Meeting Family and moving on

After our usual breakfast of yoghurt and berries we set off to Duncan via Nanaimo. Taking the coastal route nice and easy we ended up in downtown Nanaimo for a look around. We parked at the local Thrifty's and started walking along the waterfront. I only took two pictures in Nanaimo. The city did not impress me at all. Bear in mind that that is just my personal opinion, but I found the town messy and confusing. There were also a lot of angry homeless people roaming the streets. After an hour or so we had enough and got back to the car to continue our drive south bound for Duncan.

Nanaimo harbour

Always looking

Coming up to Ladysmith we drove the high street through town and liked the older part of the city. There are so many things to do and see here, and the newer part of town has all the conveniences of the big box stores present on the mainland. This town is worthy of a longer visit.

We cruised on to Duncan and asked at a gas station for directions to the local Brew Pub. It was just up the street a bit. We found a good parking spot nearby and walked to the pub to meet Michael and Derval from Drogheda, Ireland. The last time Shelagh saw her cousin was 45 years ago. We opened the door to the pub and they recognized each other immediately. We spent a wonderful couple of hours chatting and enjoyed some beer and lunch. The next day Michael and Derval travelled on to Whistler, BC. We drove the scenic highway back to Parksville and made plans for the next day. Time to move on up island to Miracle Beach park...

Michael, Shelagh and Derval

The next morning we packed up our camp and headed north. Along the way we stopped at a real estate development called Qualicum Landing. We had found this place with our realtor app and we were interested in taking a closer look. The complex property is ocean front and has a number of cottages built around a communal pool and clubhouse. The whole thing is just beautiful with your own waterfront. The gate was open and we ventured in and parked the car in a visitor's spot. We walked around and found the shared path to the beach with stunning views over Georgia Straight. There are fire pits and benches on the beach, a tennis court, swimming pool with hot tubs and a club house with exercise equipment and a pool table. We could not get this place out of our heads for many days but ultimately decided that with a walk score of zero we would hop into the car for every outing and that, for us, is a deal breaker...

The beach at Qualicum Landing

Some of the cottages

We drove on through Courtenay and Comox and then to Miracle Beach park. We found a nice large site for our next home and began setting things up. After 20 minutes we were all done and ready for a simple lunch. Then on to the beach for a look around. The beach is awesome and the park as well. This has to be one of the cleanest camp grounds we have stayed at. A serious effort is made to keep the outhouses clean and well stocked. The areas around the facilities are neatly raked and manicured. Kudos to the team that maintains this park. We had a nice evening with a generous helping of firewood, and crawled into bed well and content...

Sunset at Miracle Beach

 

Posted with Blogsy