Saturday -May 26, 2012

The day was a fantastic day for a ride and I enjoyed it to the fullest.  A group of us left Port Alberni at 8:30am on the Saturday morning and traveled up and over the Hump to the east coast of Vancouver Island.  We stopped at the Petro Can just outside of Nanoose Bay (aka the Psycho Gnome due to the 40ft tall fibreglass gnome that has red glowing eyes)to pick up another rider before heading on our way.  Our destination was the 10:55am ferry from Crofton, BC to Vesuvius Bay, on Saltspring Island.

(photo courtesay of BC Ferries fleet page) 

The ferry to Crofton is a bit of a ‘puddle jumper’ and the ride is only a 20 minute travel time – a good exercise for those people who have never ridden on a ferry before.  We arrived at the Salt Spring Market a little before noon and promptly split up to find the individual treasures we were set to find.  Enjoying the food and impromptu ‘entertainment’ that was available at the market we relaxed until 2pm.  At 2pm we all saddled up and headed to the ferry to catch the 2:35-ish?? ferry that didn’t board until 2:50pm. 

 From there we headed to Ladysmith for a butt break.  Then a hop-skip-jump along the Nanaimo Lakes Road to Parksville Visitor Centre then back up and over the Hump to PA.  I did not get home until 6:15pm.  A long day – but the weather was fantastic and the traffic was easy going. 

It’s all good.