Quite right, Annetti - you've got a good memory. My sweetie did have issues with the Sooke Road when we first moved out here and were looking for a house. He remembered that it had a few twists in it and was worried that he'd get carsick during the real estate search. But in fact it hasn't been a problem for him, and East Sooke hasn't bothered him either. He does have some unhappy recollections of a whale-watching trip in Newfoundland; he gets queasy just thinking about it!
In terms of the Gulf Islands: Saltspring is one of them, and that's been mentioned here. Gabriola is one that doesn't get mentioned quite as often. It's very small, but it has a really interesting feature called the Malaspina Galleries, which sounds like an art museum but is actually an odd sand formation naturally carved by the ocean. The ferry ride across to Gabriola from Nanaimo is quite short and you might enjoy a day trip there. They also have a sand sculpture competition every summer, similar to the one in Parksville.

Hi Meesthare: One always remembers those who suffer similar afflictions! Your sweetie has more courage than I do taking a whale watching trip!

Will we be able to explore Gabriola and Saltspring without a car, perhaps take a pretty walk and have lunch somewhere? I'm not quite sure what we will see there. I understand that there's a nice Saturday market in Saltspring, but you need a car for that. Are there little towns/villages on the islands, similar to what we saw on Bowen Island? Thank you.

Annetti here is a website for you to look at http://www.saltspringisland.org/fulf...rd_harbour.htm

Read through all of the info - there is lots of information about the island and you can see there is a bus service. You could certainly plan a day there. I think once you get to Victoria you will be able to get all sorts of good ideas from people you meet and brochures etc. You did so well in Vancouver - Victoria will be a piece of cake!!

I should mention that I love being without a car. Heck, as soon as I moved from Steveston to downtown Vancouver, I got rid of my car within the year. That was over 3 years ago now.

I love exploring Vancouver without a car. I love exploring Victoria without a car.

What I wouldn't consider is exploring the Gulf Islands without a car, or at least a form of transportation.

I've been to Bowen Island without a car, but never ventured beyond Snug Harbour.

Saltspring Island has Ganges, but it's not at any ferry terminal. The rest of Salt Spring Island is worth seeing, but it's a massive, hilly island, and it's spread out. It's also quite rural, kind of like driving around the Napa and Sonoma Valleys - not really practical without a car.

One of my favourite islands is Galiano. Again, a car (or a bicycle) is crucial to being able to explore it. It's a smaller island than Salt Spring but it's less populated and I like the variety of attractions it has: art studios, white shell midden beaches, forested trails, and sandstone caves. Everything is spread out over the island (which is very hilly and 28km long) - I would highly recommend a visit, but again, without a car, you wouldn't get much out of it.

I agree with Carmanah. We once arrived on Galiano to stay at a B&B there, not knowing that a car was pretty much a necessity. The B&B owner came and picked us up at the ferry, which was great, but we realized we could have done a lot more exploring if we had had our own vehicle.

Thanks, Traveller69 for the website to Saltspring. I looked at the bus services listed AND it is possible to visit the Sat. Market via bus. Carmanah and Meesthare, I have no doubt that a car would be an advantage in seeing the islands, certainly it allows you more flexibility and far easier to get off the beaten track. Time will tell just how flexible I am regarding renting a car!

We just returned a four day rental here at home while my car was in the shop repairing a fender bender. What a hassle that was. We hung around the rental office for over 2 hours, finally were driven home and a car delivered late in the afternoon to our home. Started the process at 11:00am and car delivered at 4:30pm. I know this probably was an exception and yes, we had a reseration, but what a lot of trouble. I have to have a car for work. No public transportation alternatives here.

fellow victorians,

at least i think that's what we r called. maybe we should take annetti's arrival as an opportunity or an excuse (depending on whether u r a half glass full or empty type of person :-) ) to have one of those grand get togethers fodorites ( we r all fodorites eh) have in big places like toronto!???

cheers
AndrewDavid

I'm up for it andrewdavid. Of course in true Fodorite fashion, I will be in England from Sep 04 through 27 scaring sheep in Yorkshire. If we can work around that, I'm good.

Count me in if you can do it before Aug 31st. We are off to our place in Oliver for the "wine season"!! Annetti is going to be there the last week of August so maybe that would work???

Sounds good to me too! But it does depend on family visitors expected around the same time. We'll keep in touch closer to the date.

I have never been to a Fodor's get-together. It sounds good to me. I should be in town around the 23rd, 24th of August. Who will do the organizing and set the time/place/date? This will be a hard thing to arrange. . . Fodorites lead busy lives!

We'll keep in touch and one way or another we can probably work around everyone's schedule. Sounds like fun. Surely we can find a day that we can all meet for lunch or dinner or ???? Annetti by then we will have so many suggestions for you that you will have to come back again next year just to do it all.

sounds like there is interest to meet up if possible. perhaps at the end of august. i'm about like everyone else in the summer entertaining out of town friends and friends of friends etc. i guess closer to the date we can check our calendars. maybe a beach party for annetti and spouse /partner since she is from So Cal. our beaches r so delightfully frigid in the summer :)

cheers
AndrewDavid

A beach party in August. Yikes Annetti pack your woolies and your goretex.
I was thinking more along the lines of Swans after work one day. They have a roof and central heating.
http://www.swanshotel.com/brewpub/brewpup_fare.php
Warm food and all.

Meesthare may have to bus home though.

I'm with icithecat on this one - no thanks to a beach party in Victoria!!! We can find a central spot somewhere (Swans is good) and even if we just do coffee at least we can meet and chat. Annetti needs a welcoming party of some sort. Annetti - I know you live in N. Cal somewhere - but what city?

No need for me to bus home - there are LOTS of drunk drivers on the Sooke Road! We read about them every week in the Sooke News-Mirror, in the Police Beat column. I'd have plenty of company.

I imagine AndrewDavid was teasing when she suggested a beach party. I ran it by my husband, a native Californian, who is no friend to the beach; he complains about the sand and sun, so a restaurant, pub or whatever will suit him and me fine. I must say, I feel honored by all this attention. It will be fun to put faces to the names.

i am not sure why annetti would think we have sun and sand on our beaches!!

i will meet anywhere but do admit to swimming at gonzales and willows beaches in the summer
cheers
AndrewDavid

Our newest quandary arrived yesterday! We were offered an exchange for 4 MORE weeks in Victoria. Translated, this means that we would do a double exchange, adding 4 weeks to our present commitment of 5 weeks, making a total of nine (!!) weeks in Victoria. My husband is ready to accept on the spot. He loves the idea. I have never done two exchanges in a row, without inspecting my home and checking that all is well before we leave again. I can't decide and then I wonder does nine weeks make sense? We are certainly very, very leisured travelers, so I imagine it would work for us. Any thoughts out there? I told our newest prospective exchanger that I would let her know on Monday. Too much of a good thing??

My immediate thought is that if you're not arriving until the end of August, 9 weeks would take you to the end of October - and the weather could be a little daunting at that point. Sometimes October is pleasant, sometimes it's a bit chilly and rainy - you never know. If weather is a big factor, I'd suggest passing up the opportunity. If not, I think you might enjoy the extra time in the area.