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B.C. Vacation


Wizard765

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My wife Anne and I plan on riding out to Vancouver, leaving Toronto mid August, so I am listening real well to all the helpful ideas.

 

If youre riding on the Trans Canada, give me a call when you go thru Regina, we can do an icecream or coffee. Also there is a sofa if you need a stopover point

 

Brian

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My wife Anne and I plan on riding out to Vancouver, leaving Toronto mid August, so I am listening real well to all the helpful ideas.

 

Evan, keep us "in the loop" as to when you're arriving .... will be glad to show you around and if space is available at the time, you can bunk at our house.

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There are some nice beaches and a couple of lookouts on the Tofino road. Be aware that about 1/2 way along from the intersection to Tofino there is a hidden dip in the road. You can't see it until you are right there. Lots of gouges in the pavement from cars that went airborne. The road from Pt Alberni west is rough pavement and people have been killed on it. The scenery is beautiful though and it is worth the ride. Cathedral Grove is the forest you want to see. It is on the road to Pt Alberni.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ok here goes.. My daughter has a full itinerary for us. Saturday the 18th is the day we are renting a bike and the plan is to take the highway to Whistler.. In Whistler we are going zip lining... (she thinks we are still in our 20s like her). Anyone want to come along or anything else I should see along the way..?? I believe the zip line is set for 1:30 ish... so if we leave early enough there might be time for some side trips or after the zip line maybe side trips.. not sure what is a must do and what isn't..

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Guest Swifty
Ok here goes.. My daughter has a full itinerary for us. ...maybe side trips.. not sure what is a must do and what isn't..

 

sooo, is there time for side trips or not??

These are 2 of my favourites that I do every time I go to Van...

http://www.grousemountain.com/Winter/vancouver-bc-hiking-trails-trips/

http://www.grousemountain.com/Winter/dining/the-observatory/Default.asp

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Ok here goes.. My daughter has a full itinerary for us. Saturday the 18th is the day we are renting a bike and the plan is to take the highway to Whistler.. In Whistler we are going zip lining... (she thinks we are still in our 20s like her). Anyone want to come along or anything else I should see along the way..?? I believe the zip line is set for 1:30 ish... so if we leave early enough there might be time for some side trips or after the zip line maybe side trips.. not sure what is a must do and what isn't..

 

Awesome... I will poll the members from around here for a M&E

 

Have you got a scoot lined up? EDIT: of course you do... you just said so LOL

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How about that, another Vancouver M&E with a member that is not from Vancouver.

 

Good stuff!

 

Lots of beautiful riding up there. I guess the people aren't all that bad either :stickpoke::witch_brew:

Thats Ontario riders for you ......To go were they are most needed to make M&E's happen.:thumbsup2:
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  • 2 weeks later...

Sounds like you've got a good visit lined up!

 

Wayne arrives Abbotsford today!

 

I arranged to have some cooler weather for him! LOL

 

 

Ha, YOU would. I sure would appreciate it if you would send some of that down here too. On second thought, maybe that is a sign suggesting I should migrate to the cooler weather... Hmmm :detective:

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Sounds like you've got a good visit lined up!

 

 

 

 

Ha, YOU would. I sure would appreciate it if you would send some of that down here too. On second thought, maybe that is a sign suggesting I should migrate to the cooler weather... Hmmm :detective:

 

There's still time for you to get your "ahem" up here for the M&E .... I've got it on good authority that we will have nice weather. Speaking of which, I forgot to give my lotto winnings to the weather gods for this coming weekend so it looks like I may not get the opportunity to "scuff in" my new E3's :bang head:

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Here is another option if it is not too late. It involves four ferrys which will be a mini cruise of the West Coast. Take the ferry from Tswassen over to Shwartz Bay. Then ride up the Island to Comox, about 150 miles. Maybe stay over night in Courtenay. Then take the ferry across to Powell River and ride down the Sunshine Coast. That involves taking another ferry from Saltry Bay to Earl's Cove and another ferry from Gibson's Landing to Horseshoe Bay. From there you can ride up to Whistler on the coast highway and come back to Vancouver on the Sea to Sky highway, the upper levels highway and back across the Lion's Gate Bridge through Stanley Park. Stanley Park is also worth a visit while you are in Vancouver. (Believe it or not, the Lions Gate Bridge was built by the Guinness Family to develop the north shore many years ago.) If you have some time in Vancouver, Queen Elizabeth Park and the Van Deusen Gardens are also worthwhile seeing as are Butchart Gardens in Victoria.

 

Cliff

Edited by slipstreamer
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Here is another option if it is not too late. It involves four ferrys which will be a mini cruise of the West Coast. Take the ferry from Tswassen over to Shwartz Bay. Then ride up the Island to Comox, about 150 miles. Maybe stay over night in Courtenay. Then take the ferry across to Powell River and ride down the Sunshine Coast. That involves taking another ferry from Saltry Bay to Earl's Cove and another ferry from Gibson's Landing to Horseshoe Bay. From there you can ride up to Whistler on the coast highway and come back to Vancouver on the Sea to Sky highway, the upper levels highway and back across the Lion's Gate Bridge through Stanley Park. Stanley Park is also worth a visit while you are in Vancouver. (Believe it or not, the Lions Gate Bridge was built by the Guinness Family to develop the north shore many years ago.) If you have some time in Vancouver, Queen Elizabeth Park and the Van Deusen Gardens are also worthwhile seeing as are Butchart Gardens in Victoria.

 

Cliff

 

For all those ferry rides and the route, you can buy what is called a "Circle pass" (I believe) ... it is much cheaper than individual ones. Sailor might be able to suggest something even better that will save even more bucks as those danged ferries are getting more and more expensive.

 

FYI, your reference to the Coast Hwy and Sea-to-Sky are the same route.

 

What is now referred to as the Sea-to-Sky hwy is in reality hwy 99 which begins at the Peace Arch border and goes all the way to Lillooet where it joins hwy 97. It is the "Canadian" extension of US 99. "Sea-to-Sky " starts at Horseshoe Bay and ends at Pemberton.

Edited by SilvrT
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Thanks for the fill in SilverT. I have not been "home" since the highway was built. I thought it was a separate highway from the old one. I did not know about the special fare for the circle route since I have never taken all four ferrys at the same time. It might come in handy for me when I am out there next month. I will check it out on line. I may just do that trip for the fun of it.

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Thanks for the fill in SilverT. I have not been "home" since the highway was built. I thought it was a separate highway from the old one. I did not know about the special fare for the circle route since I have never taken all four ferrys at the same time. It might come in handy for me when I am out there next month. I will check it out on line. I may just do that trip for the fun of it.

 

We did it 2 years ago (I think it was 2) ... the only problem we ran into was finding a motel. We went up the Sunshine Coast to Powell River and over to Comox, thinking we'd stay there or in Courtnay the night ... turned out there was some big convention going on and we wound up riding all the way down to Nanaimo before we found anything suitable at a reasonable rate.

 

If you're coming out, be sure and look us up if you have the time!

 

-Rick

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Looks like Murphy's law was at work for your trip Rick but I would not let that deter me from taking that trip. A little pre-planning may help to avoid accomodation availability problems. We ran into Bathtub week in Nanaimo when I was transferred there in the 70s. Fortunately we were able to find suitable accomodations.

 

Unfortunately, I will be flying over you in July. I am going direct to Comox to visit our son for a week. During that week I will be visiting my sister and some friends in Powell River and some friends in Nanaimo. It will be a very busy week so, regretably, I will not have time for other things but thanks for your interest. On the next trip I will make time for Vancouver (my home town) but I have no idea when that will be.

 

By the way, my nephew (Rick) lives in Burnaby, when he is not someplace else in the world which is most of the time. But, he is not sophisticated like us: He rides a Harley......! :322:

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The circle fare is good. Remember, on the ferry you are first on/first off so don't be surprised when they tell you to go to the head of the line. Another ride is Tsawwassen/Swartz bay then over the hat to Naniamo and back to the mainland or Tsa to Saltspring then Vancouver isl and up.

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Yeah, I forgot about the first on first off part. That is a great feature because it gets the bikes out in front of all of the ferry traffic with a clear road in front.

 

Here is the link to the circle fare: http://www.bcferries.com/promotions/circlepac/ It gives up to 15% off when you buy the circle pack at the first ferry terminal of your trip.

 

Smooth sailing folks. For those who take it, the trip is awesome and unforgettable.

 

:322:

 

Cliff

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By the way, my nephew (Rick) lives in Burnaby, when he is not someplace else in the world which is most of the time. But, he is not sophisticated like us: He rides a Harley......!

 

We are also in Burnaby ... very close to Bby municipal hall and Canada Way.

 

[ATTACH]57416[/ATTACH]

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So after 2 smooth plane rides (Hamilton to Calgary and Calgary to Abbotsford) we arrived in B.C. about Midnight (half hour late) with all our luggage (Yay!).

 

Shannon (our daughter) picked us up and took us back to SFU where we pretty much immediately crashed. We have a very nice condo for the time we are here.

 

Got up Thursday morning and headed out on a Bus to see Stanley Park via Bicycle.. The Bus was new and one of the articulated ones. I have not been on a bus in 40 years.

 

Stanley Park was excellent.. The sea wall around the park gave us an excellent view of the harbor or inlet. We also took in the Aquarium so were able to catch a dolphin show and see the Beluga whales etc.

 

My Navigator stepped backwards off a curb and turned her ankle which hurts somewhat so may slow a few things down. We didn't make it to Grandville Island due to the injury. Maybe make it back there on Wednesday.

 

Today we are going to White Rock and then to Cloverdale to a movie at the Clove (AKA the Talon in Smallville.

 

If you all are interested I can keep this up...

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Now, ya just have to get tickets to game five and your trip will be complete. But yeah Wizzard, keep it up for sure. Looking forward to the pics.

 

Rick, I got that you were in Burnaby, that is why I mentioned my nephew Rick who also lives in Burnaby. I hope we meet up some day.

 

Cliff

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