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kevin_standleeAs previously wrote, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Richmond (Vancouver) last night. Today we took the bus to the ferry to another bus to the Doubletree Victoria, where we once again got a suite upgrade.
The HI Express had a huge open suite with a sofa, work desk, and fireplace.
There was also a kitchen area with a refrigerator, microwave oven, coffee machine, and even plates and cutlery in the cabinets.
There was scads of space. Too bad we didn't have but just the one night to enjoy it. The conrunner in me thought about what sort of party we could hold in such a space.
Unfortunately, we could not get the Jacuzzi-style tub's jets to work, although I got a nice soak, which I cannot do at home because we do not have a bathtub, only a shower, and besides, I would feel guilty using that much water that I not do in British Columbia.
Fortunately, the morning rain cleared, and it was no problem dragging our luggage over to the transit center a few hundred meters away to catch the bus to Tsawwassen, where we boarded the MV Queen of New Westminster bound for Vancouver Island.
Seating was comfortable. One of the other passengers was reading a John Scalzi novel. There is a restaurant on board, but we were not that hungry after the included breakfast at the hotel.
The small peninsula of Point Roberts, Washington, is visible to port as the ferry departs. In fact, the ferry transits US territorial waters to-and-from the ferry terminal. So far, the US Coast Guard has not forced the Canadian ships to go around the small point of US waters. I wonder if that's only because Glorious Orange Leader doesn't know it exists?
It's a scenic and restful 90-minute trip over to Swartz Bay on the Victoria/Vancouver Island end.
Here we are maneuvering to back into the Swartz Bay Terminal.
Unfortunately, due to some delays in boarding, we were late getting in to Swartz Bay and thus the relatively fast bus from the terminal to downtown Victoria had already left. We took the "local" route 72 bus, which took much longer to get to the same place; however, if we had waited for the next route 70 bus that makes fewer stops, we would have ended up in downtown Victoria at about the same time.
As something of a karmic repayment for the long, slow bus ride, we got another suite update. This time, instead of huge room, we got a separate parlor, again with a sink, refrigerator, microwave oven, and sofa.
There was also a work desk. I did not take pictures of the bedroom or bathroom, which were pretty standard. It was nice to have all of this space, though.
Due to the delays, we had to rush to get some errands and some dinner. We went to Rexall to replace the toiletries that I forgot to pack (I am old enough to remember the original Rexall Drugstores, and have listed to Old Time Radio shows that included "Your Neighborhood Rexall Druggist"), to Lush, to a local book store where I got an interesting couple of books including one on Canadian railroad history, then to Chipotle to get a burrito, which I wolfed down once we got back to the hotel room.
The rest of the day, and indeed, the rest of this weekend, is Kayla's story to tell, but we were out late and have to be up early on Friday, so that will have to be the end of the story for now.
The HI Express had a huge open suite with a sofa, work desk, and fireplace.
There was also a kitchen area with a refrigerator, microwave oven, coffee machine, and even plates and cutlery in the cabinets.
There was scads of space. Too bad we didn't have but just the one night to enjoy it. The conrunner in me thought about what sort of party we could hold in such a space.
Unfortunately, we could not get the Jacuzzi-style tub's jets to work, although I got a nice soak, which I cannot do at home because we do not have a bathtub, only a shower, and besides, I would feel guilty using that much water that I not do in British Columbia.
Fortunately, the morning rain cleared, and it was no problem dragging our luggage over to the transit center a few hundred meters away to catch the bus to Tsawwassen, where we boarded the MV Queen of New Westminster bound for Vancouver Island.
Seating was comfortable. One of the other passengers was reading a John Scalzi novel. There is a restaurant on board, but we were not that hungry after the included breakfast at the hotel.
The small peninsula of Point Roberts, Washington, is visible to port as the ferry departs. In fact, the ferry transits US territorial waters to-and-from the ferry terminal. So far, the US Coast Guard has not forced the Canadian ships to go around the small point of US waters. I wonder if that's only because Glorious Orange Leader doesn't know it exists?
It's a scenic and restful 90-minute trip over to Swartz Bay on the Victoria/Vancouver Island end.
Here we are maneuvering to back into the Swartz Bay Terminal.
Unfortunately, due to some delays in boarding, we were late getting in to Swartz Bay and thus the relatively fast bus from the terminal to downtown Victoria had already left. We took the "local" route 72 bus, which took much longer to get to the same place; however, if we had waited for the next route 70 bus that makes fewer stops, we would have ended up in downtown Victoria at about the same time.
As something of a karmic repayment for the long, slow bus ride, we got another suite update. This time, instead of huge room, we got a separate parlor, again with a sink, refrigerator, microwave oven, and sofa.
There was also a work desk. I did not take pictures of the bedroom or bathroom, which were pretty standard. It was nice to have all of this space, though.
Due to the delays, we had to rush to get some errands and some dinner. We went to Rexall to replace the toiletries that I forgot to pack (I am old enough to remember the original Rexall Drugstores, and have listed to Old Time Radio shows that included "Your Neighborhood Rexall Druggist"), to Lush, to a local book store where I got an interesting couple of books including one on Canadian railroad history, then to Chipotle to get a burrito, which I wolfed down once we got back to the hotel room.
The rest of the day, and indeed, the rest of this weekend, is Kayla's story to tell, but we were out late and have to be up early on Friday, so that will have to be the end of the story for now.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-28 10:01 am (UTC)We stayed in the one at Heathrow airport needing to get an early flight to Prague some years back and it looked very like this.
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Date: 2025-03-28 04:15 pm (UTC)The new Scalzi novel, the one about the moon turning into cheese? I'm reading it now. It's a lot of fun.
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Date: 2025-03-29 03:15 am (UTC)