Vancouver Island - Parksville

7/1/11
This morning, I toured around the lobby of our hotel, Sunrise Ridge Waterfront Resort, and found it very luxurious. It was richly carpeted, and there were hardcover books on the shelves that made the whole room look magnificent. Then we had a breakfast of leftovers and milk. After breakfast, I went out the back door and stepped into a backyard. It was very pretty, and the air was very cold, much to my liking. We took a few pictures, packed up our luggage, and left.

We didn’t leave Parksville immediately. Instead, we went to Parksville Qualicum Wildlife Management Area and hiked for a while in the woods beside a river called Englishman River. Dad reckons it’s because an Englishman drowned when he went exploring, which is ridiculous; it’s about half a meter deep. Anyways, we hiked on one of the two paths, both of which ends at a small lookout for birds. We saw a bald eagle and other birds.

We took the other path back to our car, my shoes wet from the dew, and drove on to a community park. There was a large beach, probably bigger than Kenting, but there were few people there. Everyone there was wearing red-and-white, which made us realize that it was Canada Day. We drove around and walked around, and saw a man who asked Judy, “Where’s your horse, cowgirl?” He told us that the parade would start at 10 o’clock. Thus, we went to the restroom, looked at the flowers quickly, and hurried away just as their parade was about to begin.

Our next stop was Port Alberni. On the way there, we stopped at Cameron Lake and Cathedral Grove, where we took short walks. The lake was beautiful, and the grove was full of tall, precious trees called Douglas fir. The temperature was low, and thus I was in a blissful mood. After we left, Dad wanted to make a U-turn, but couldn’t find an appropriate place. He drove on and on, and suddenly we were at Port Alberni Visitor Center. There was a young man and an old lady there. They gave each of us a tiny Canada-flag badge, and a small flag. The old lady told us about Alberni Harbour Quay. We decided to have lunch before going there, so we stopped at a McDonald’s. The moment we stepped in, I realized that everyone there was obese. We finished lunch quickly and drove to the harbor. It was very cold. We climbed up to the clock tower and found it very windy. We couldn’t enjoy the view to its full magnificence. Thus, we left quickly. Before leaving Vancouver Island, Dad filled the tank; the gas there was 125.9 dollars per gallon, cheaper than the 135.8 in Vancouver.

I slept all the way, and awoke only to get on Deck 4 of the ship, and continued sleeping. On the way to our next hotel, Comfort Inn, which was in North Vancouver, Judy and I were unconscious as well. I fell asleep immediately once we got into our room, and was still half-asleep when I ate dinner, which was a small cup of instant noodles with a few leaves of cabbage that resembles lettuce. After taking a bath, a regained consciousness, so Judy and I watched Food Channel. It was a little boring.

I went to bed, and was woken up at 11 p.m. because of the creaking. The people staying upstairs must be obese.