I've Gone and Done it!

I had a lot of  possible titles for this post: like "Bye-bye Dougie Goodbye", "Going Car Free", or "Car Sharing- is it for me?" and so on.  Yes, Dougie is gone, sold and hopefully loved by his new owner. Unfortunately Dougie is just not the vehicle for me anymore. Sentiment is not a good reason to keep a car...or truck. 

I've debated for awhile now whether to try living car-free as Dougie can sit there in his space for a week or more before I drive him anywhere. The last time was a week ago when my friend Julie and I went to the beach. The steering seemed a bit stiffer than usual - I knew something was up.

So on Monday I took Dougie to my local mechanic. It was bad news - the steering column was seized up and would need an expensive repair. I had to decide whether to get it fixed or if this was the time to let Dougie go. One consideration I had was to donate it for a charitable receipt. But my mechanic knew someone looking for a small truck, took a couple of photos of Dougie and contacted him. We were able to work out a deal then and there - I pocketed a goodly sum of cash - more than I expected and walked home. 

It does hurt a little to give up Dougie but he was meant to live in PEI (along with me:) where having a pickup truck is standard. I kept driving Dougie for three more years after selling my house in PEI but knew I'd have to make a change at some point. So I finally did. And now on to the next adventure - seeing if I can manage with my feet, my bike, a car-share vehicle located a few blocks from me (a Prius), taxi, Uber, bus, train and car rentals (Kazi can give me really good deals!!)  She's already quoted me a price between $20-$30 for a day at the beach (24 hours) which includes insurance and gas!! Yes, I don't even have to pay for the gas! Dougie takes at least that much just in gas to get to the beach; so I've got that covered :) 

Bye bye Dougie!

I know I can manage without owning a vehicle for most of the year but then of course there's winter to consider! I'll have to be creative.  I am motivated by the fact that I will have two less budget lines in my monthly budget - car insurance (around $110/monthly) and gas, currently budgeted at

$80 per month. Yes, only $80 a month for a V8 truck! When I first retired I allotted $200 a month for gas and sometimes used more than that. I have gradually reduced that amount over the past three years by walking and biking more. Fortunately I have most of what I need in the immediate neighbourhood. I'm debating whether to add a "Transportation" line to my budget or whether to include it (Uber, car share etc) in my Misc budget. I'm leaning towards having a transportation line so that I can easily see how much I'm spending. 

I can say that I am feeling lighter. Being an environmentalist and owner of a V8 truck just don't go together well in my mind. Going car-free reduces my carbon footprint quite a bit. There was an article in the paper recently that listed BIG ways to help the environment: having one less child,  reducing travel by one international flight per year, don't eat meat and/or go car free. 

I'm working on the meat.

Let's see how I do without a car.

Dougie taking a beating from a hailstorm.

Victoria B.C. Time to Explore!

Whenever I travel now I book my accommodations on Airbnb. So far I haven't been disappointed. Victoria was no exception. The things I look for are: close to downtown but not TOO close, separate quarters from the owners, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, wifi,  a fridge and a corkscrew :)

This lovely setup met all of my requirements. It had a nice living area with a patio...

...a full size kitchen with all the needed appliances... (I stocked the fridge with yogurt and blueberries for my 3 breakfasts...)

...and it was on the main floor of a house with the owner and her two very quiet young boys living upstairs...

...a very comfortable bed and a brand new bathroom...no tub, but a really nice shower!

The location was St. Lawrence St. which was just a few blocks away from "downtown" Victoria. On this particular trip I needed a parking space too and there was a short driveway that was just the right size and was conveniently located next to the patio and patio doors so it was easy to carry things in from and out to the rental car.

It was a nice street with attractive Craft style homes with loads of flowers, shrubs and trees. The section of the street I was on was one way and very quiet.

At the end of my street, two blocks away, was a park that I walked through arriving at the Fisherman's Wharf. I could see clear across to the other side of the bay and watched the activity of the many boats and pontoon planes.

The harbour contains a "working wharf" which is very colourful and full of different kinds of businesses, not just the usual fishing boats.

This became my favourite place in Victoria and my friend Troy and I ate there on my birthday - I had seared tuna for the first time with a lovely chardonnay - it was so fresh and tasty.

It's a very busy place!

 

What I loved the best were the "floating houses"! There are 33 of them occupied year round. There was one for sale - if only I had a spare million lying around! Small living appeals to me very much, and living at the wharf year round sounds ideal.

Some are one story, most are two and many have a rooftop patio and garden. Some people operate businesses from their floating house.

This very colourful one appealed to my artistic side...

Piers become streets...

Most floating houses show the characteristics of the owners...

The green one has a nice rooftop patio.

There were many water taxis to help people get quickly to the other side of the bay...

 I continued on to explore downtown Victoria seeing a well-occupied fountain...

The HUGE Empress Hotel which I would have loved to explore but we weren't allowed...

The Parliament buildings were quite beautiful I thought...

A closer view of the Empress Hotel. If you book far enough in advance you can enjoy High Tea for about a million dollars.  (Now I need TWO million dollars!!)

Here's my high tea :)  After strolling the streets and taking in the sights I found a pub called "The Local" where I enjoyed a cold beverage and a quesadilla.

This is my view of the bay from "The Local" ...

...a different view...

 Remembering the dead in both World Wars...

 

A Sequoia tree that was planted in the late 1800's - it grows about one foot per year! Every Christmas it is loaded with lights.

You can see tiny people on the sidewalk beside the tree which shows how huge it is!

Parliament and First Nations going head to head - saving sacred land is an ongoing battle.

I saw this in a window of someone's home business - I couldn't resist!!

Lots of plants and flowers that I'd never seen before - beautiful!

And that was my first day - I travelled 3700 kms by Uber, plane, rental car and ferry and safely arrived at my first destination. Tomorrow I'll head to the west coast of Vancouver Island for hiking and exploring. The weather forecast looks great!

Jane in Wonderland

Hi everyone - I'm back :) Truthfully, I've been back for a few days but I had a wicked case of jet lag to get through and since then I've been editing and deleting photos - I only took 1497 of them! I take a lot of duplicates from various angles and distances, then keep the best and delete the rest. I'm not finished yet but thought I'd get started on some new posts anyways.

Wed. May 24th saw me rise at 4:00am in order to get to London, Ontario's International (yes, truly) Airport to board an early flight to Toronto and then on to Vancouver. My daughter hooked me up with an Uber app giving me a $15 credit which was just enough to get me to the airport. Lucky huh?

Below is a photo taken shortly after my arrival - that's it - the whole airport. It doesn't really operate like an "international" airport - I left my suitcase inside while I went out and took this photo - then I realized I'm not supposed to leave my suitcase unsupervised incase someone wanted to turn me into a drug mule...or worse! But when I went back inside the security folks seemed quite unconcerned. Welcome to London!

I'm hoping this isn't my airplane...

No matter the time of day or night a Timmy's somewhere is always open :) A shot of caffeine was exactly what I needed at 5am. And again I left my suitcase unsupervised while I lined up for a dark roast. I did keep my eye on it though.

Pretty spiffy huh? I like it because I don't have to look very hard for my gate.

Of course there is the usual pathetic corporate nod to our First Nations people. I'm sorry, I just think those in power could do so much better. And then...everything went to sh-t!!

I thought I had everything under control! I signed myself up for notifications (delays and cancellations) of London to Toronto flights because lately there have been a LOT of delays and cancellations due to construction at Pearson airport in Toronto. But I didn't receive any notifications and we boarded promptly.

However, once they had us trapped on the plane they announced a 20 minute delay. That doesn't sound like much but the whole flight to Toronto only takes 20 minutes. Then the 20 minute delay became a 40 minute delay. My heart rate went up with each increase. Finally we took off - at the same time as my Toronto to Vancouver flight was boarding!

First sight of the Rockies

 Once we landed I chomped at the bit wanting to get off of the plane to see if I could still make my connection. Well, you know how long that process takes! I sprinted into the airport and asked an employee which gate I needed - she yelled out Gate D34 and I raced down several hallways suitcase whacking at my heels. I found the gate and the last couple of people in line. Thank God!! I was in quite a lather but managed to make it to my seat before I collapsed.

The fabulous Canadian Rockies.

The flight was uneventful (thankfully!) though I have to say as we started to descend I was a bit worried about the mountains that were poking up through the clouds.

But I guess the pilot knew what he was doing as we broke through the clouds with the mountains at a safe distance.

I travelled with just a carryon and a backpack so leaving the airport was easy peasy. Finding the Enterprise car rental depot wasn't quite so easy but a lovely volunteer at the info booth gave me directions (I'm sure he's done it 10,000 times before) and within minutes I was on a shuttle and then in my rental. A Hyundai Veloster which I never quite got used to. Never thought I'd say I missed Dougie the Dodge but I did. I mean, if my foot even got near the brake pedal I almost went through the windshield!!

Stay tuned for the rest of DAY ONE. It gets better :)

Up Up and Away!

Just moments ago I "checked in" with my local airport to receive my boarding pass via text. I am also signed up to receive "flight notifications" in case of a delay or cancellation - this has been a huge problem lately with feeder airport flights heading to Toronto as the domestic flight part of Pearson airport is undergoing construction. However, now that I have officially checked in and have received NO notifications I am feeling quite confident that at this time tomorrow I will have arrived in Toronto (safely) and have connected with the flight that will take me to Vancouver.  I know there are hundreds of other things I can do with my phone that I don't currently do yet I somehow feel very tech savvy at the moment. (That won't last)

Straight out of the 1960s.

My daughter has also convinced me to download the  Uber App to get a ride to and from the airport as both flights occur while she is sleeping/working. As someone who takes a taxi about once a year I haven't really gotten into the debate between Uber and taxis. Kazi has used Uber frequently and has been very impressed with their service. But then she's 26. Like how I can casually toss terms around like Uber and App? Aren't you impressed?

I will be impressed if I can find one available tomorrow at 4:30am. 😁

I like the fact that payment occurs through my Paypal account so don't need to use cash or credit card.

My itinerary is jam-packed as is my suitcase. My carry-on suitcase is actually quite roomy and I'm taking a day-pack as I plan to do a lot of hiking and walking about. No purse, just my wallet. Kazi rented a car for me once I arrive in Vancouver so I can explore to my heart's content. My ferry (fairy?) across to the big island is booked for 1pm arriving at the Swartz Bay terminal at 2:30. I should arrive at my AirBnb around 3pm (ish). And then it's time to explore the city and find some food.

Should be called BC Fairies don't you think?

I better get busy and charge all of my camera batteries!!

See you on the other side! (of the country!) Oh, and the best thing...

...I'm bringing the sunshine!!