21 September 2016, Wednesday
By 6:15 we are driving north, out of Vancouver and towards the Tswassen Ferry. We do hit some early morning traffic, but we arrive well before 8 am. We check in as a “tall vehicle.” The woman at the toll booth seems quite unconcerned about the height of Jazz. We note normal height vehicles in line with us, but we are also among large trucks and busses. It seems impossible that we will all fit aboard the ferry, but we do.
Once we are parked on board, we squeeze between trucks and busses and find the stairs to the upper decks. The weather is fair and windy. There are whitecaps on the water. O and I keep an eye out for whales, but all we see are sea lions, a bald eagle , a heron, and lots of gulls. It is a beautiful ride over.
On Vancouver Island we off load and drive south from the terminal and then north and west to Pacific Rim National Park. We arrive about 4:30 pm. Our tent is still wet from our last morning at Lake Louise four days ago. We set it up and allow it to dry while we cook our dinner. After dinner we complete our set-up and walk around the campground. From a nearby viewpoint we catch a view of the sunset over the Pacific. As we walk, we note the drive-in campsites have new-looking shower and washroom facilities with warm running water. Our water at the walk-in site is cold only.
We return to our campsite and turn in for the night. In the distance, through the trees, we hear the muted roar of the waves on the shore.