Today we left Vancouver. Before we did though Clara did some shopping (of course) and Joe and I updated the blog at Starbucks - they've definitely had the $25 it would have cost me to have wireless at the hotel - oh well !!. First challenge of the day - get the car out of the car park - via back alleys, one way streets and eventually out of town. We decided (involuntarily!!) to take the scenic route to the Ferry Terminal - along Marine Drive rather than Highway 1. No problem (?)..... We ended up in Horseshoe Bay in good time, time for a massive sandwich, for some reason served with the biggest gherkin you've ever seen, and sit in the harbour and watch the ferries in the beautiful sunshine. Plenty of time to get back to the car and get in line - probably at the front of the queue as we had soooo much time !!. (you can see where this is going can't you ...). As we drive towards the ferry the road takes us back out of town and we see a massive queue of traffic coming down the valley into this little town !! a quick request for directions tells us we were in completely the wrong place and needed to drive 4km back up the valley to join the main Highway that comes back down to the Ferry port. Don't Panic !! Keep Calm !! - we ignored these instructions completely, realising we no longer had masses of time to spare and belted it back up the valley, spun round and zipped all the way back again, this time on the right road. Luckily we made it and boarded with no problem.The ferry crossing was spectacular - you move off the mainland with steep mountains and the City of Vancouver in the distance behind you and gradually make your way towards Vancouver Island - with its massive mountain ranges in the background. This time we find the right road out of Nanaimo and head off towards Port Alberni, our agreed stop before the final trek out to our next destination - the small fishing village of Ucluelet, right out on the Pacific Rim. I'll let Shell give her view on all the above and takeover from here to describe the journey but I just want to say Port Alberni - Dinner - Fantastic (and saw the MV Lady Rose) !! and Highway 4 to Ucluelet - Breathtaking - one of the most fantastic drives I have ever driven (wanted to stop every mile and take photos) - beats the M40 to High Wycombe any day (which unsurprisingly I have never stopped and taken photos of) !!. Oh and don't forget to tell them about The Fog ???

Shell - Back to Thursday morning, we were rudely awoken by the radio coming on at 6.30 but no-one is owning up to setting the alarm!! So an earlier start than planned but all for the good as we hadn't packed up as much as hoped the night before as we were exhausted after our trip to Granville Island then to Cirque du Soleil in the evening. After a quick breakfast and coffee in Starbucks myself and Clara had a brisk walk along Robson to look for a t-shirt for Clara. Sitting in traffic heading out of Vancouver, for some reason 3 lanes merge into 1 so not conducive to free flowing taffic, we were a bit concerned that the traffic would be like this all the way to Horseshoe Bay, but no, after a while we were moving at a steady rate. I think we took the wrong turning by some road works and ended up on Marine Drive, a lovely scenic route to the ferry, or so we thought. At one point we did think that perhaps we should have coughed up the $140+ for the sat nav hire but we wanted to do it the old fashioned way using a map, shame the co-pilot can't read them!! Anyway all was resolved after Jenson Button joined us in the car and put his foot down getting us to the queue for the ferry in good time.

Now we're really starting to feel as though we are on holiday, sailing away from the big city and it's skyscrapers towards, well who knows, adventures in the wilderness. We decided to stop in Port Alberni as there didn't appear to any other towns on the map between there and Ucluelet. After meandering through the almost deserted streets around the harbour we headed for THE restaurant in town, at least the only restaurant in that part of town!! The Waters Edge where the staff are friendly and the food was excellent and much better value than in Vancouver itself. So steaks for me and John and burgers for the kids, you can't say we don't experiment with the cuisine!! And Joe couldn't even begin to compete with some other diners they had had recently, apparently they had a family who got through nearly two bottles of ketchup and the one who had the most was about 5 years old, so there you have it, Joe is no longer the Ketchup King. The food was excellent, the sun was shining, even had to apply sun cream at 7pm as I could feel the burn coming on as we sat on the patio eating and taking in the scenery. Unfortunately we had to leave as we still had at least a 90 minute drive to get to Ucluelet. And what a stunning drive, long windy roads with magnificent views around every corner, from lakes which never end to snow capped mountains and a magnificent sun set. So yes, you can imagine our surprise when we literally went from amazing sun set on one part of the road to around a bend and into dense fog, it was like being in a Stephen King novel!! Or perhaps I should say James Herbert?

So we arrive at the Water's Edge Pacific Rim Resort and find the lock box where our room key is stored (reception closes at 8pm). We are on the top floor, each block is 3 storeys) and our room/apartment is amazing. The colour scheme is all neutrals, white walls, cream carpet, brown leather sofa, and lots of wood. A great kitchen area and bathroom, lounge campfire, and much to the delight of the kids a hot tub on the balcony, and our room overlooks the water, although on arrival we couldn't really see much of it. Sitting here this morning though I'm writing this whilst drinking filter coffee and looking at the mountains, the water, the trees and one or two boats already out and about so I think we can put up with some coastal fog so long as it only appears during the evening. Looking forward to checking in with reception this morning to find out what we can get up to in the area, hoping to walk along the Wild Pacific Rim trail, maybe sit on a beach if the weather allows, might even do that in the fog if we have to, and must remember what to do if we see a bear, something about feeding them small children, picking up pets and reporting the sighting to reception.......