The BIG 50th Vancouver Vacation Sept/Oct 2021 - Day 7 - Drive to Nanaimo and a change of plan!

[smithlane]

Day 7 - Wednesday 6th October 2021

A nice lie in until 8, we then got showered and dressed then packed up all of our bits and loaded the car up.
By 9 I was doing a final sweep of the house to make sure we hadn’t forgotten anything.

One final breakfast at The Barclay Cafe before we hit the road to Nanaimo.
I didn’t fancy one of their breakfast sandwiches so just had 2 English muffins with butter and a hot chocolate. They make it with chocolate syrup and it is divine!

Once eaten I popped next door to the Co-op to get some gel ear plugs that Helen said were amazing, also a couple of drinks for the road.

One final snap, typically the sun is shining the day we leave!

Jim was driving this leg as punishment for not driving at all the day we came from Whistler!

We got 20 minutes down the road then ground to a halt in a traffic jam that had all cars turning their engines off. Uh oh!
Nick asked a guy a few cars up if he knew anything and apparently there are major works going on a stretch of road about a mile up. They close it in both directions so they can tarmac sections of it quickly, why they couldn’t do that at night I don’t know!

About 15 minutes later we got moving and could see the work they were doing. Looks like it’s going to take a while as assuming they will be widening the road which is a bit of a challenge on the side of a cliff

Some more beautiful Vancouver Island scenery, I sure miss seeing all those trees everywhere

No more hold ups and we arrived in Nanaimo by about 1.30pm.
We did a quick stop off at Nanaimo Golf Club to book the boys 2 rounds of golf for the next two days. Once done we made our way to the hotel which was only 10 minutes away.
The Best Western Dorchester had free parking thankfully so we got parked up and went to check in.

Our rooms were ready so we went straight up to dump the suitcases. The rooms were barely big enough to swing a cat in but would be fine for the short amount of time we’d be here.

We quickly freshened up then met the others at the hotel bar.
We ordered a drink and then decided to have a late lunch. I went with the buffalo chicken bites with chilli cheese fries and Jim went with the southern fried chicken sandwich and fries.

These were really lovely, bit too spicy but the Ranch dressing helped cool my mouth down.

Once eaten we took a walk down to the marina. We stopped and watched 2 seaplanes take off, there’s not a hope in hell you’ll get me on one of those! I need my planes to be the same size as what I travelled in on

We got about 20 minutes in to the walk before Helen was bursting for the loo and as there were no public restrooms we turned around and came back the way we came.
I found a bar on Google maps called White Sails so we sped walked there. This is a Micro brewery and they had an impressive list of their own ales. As someone who hates beer I went with a San Pellegrino lemonade.
Jim tried a Hazy IPA which he said tasted similar to a Brewdog back home.

We only stayed for one then headed back into the town.
The server in the hotel said that the Nanaimo Bar sometimes did live music so we popped in there for one. It was dead. There was only one other person in there

The girls had a Moscow Mule and boys a Corona. We got chatting to the bar lady and she said the live music was this weekend but that there was a DJ playing tonight, from CD’s though... We felt we had been transported back 20 years

After our drink we went back to the hotel to get showered and changed for dinner. We weren’t overly hungry after our late lunch but we knew we would need something.
There wasn’t a lot of choice as most places shut at 9 with last food orders at 7.45! Coming from London it’s completely unheard of.

I saw on the map a casino that didn’t shut until 11 and we thought it might be a giggle.
We met up at 8 and walked the 10 minutes to Nanaimo Casino.
Well this was nothing like we were expecting, just rows and rows of slot machines and not a lot else! No games tables like they advertise.
We made a hasty retreat out of there as it was full of the blue rinse brigade gambling away in a zombie like fashion hoping they win a few quid! It was all a little strange if I’m honest

We walked down to The Lighthouse pub but they had just stopped serving (at 8.45!) so we cut our losses and went back to the hotel.

I ordered a gummy bear cocktail which was raspberry vodka, peach schnapps, lemon-lime soda and topped with gummy bears!

This was very nice but I went with my trusty Cosmo next.
I popped up to the room to get the playing cards as thought we could play a few games.

When I came back down, the others all looked a little sheepish and admitted they didn’t want to stay in Nanaimo for another 2 nights.
Jim was quite happy with the daytimes as he had 2 rounds of golf booked but was concerned with what we could do in the evenings.
Helen had fallen in love with Whistler and would quite like to go back there as she felt one night wasn't enough and Nick was happy with either Whistler or going back to Vancouver. As it was his actual birthday tomorrow, I couldn't blame him for wanting to go somewhere with a bit of life.

I did get a little upset as I hate to get any holiday plans wrong and I felt that I had royally screwed up but at the same time Nanaimo wasn’t quite what I expected either. It was very unfortunate that as it was out of peak season and because of Covid places were either shut or at really reduced hours. There was no life about anywhere! I think if it had just been Jim and I we would have been happy being busy in the day with a few quieter evenings but when you go away with friends/other people it does change the dynamic of the holiday.

I was a little annoyed at everyone's lack of input towards this holiday as I was so busy in the run up I didn’t do as much research as I would normally so could have done with another set of eyes looking. It would have been good to get people’s expectations on what they wanted from the off too. There was enough in Nanaimo to keep me happy but it’s obviously not just my holiday. I don’t think it helped that we only knew we were definitely going 3 weeks before we flew, there's a reason I like to have at least a year to plan my holidays

With that said and done we needed a new plan. No one could decide what to do or where to start so yet again it was down to me to sort out! God I nearly threw my drink at them in frustration but didn’t want to waste my Cosmo
I went to speak to the front desk about whether we could check out 2 nights early and they said that as we hadn’t pre paid we could just pay for the one night stay which was very good of them.

We were guided by the ferry times back to the mainland with only the 6.30am or 3.30pm onwards ferries available. I had reserved our crossing for the Saturday but hadn’t paid the full amount so didn’t think it’d be a problem changing days.
Jim still wanted to play golf but wouldn’t be done until gone 6pm which would then mean we wouldn’t get into Vancouver until really late so after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing I made the decision to get up really early, get the 6.30am ferry and we’d stay in Vancouver.
It ticked everyone’s boxes and we really did love the city.
It would have been lovely to go back up to Whistler but selfishly I still wanted to go whale watching which I had planned for Friday in Nanaimo but found a few places in Vancouver that did it too.

Nick then asked if Jim and I minded if him and Helen got a seaplane back over to the mainland with us driving and getting the ferry, we honestly didn’t mind in the slightest. You wouldn’t get me on one of those things for love nor money so I was quite happy driving and taking the ferry.
I said to Jim he should go on the plane if he wanted as I was perfectly fine on my own but he wanted to stay with me. Either he’s being a true gentleman or he’s scared too

We now needed to find somewhere to sleep! I got onto the trusty Booking.com and found the Sutton Place where we stayed before still had a good nightly rate but then scrolling down a little more I found the Fairmont for only £20 more per night. It was on the same street as The Sutton and we’d walked past always admiring it when we were in Vancouver.
I figured we’d only get to stay in the Fairmont for less than £200 per night only once in our lifetime so we pushed the book button and reserved 2 rooms for 2 nights.

Jim got onto the case of finding somewhere to play golf for him and Nick and found a course 25 mins south of the city that looked decent so booked 2 rounds.
I also found a Whale Watching company departing from Granville Island so booked myself on to the Friday at 12pm tour.

Phew, now that was done I got myself another Cosmo, I think I had deserved it after all of that

We stayed up until about 11 when they were shutting the bar, we were very mindful of the 5am alarm so went straight to bed!

[Goldia]

The views on the drive up were spectacular, the clouds, the trees, the water

Such a shame that there was no where open to eat and not much life to the place. As you say it's a combination of COVID and many people staying home along with it being the off season.

I imagine that conversation about cutting your losses was a bit tense. We're all planners on here and the idea of the plan not being perfect is really tough. I would have taken it personally and I would have also got annoyed that no one had helped in the run up to the holiday. Still, at least you managed to sort out a hotel in Vancouver and the ferry back without too much hassle and I hope you still managed to go whale watching.

Oh and well done on not throwing your Cosmo at them

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

The views on the drive up were spectacular, the clouds, the trees, the water

Such a shame that there was no where open to eat and not much life to the place. As you say it's a combination of COVID and many people staying home along with it being the off season.

I imagine that conversation about cutting your losses was a bit tense. We're all planners on here and the idea of the plan not being perfect is really tough. I would have taken it personally and I would have also got annoyed that no one had helped in the run up to the holiday. Still, at least you managed to sort out a hotel in Vancouver and the ferry back without too much hassle and I hope you still managed to go whale watching.

Oh and well done on not throwing your Cosmo at them

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Aren’t they amazing? I have about 2000 photos of trees on my phone and had a hard job whittling them down 😂

It really hadn’t dawned on me that so many places would be shut or running such a reduced service, probably slightly arrogant of me that coming from London I just assume it will be the same 🥴

It was a bit tense for a while and I did get a bit tearful. You know how involved planning any holiday is and like you I love 99.9% of it but it’s very difficult when you’re doing it for people you don’t live with and when they don’t offer any input it’s even harder!
I had moved Hope into Uni halls 3 days before we left, and it was a last minute decision for her only 2 weeks before that as she was due to live with Helen & Nick as they live just outside of Winchester. On top of that I had Sam starting sixth form, dropping Economics A level after a week and having a mild breakdown from the fallout and also being really busy with not just the beauty job but the wreaths and signs as my side business, trying to get them all wrapped up before we left so it probably was a little more crazy than usual 🥴.
In all honesty we probably shouldn’t have gone away as it was hastily planned, we hadn’t long got back from Crete and mentally we probably weren’t in the right head space for such a hectic holiday.
HOWEVER it was amazing and I’m trying to live by my new post covid mantra of saying YES more and not regretting the things we do but those we don’t!
Apologies for the ramble Abby 😂

[Nesbits]

I think you did a great job of planning the trip. I would have told them to get stuffed and if they were unhappy they do the planning to move because you are not a travel agent. I think you are probably a lot nicer than me though.

It’s a lovely trip report, as usual. This one is on my bucket list.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Nesbits

I think you did a great job of planning the trip. I would have told them to get stuffed and if they were unhappy they do the planning to move because you are not a travel agent. I think you are probably a lot nicer than me though.

It’s a lovely trip report, as usual. This one is on my bucket list.

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Thank you so much!
In my head I wanted to tell all 3 of them to get stuffed but I’m a bit of a pushover so had to be diplomatic 😂
I would highly recommend anyone to go do this trip, just research a bit more than us before you go 😉

[Goldia]

Originally Posted by smithlane

Aren’t they amazing? I have about 2000 photos of trees on my phone and had a hard job whittling them down 😂

It really hadn’t dawned on me that so many places would be shut or running such a reduced service, probably slightly arrogant of me that coming from London I just assume it will be the same 🥴

It was a bit tense for a while and I did get a bit tearful. You know how involved planning any holiday is and like you I love 99.9% of it but it’s very difficult when you’re doing it for people you don’t live with and when they don’t offer any input it’s even harder!
I had moved Hope into Uni halls 3 days before we left, and it was a last minute decision for her only 2 weeks before that as she was due to live with Helen & Nick as they live just outside of Winchester. On top of that I had Sam starting sixth form, dropping Economics A level after a week and having a mild breakdown from the fallout and also being really busy with not just the beauty job but the wreaths and signs as my side business, trying to get them all wrapped up before we left so it probably was a little more crazy than usual 🥴.
In all honesty we probably shouldn’t have gone away as it was hastily planned, we hadn’t long got back from Crete and mentally we probably weren’t in the right head space for such a hectic holiday.
HOWEVER it was amazing and I’m trying to live by my new post covid mantra of saying YES more and not regretting the things we do but those we don’t!
Apologies for the ramble Abby 😂

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Aaah that's a lot of stuff to have to sort out. Hope going into halls is a difficult thing to have to deal with if you've been knowing it was going to happen and had months to prepare for it, but for it to have been suddenly decided and then sorted out (by you) in just a couple of days...well I can't imagine how that must have felt. On the one hand I'm sure you were a proud mum, happy she was off doing her thing, but on the other hand oh my she's gone.

So that, on top of Sam changing his mind about his subjects for A Levels and then sorting out your new business - how fabulous - oh and planning a holiday for yourselves and another couple. Well, I'm not surprised that some things you thought were a given like restaurants and bars being open slipped by the way side on the planning front.

Still, this was the trip that Jim proposed on and you will have that memory forever! So, while there are some things that maybe you would do differently if you could go back in time, there's other things you wouldn't change for a second.

A x

[NewtoOrlando]

Oh my god, they would have had more than a cosmo thrown at them if it was my lot! These holidays are so time consuming to plan, I don't think people realise how much effort we have to put in! I'm like you and do all the planning as no one else gives any input and it really irks me when people moan. Put some input in if you're that bothered lol. Rant over haha.

You did really well to get everything changed though, especially after a few cosmos and at such sort notice!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Aaah that's a lot of stuff to have to sort out. Hope going into halls is a difficult thing to have to deal with if you've been knowing it was going to happen and had months to prepare for it, but for it to have been suddenly decided and then sorted out (by you) in just a couple of days...well I can't imagine how that must have felt. On the one hand I'm sure you were a proud mum, happy she was off doing her thing, but on the other hand oh my she's gone.

So that, on top of Sam changing his mind about his subjects for A Levels and then sorting out your new business - how fabulous - oh and planning a holiday for yourselves and another couple. Well, I'm not surprised that some things you thought were a given like restaurants and bars being open slipped by the way side on the planning front.

Still, this was the trip that Jim proposed on and you will have that memory forever! So, while there are some things that maybe you would do differently if you could go back in time, there's other things you wouldn't change for a second.

A x

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It was one of those times in my parenting life where I just wanted to move out and live on my own with the dog 😂, I wasn’t sure I could take any more surprises!
Hope has thankfully settled in ok-ish, isn’t loving it but isn’t hating it and hasn’t quit yet so thats always a bonus 😉
Sam went back to Economics after only 2 weeks realising that Travel and Tourism was “crap & boring”, in fact that’s a story in itself that I didn’t actually put in the trip report but as a mother of a teenage boy I think you’ll appreciate 🤣

So when we’re on the plane at Heathrow just about to take off and I message both the kids something along the lines of
‘Taking off now, love you both, I’ll text as soon as we land’
Hope messages back straight away but didn’t hear from Sam, didn’t think much of it though.
Once we land in Vancouver and get signal, I receive a text from Sam simply saying
‘Mum I need to speak to you when you land’
Now, as the mother of a 16 year old I instantly feel sick and bearing in mind it’s about 3 o'clock in the morning back in the U.K. I can’t get hold of him.
5 scenarios are running through my mind.

In no particular order
1. He’s quit sixth form
2. He’s been kicked out
3. He’s got in a fight
4. He’s been arrested
5. He’s got a girl pregnant 😳

I’m trying to keep it together as we need to get through immigration and pick up the car but I’m imagining the worst and thinking I need to get on the next flight back to London!

Once we get to the hotel and out for something to eat it’s roughly 6am U.K. time so I thought it’d be alright to call their Dad. (Sam is staying with his grandmother, my exMIL so I figured my exDH might know what’s happened)
Well I wake him and his wife up 🙈 to me rambling at 1000 miles an hour trying to see if he knows anything. He doesn’t but says he’ll call his mum as she should be awake soon to see if she knows.
(I hope you’re keeping up &#128514
At this point we have been awake for 24 hours and I’m slightly delirious but there’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to sleep so I’m having to keep my eyes open with matchsticks!
Their dad calls me back and says that Sam is fine, he went to school, did some homework, ate dinner and is currently asleep.
So at least I know he’s alive and not in jail 🥴
Anyway about half an hour later Sam finally messages me to say, wait for it
.
.
.
.
.
‘I spoke with Mr Pearce yesterday and he has talked me back into doing Economics and will help me with any issues I have’
I couldn’t believe it. That’s all it was!
I called him up straight away and I have to admit my language was blue! I said, why the heck couldn’t you have just said that to me in a text message, I’ve been worried sick thinking something awful had happened!
Do you know what his answer was?

“Oh mum you’re so dramatic, I did just need to speak to you”….

God I could have screamed, I did in fact burst into tears though 😂. A whole bunch of emotions came out of me at that point 🤦.

So yes a crazy few weeks leading up to the holiday BUT you’re so right in that despite the few lows it was an amazing holiday filled with happy memories to last a lifetime as we got engaged!

Apologies again for the ridiculously long ramble 😂

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by NewtoOrlando

Oh my god, they would have had more than a cosmo thrown at them if it was my lot! These holidays are so time consuming to plan, I don't think people realise how much effort we have to put in! I'm like you and do all the planning as no one else gives any input and it really irks me when people moan. Put some input in if you're that bothered lol. Rant over haha.

You did really well to get everything changed though, especially after a few cosmos and at such sort notice!

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🤣, I was tempted, believe me!
People don’t realise just how much time and effort goes in to planning a holiday.
I don’t think anything was meant personally and I didn’t overly disagree with their reasonings, it was just the way it was dealt with why I took it personally. Although if you read my replies to Abby, it’ll explain why I was a tad emotional this holiday 😂

[jocat]

Sorry Nanaimo turned out not to be what you expected, but well done you on keeping your cool when everyone wanted to ditch the plan. I’m not sure I’d have managed that. 😳

Glad you managed to come up with a Plan B at short notice and what a bargain you found with the Fairmont!