I have been semi-stranded in Vancouver for almost 2 weeks now, which is both unfortunate and awesome because I only got to spend this much time at home since I ran out of money, but enjoyed every moment back with friends and family. However, being in one place for two weeks in the height of summer and travel time, I still ended up restless and had to come up with some sort of getaway.

Me and Steph, a friend from wayyy back in high school, discussed trying to do a roadtrip to the Okanagan, Montana & Idaho, Whistler, or Vancouver Island. The first two involved too much driving time for the only 2 day weekend Steph could take off from work, and Whistler is almost too close to Vancouver to be its own holiday…and besides, Whistler is at its best during mid snowboard season.

So, we went to Vancouver Island. We took BC Ferries to Victoria where we met a friend of mine I had made in Montreal earlier this summer. He was the perfect host and a kind chauffeur, driving to and from ferry terminals, all around Victoria, and up to Nanaimo with a beautiful lake stop on the way. We stayed with his parents, two wonderful people who we joked and drank with more comfortably than I have with my own parents! The ferry ride back was a highlight, since we sat out on the top deck suntanning and taking in the scenery of untouched forests and far away blue mountains. The ferry ride to the island was a little less fortunate; we were befriended by two Persian brothers who came off really nice at first, but after buying us lunch we realized they just wanted to buy our company for the weekend in Victoria, and Steph’s silent retaliation was “No, I will not prostitute myself to you!”

It was such a great vacation because the cost of traveling with the ferries and benefiting from such generous hospitality made the entire trip cost about $50! We lucked out with great weather and enjoyed the nature saturated island beauty to its fullest. Life is beautiful in Vancouver city too, but people are too stressed and moving at a hundred miles an hour. But on the island, life just seems to slow down and city life becomes secondary to nature.

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