::::: : the wood : davidrobins.net

They probably thought it was a good idea at the time

News ·Monday May 26, 2008 @ 22:41 EDT (link)

I'm referring to British Columbia, and having their capital on an island, which may have been good for defensive purposes back in the day, but in modern times (at least until the MythBusters furnish us all with our own jetpacks) it leaves people at the mercy of infrequent and expensive ferries.


MV Coho (Port Angeles ferry)
20080521: Pick Mom up at airport; leave work 1830, get to airport at 1930 (the "with traffic" time from Google; traffic indeed was miserable). Waited about 30 minutes, since the plane wasn't as early as predicted, drove home, got back around 2100, made dinner (Honey had the baked potatoes on since they took longer), and looked at the route for Friday.

20080522: GRE today; started filling out my online UWa. application. Went shooting at Wade's, but mom didn't want to shoot, so I only shot 3 targets and Honey shot 2. Getting some good groupings, but I think the sights need adjusting (my TFOs should arrive soon, anyway).

20080523: Long day… didn't sleep (we'd stayed up until 0130 or so and needed to get up at 0330, so sleeping would have just made us groggy). 0330-0400: Showered and shaved. 0400-0410: Packed the car (stuff to do on the ferry, drinks and snacks, Mom's luggage, maps).
0410-0500: Drove from Duvall to Edmonds; bought ferry ticket ($27.85 for vehicle and three passengers).
0545-0615: Edmonds-Kingston ferry.
0620-0720: Arrived at Port Angeles, bought ticket for ferry to Victoria ($72 plus $11 on-line reservation fee; Mom paid for the ferry).
0820-1000: Port Angeles-Victoria ferry.
1000-1030: Customs, unloading, met Mom's friend, etc.
1030: Parked in a lot at Quebec and Montreal streets; Mom's friend paid ($1.50 Canadian).
1030-1200: Walked around Victoria, around the downtown, went into a few shops, not all that exciting.
1200-1300: Ate at Smitty's, since I was misled by its fish and chips sign to think it wasn't a chain. Should have gone to the pub across the road. Not terrible (comparable to Denny's or Shoney's) , but there were so many better places around.
1300-1350: Walked back by the Victoria waterfront, took some pictures.
1350-1400: Met back at car in lot at Quebec and Montreal streets (we'd agreed on 1400, but were both early; truth be told we had Mom pegged at being 10 and 15 minutes late respectively).
1400-1515: Drove up to Chemainus.
1515-1545: Walked around Chemainus, stopped at the information center, and at a park; saw Mom off at the ferry (left 1555).
1545-1720: Drove up Highway 1 to Duke Point. Highway 1 could really use some more signage.
1720-1745: Arrived at Duke Point ferry, bought ticket ($30.30 Canadian for vehicle and two passengers, woman was shocked, shocked I say, that I don’t carry change).
1745-1945: Duke Point-Tsawwassen ferry.
1930: Coffee/pastry on the Queen of Alberni, the ferry from Duke Point (Nanaimo) to Tsawwassen (Vancouver).
1945-2300: Arrive back home (Highway 99 in Canada to I-5; short lines and no trouble at the border, even a "welcome home" from the customs agent).
20080524, 25: Stayed home, watched movies, Voyager, Charmed, and That '70s Show.

20080526: Updated Broadstripe (cable ISP) stats (also emailed to work Duvall Employees alias):
For March 2008 (starting March 9): average daily downtime was 2.23% (~32 min./day)
For April 2008: average daily downtime was 2.46% (~35 min./day)
For May 2008 (to date): average daily downtime was 0.45% (~7 min./day) April to May shows a 5x improvement (maybe it's infrastructure improvements, maybe it's just all the people moving to Verizon). Perhaps Broadstripe will become like Duvall ("Don't come here, there are zombie deer...").

Books finished: Dracula.

DVDs finished: The Man in the Iron Mask, Storm of the Century, Rendition, Disturbia, Spider-Man 3.