the surface while the other dove. It sounded like they had a good time, but when pressed all admitted that diving in the Caribbean was more interesting as they saw more fish. They said the guy leading the tour was great and told many interesting stories about diving for the commercial fish farms. They also found out that the barges full of oil tanks we saw in the harbour were pushed out to the fish farms by tug boats.
On the road by 2:45. Along the way I put together sandwiches from the cooler as D drove. This was once again the very windy road with more than one big truck attempting to mate with our van. D was not impressed.
We once again stopped at Taylor River where P and J did some rock diving.
Back into the car in an attempt to get to Vancouver. B took over the driving. When we got to the ferry landing, the boat to Horseshoe bay had a 3 hour wait. If we drove 20 minutes we could catch a different ferry to a port further south. We decided to do that as it would balance out that we would gain an hour.
We had supper on the ferry during the 2 hour crossing. Since this was later in the day, the ferry did not seem as crowded but seemed to have more commercial truckers aboard.
Once across the search for a hotel started in the dark on unfamiliar highways. GPS finally lead us to a Day's Inn near the airport. Nerves a little frazzled from the long day we crashed and were in bed by midnight.
Tomorrow's goal is to visit with my Aunt and Uncle in Princeton on the way to kilona.
11:59 PM
Diving and driving.
The boys were scheduled or a 9:00 AM scuba session. D got them down to the dock while I finished up packing at the hotel.
The guys got suited and sorted and were off on their adventure.
D and I packed up the car. D spent the morning wandering through the various art stores of Tofino while I caught up on my podcasts in the car (shopping is not my thing).
At 1:00 the scheduled time I heard on the radio there were gale warnings for the area with swells up to 2 meters. The diving party did not get back until 2:00 PM. Stories of fish they had seen were mixed in with descriptions of how cold they were. Apparently S could not pressurize his ears properly so was left snorkeling at the surface while the other dove. It sounded like they had a good time, but when pressed all admitted that diving in the Caribbean was more interesting as they saw more fish. They said the guy leading the tour was great and told many interesting stories about diving for the commercial fish farms. They also found out that the barges full of oil tanks we saw in the harbour were pushed out to the fish farms by tug boats.
On the road by 2:45. Along the way I put together sandwiches from the cooler as D drove. This was once again the very windy road with more than one big truck attempting to mate with our van. D was not impressed.
We once again stopped at Taylor River where P and J did some rock diving.
Back into the car in an attempt to get to Vancouver. B took over the driving. When we got to the ferry landing, the boat to Horseshoe bay had a 3 hour wait. If we drove 20 minutes we could catch a different ferry to a port further south. We decided to do that as it would balance out that we would gain an hour.
We had supper on the ferry during the 2 hour crossing. Since this was later in the day, the ferry did not seem as crowded but seemed to have more commercial truckers aboard.
Once across the search for a hotel started in the dark on unfamiliar highways. GPS finally lead us to a Day's Inn near the airport. Nerves a little frazzled from the long day we crashed and were in bed by midnight.
Tomorrow's goal is to visit with my Aunt and Uncle in Princeton on the way to kilona.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day 12 - July 21, 2010 11:30 PM
July 21, 2010
11:30 PM
The awesome power of nature.
We got up and out by 9:00 in Tofino. We found a breakfast place right along the water and were fascinated by star fish and watching fishers as they brought their catches out. Some of the fish were 4 or 5 feet long.
We then stopped by for info on scuba diving information for the 4 boys. A 9:00 AM session to last about 4 hours has been scheduled. Even though this will make us leave later than we preferred we will be flexible and take advantage of this opportunity. I wonder how much different the boys will find it. Here they will be diving in full wet suits including hoods and boots. This will be quite different from the diving they did in the Caribbean.
Then it was time for whale watching. We got suited up in snowmobile-like suits covered by a rubber jacket. Mine was extra tight and I began to sweat immediately. I couldn't really raise my arms. Everyone found the suits extremely uncomfortable.
We made our way to our 30 foot zodiac boat. This was much bigger than the zodiac J and I rode to see whales in Hudson Bay. There were benches to fit 3 people across the boat. Overall the boat could hold 30 people.
We were off. The boat would ride the waves and slam down. Many times it felt like a roller coaster ride. When not moving, the boat moved up and down with the waves. We made 4 different stops to see various marine animals. Sea sickness took its toll on our group. I felt somewhat sick when the boat was not travelling from place to place. P felt quite ill, and D was as close to losing her lunch that I've seen in quite a while. The boat driver offered around ginger to chew on for those who felt sick. His explanation? It usually helped 90 percent of people; either by making them feel better or making them throw up sooner.
During the 2.5 hour tour we saw: hump backed whales, grey whales, harbour seals, sea lions and harbour porpoises. We also saw a pair of bald eagles and a bald eagle's nest. We were very close to the whales, close enough to hear them blow and jump. We even were able to smell the horrible smell that occurs when a whale blows. These are massive animals and it was amazing to see them out in the powerful ocean. It sure made our little boat feel very small.
When we got back D was feeling so under the weather that instead of walking back, B went to get the van to bring her back to the hotel, about 2 blocks, admittedly all uphill.
After 15 minutes to recover S and I went to do some grocery shopping while D continued to recuperate. We bought enough supplies for a very late lunch and enough for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.
About 5:30 we headed out for a 1 KM hike through the rain forest. We kept finding these large gross looking things called banana slugs. They were the largest slugs we had ever seen, about the size of a finger but 5 inches long.
After the hike we went and checked out South Beach. Here we saw people surfing. The boys fooled around on the beach while the tide came in. They would roll a log which took 3 of them to lift, and the ocean would simply throw it back toward the beach. The roar of the waves was amazing and the force of the tide was relentless.
Seeing the force of the ocean both while being bobbed about in the zodiac today and witnessing the wave and tidal action really gave me pause to think about the BP oil spill. Why are we fighting against such forces to try and drill oil from under the ocean. There is an unlimited supply of kinetic energy in the waves and tides. We should be building more generator stations to harness this energy. It has to be a better way to get energy from the ocean.
For a late supper we went for fish and chips at a stand by the side of the road called Big Daddy's. I got my grease content for the week.
Tomorrow we will pack up while the guys are scuba diving and try and make a quick get away when they are finished. It is unclear whether we will make it to Nanaimo or Vancouver by tomorrow night. It depends on how we can catch the ferry.
Both D and I agree that although Tofino is a beautiful place and the rain forest was very interesting to see, we prefer our ocean experiences to be more tropical in nature.
11:30 PM
The awesome power of nature.
We got up and out by 9:00 in Tofino. We found a breakfast place right along the water and were fascinated by star fish and watching fishers as they brought their catches out. Some of the fish were 4 or 5 feet long.
We then stopped by for info on scuba diving information for the 4 boys. A 9:00 AM session to last about 4 hours has been scheduled. Even though this will make us leave later than we preferred we will be flexible and take advantage of this opportunity. I wonder how much different the boys will find it. Here they will be diving in full wet suits including hoods and boots. This will be quite different from the diving they did in the Caribbean.
Then it was time for whale watching. We got suited up in snowmobile-like suits covered by a rubber jacket. Mine was extra tight and I began to sweat immediately. I couldn't really raise my arms. Everyone found the suits extremely uncomfortable.
We made our way to our 30 foot zodiac boat. This was much bigger than the zodiac J and I rode to see whales in Hudson Bay. There were benches to fit 3 people across the boat. Overall the boat could hold 30 people.
We were off. The boat would ride the waves and slam down. Many times it felt like a roller coaster ride. When not moving, the boat moved up and down with the waves. We made 4 different stops to see various marine animals. Sea sickness took its toll on our group. I felt somewhat sick when the boat was not travelling from place to place. P felt quite ill, and D was as close to losing her lunch that I've seen in quite a while. The boat driver offered around ginger to chew on for those who felt sick. His explanation? It usually helped 90 percent of people; either by making them feel better or making them throw up sooner.
During the 2.5 hour tour we saw: hump backed whales, grey whales, harbour seals, sea lions and harbour porpoises. We also saw a pair of bald eagles and a bald eagle's nest. We were very close to the whales, close enough to hear them blow and jump. We even were able to smell the horrible smell that occurs when a whale blows. These are massive animals and it was amazing to see them out in the powerful ocean. It sure made our little boat feel very small.
When we got back D was feeling so under the weather that instead of walking back, B went to get the van to bring her back to the hotel, about 2 blocks, admittedly all uphill.
After 15 minutes to recover S and I went to do some grocery shopping while D continued to recuperate. We bought enough supplies for a very late lunch and enough for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.
About 5:30 we headed out for a 1 KM hike through the rain forest. We kept finding these large gross looking things called banana slugs. They were the largest slugs we had ever seen, about the size of a finger but 5 inches long.
After the hike we went and checked out South Beach. Here we saw people surfing. The boys fooled around on the beach while the tide came in. They would roll a log which took 3 of them to lift, and the ocean would simply throw it back toward the beach. The roar of the waves was amazing and the force of the tide was relentless.
Seeing the force of the ocean both while being bobbed about in the zodiac today and witnessing the wave and tidal action really gave me pause to think about the BP oil spill. Why are we fighting against such forces to try and drill oil from under the ocean. There is an unlimited supply of kinetic energy in the waves and tides. We should be building more generator stations to harness this energy. It has to be a better way to get energy from the ocean.
For a late supper we went for fish and chips at a stand by the side of the road called Big Daddy's. I got my grease content for the week.
Tomorrow we will pack up while the guys are scuba diving and try and make a quick get away when they are finished. It is unclear whether we will make it to Nanaimo or Vancouver by tomorrow night. It depends on how we can catch the ferry.
Both D and I agree that although Tofino is a beautiful place and the rain forest was very interesting to see, we prefer our ocean experiences to be more tropical in nature.
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