In the morning, Kevin once again woke me up by throwing a pillow at me from his bed. Apparently two double beds are the easiest to get in Canada. We both slept so well every time we were in separate beds
that we’re considering two beds in our new addition (ha, not likely!). Kevin worked on putting some pictures in the blog and then decided it was time to pack the car. I wanted to finish an email I was writing before helping him with the packing. Kevin left for the car with a few bags and the ice chest but returned quickly. He told me that I needed to get up and come with him because someone had stolen our bicycles. At first I thought he was joking, but quickly realized by the look on his face that he wasn't kidding around. He looked like he was about to throw up. What a shock to see the bike rack on the car with all three loc
ks cut and the bikes gone. Our largest lock lay on the ground and looked like it was cut by a very strong metal cutter. It was a sad and sick moment to realize that our bikes were taken and there was nothing we could do about it. The motel owner told us he had come outside around 1am and noticed the bikes and thought he should call us to tell us to bring them in, but he didn't want to wake us up. He told us this to “cheer us up”. We were feeling sick about the whole thing and also feeling really stupid for trusting that our bikes would be okay up on the rack with three locks. The motel owner didn't charge us for our night stay. We were grateful for his gesture but still very upset about the theft. We called the police and filed a report but we doubt there is any hope our bikes will ever be found. Thankfully, our sister in-law, Lynette, is our insurance agent, and she called us back within an hour to let us know that our bikes would be covered under our home insurance policy. Although we won't ever see our bikes again, we're happy to know that we'll be able to buy new ones when we get back home. "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!” We miss our bikes and have been going through the full spectrum of emotions following our loss.
We left Chilliwack feeling as though we’d never want to return! Stopping at Starbuck’s on the way out didn’t even help our moods. We were in a slump and it wa
s really hard to pull ourselves out of it. Thankfully the drive to Vancouver took only an hour and we found the ferry terminal with no mishaps. The entrance to the terminal is just like a bridge toll booth where you buy your tickets to cross over to Vancouver Island. The charge was $65.00’s for two adults and a car. I had worried for days if our bikes on top of our car would be too tall for the ferry holding area, and now I didn’t have that to worry about. I wish I did! We were instructed to park our car in lane #41, which was one of eight lanes of cars all stopped in long lines waiting to board the ferry for the 2pm crossing. Since we had about 1.5 hours before leaving, we locked the car, grabbed our cameras (we never leave without those) and walked over to the bu
ilding in the middle of the complex where there was a food court. We bought sandwiches and ate quickly because we didn’t want to miss the boat. We were rookies at this ferry stuff and weren’t exactly sure how this whole thing worked. But like an airport, there are signs that let people know when their lane is ready to board. When we saw the people who owned the car in front of us in the food court area, we relaxed a little knowing we couldn’t go anywhere until they moved their car. We walked back to our car and waited some more. Kevin went for a short walk and found a bald eagle nearby and got some good pictures. Soon it was time to board. We were motioned into the bottom level of the large ferry. Surrounded by buses, people with boats, RV’s, and cars, I was wondering if I would get claustrophobic down in the belly of the ferry boat. 
Luckily, people go up the stairs to spend time on the ferry during the trip. It was a lot of fun! We stayed on deck and took pictures the entire trip even though there were plenty of seats inside with a full cafeteria and arcade as well. The crossing took about 1 hour and 40 minutes. As we got close to Vancouver Island, they announced over the loud speaker that it was time to go back down to the belly of the beast to our vehicles. Within minutes of docking, the large doors opened up and everyone drove off the ferry. It all went really smooth.
Tired and cranky from the day and the emotional toll of losing our bikes, we made the decision to skip camping for a day and look for a motel. We picked the closest
Best Western motel, which was located in the town of Sidney, and were relieved that they still had rooms available. Sidney is a quaint little harbor town with a pier (and two Starbuck’s). It boasts as having the highest amount of bookstores of any town on Vancouver Island. We eagerly unpacked our car and filled the motel luggage cart with all our gear, making sure to not leave anything valuable or dear to us in the car. We weren’t taking any chances after being whacked in Chilliwack. We navigated the fully loaded luggage cart down the hall. Kevin pushed while I pulled. As we went 
over the threshold of our room, I decided to back up the cart because the bags weren’t fitting through the doorway at the angle we first attempted. As we pushed forward again, one of the tri-pods hanging from the luggage rack swung and hit me square in the mouth. It hurt really bad and soon I had blood dripping down my lip. I quickly went to inspect the damage. The tri-pod had also hit my front tooth and I was concerned that it had cracked my tooth. Luckily it only affected my mouth. Kevin whipped out one of the cameras and captured the injury. Once again, you’ve got to love photographers! My mouth swelled up quickly and I looked like I had just lost a prize fight. Kevin got his scar and now I got mine. I quickly found the ice chest and guzzled down a beer (I wanted to make sure the alcohol killed any possible infection). The drink stung my lip but eased my pain. Within minutes we both rea
lized we needed a “vacation” from our vacation and Kevin went back down to the office to book the room for an additional night stay. We were really worn out and it felt great to know we wouldn’t have to leave for 2 days. After I recovered, we got back in our car and drove down to investigate the Sidney pier. We then decided to drive over to find out where the Bouchart Gardens were since we planned to visit there sometime during our visit. We ended up expl
oring some coves on foot and then headed in the car to the city of Victoria. Once in the city, we found plenty to photograph. We parked near the wharf and took pictures of it along with the parliament building and various fountains, statues, flowers, and people. By the time we left, it was past 10pm and we still hadn’t had dinner. We waited until we got back to Sidney to eat and found the only place still open was McDonald’s. The food tasted great
that we’re considering two beds in our new addition (ha, not likely!). Kevin worked on putting some pictures in the blog and then decided it was time to pack the car. I wanted to finish an email I was writing before helping him with the packing. Kevin left for the car with a few bags and the ice chest but returned quickly. He told me that I needed to get up and come with him because someone had stolen our bicycles. At first I thought he was joking, but quickly realized by the look on his face that he wasn't kidding around. He looked like he was about to throw up. What a shock to see the bike rack on the car with all three loc
ks cut and the bikes gone. Our largest lock lay on the ground and looked like it was cut by a very strong metal cutter. It was a sad and sick moment to realize that our bikes were taken and there was nothing we could do about it. The motel owner told us he had come outside around 1am and noticed the bikes and thought he should call us to tell us to bring them in, but he didn't want to wake us up. He told us this to “cheer us up”. We were feeling sick about the whole thing and also feeling really stupid for trusting that our bikes would be okay up on the rack with three locks. The motel owner didn't charge us for our night stay. We were grateful for his gesture but still very upset about the theft. We called the police and filed a report but we doubt there is any hope our bikes will ever be found. Thankfully, our sister in-law, Lynette, is our insurance agent, and she called us back within an hour to let us know that our bikes would be covered under our home insurance policy. Although we won't ever see our bikes again, we're happy to know that we'll be able to buy new ones when we get back home. "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!” We miss our bikes and have been going through the full spectrum of emotions following our loss.We left Chilliwack feeling as though we’d never want to return! Stopping at Starbuck’s on the way out didn’t even help our moods. We were in a slump and it wa
s really hard to pull ourselves out of it. Thankfully the drive to Vancouver took only an hour and we found the ferry terminal with no mishaps. The entrance to the terminal is just like a bridge toll booth where you buy your tickets to cross over to Vancouver Island. The charge was $65.00’s for two adults and a car. I had worried for days if our bikes on top of our car would be too tall for the ferry holding area, and now I didn’t have that to worry about. I wish I did! We were instructed to park our car in lane #41, which was one of eight lanes of cars all stopped in long lines waiting to board the ferry for the 2pm crossing. Since we had about 1.5 hours before leaving, we locked the car, grabbed our cameras (we never leave without those) and walked over to the bu
ilding in the middle of the complex where there was a food court. We bought sandwiches and ate quickly because we didn’t want to miss the boat. We were rookies at this ferry stuff and weren’t exactly sure how this whole thing worked. But like an airport, there are signs that let people know when their lane is ready to board. When we saw the people who owned the car in front of us in the food court area, we relaxed a little knowing we couldn’t go anywhere until they moved their car. We walked back to our car and waited some more. Kevin went for a short walk and found a bald eagle nearby and got some good pictures. Soon it was time to board. We were motioned into the bottom level of the large ferry. Surrounded by buses, people with boats, RV’s, and cars, I was wondering if I would get claustrophobic down in the belly of the ferry boat. 
Luckily, people go up the stairs to spend time on the ferry during the trip. It was a lot of fun! We stayed on deck and took pictures the entire trip even though there were plenty of seats inside with a full cafeteria and arcade as well. The crossing took about 1 hour and 40 minutes. As we got close to Vancouver Island, they announced over the loud speaker that it was time to go back down to the belly of the beast to our vehicles. Within minutes of docking, the large doors opened up and everyone drove off the ferry. It all went really smooth.Tired and cranky from the day and the emotional toll of losing our bikes, we made the decision to skip camping for a day and look for a motel. We picked the closest
Best Western motel, which was located in the town of Sidney, and were relieved that they still had rooms available. Sidney is a quaint little harbor town with a pier (and two Starbuck’s). It boasts as having the highest amount of bookstores of any town on Vancouver Island. We eagerly unpacked our car and filled the motel luggage cart with all our gear, making sure to not leave anything valuable or dear to us in the car. We weren’t taking any chances after being whacked in Chilliwack. We navigated the fully loaded luggage cart down the hall. Kevin pushed while I pulled. As we went 
over the threshold of our room, I decided to back up the cart because the bags weren’t fitting through the doorway at the angle we first attempted. As we pushed forward again, one of the tri-pods hanging from the luggage rack swung and hit me square in the mouth. It hurt really bad and soon I had blood dripping down my lip. I quickly went to inspect the damage. The tri-pod had also hit my front tooth and I was concerned that it had cracked my tooth. Luckily it only affected my mouth. Kevin whipped out one of the cameras and captured the injury. Once again, you’ve got to love photographers! My mouth swelled up quickly and I looked like I had just lost a prize fight. Kevin got his scar and now I got mine. I quickly found the ice chest and guzzled down a beer (I wanted to make sure the alcohol killed any possible infection). The drink stung my lip but eased my pain. Within minutes we both rea
lized we needed a “vacation” from our vacation and Kevin went back down to the office to book the room for an additional night stay. We were really worn out and it felt great to know we wouldn’t have to leave for 2 days. After I recovered, we got back in our car and drove down to investigate the Sidney pier. We then decided to drive over to find out where the Bouchart Gardens were since we planned to visit there sometime during our visit. We ended up expl
oring some coves on foot and then headed in the car to the city of Victoria. Once in the city, we found plenty to photograph. We parked near the wharf and took pictures of it along with the parliament building and various fountains, statues, flowers, and people. By the time we left, it was past 10pm and we still hadn’t had dinner. We waited until we got back to Sidney to eat and found the only place still open was McDonald’s. The food tasted great
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