We're off and running...

Lane 28, Tsawwassen ferry terminal

Today we left for Vancouver Island to begin the adventure. We're on the way to Ucluelet to secure an apartment (or house) for the next year.

The day is beautiful, and will be all week, a nice change from our last visit to the outer coast, when it rained almost all three days we were there. Not that we're not used to the rain, and we know full well what to expect there during the year.

One of the first lessons we learned on moving from Toronto to Seattle was to invest in good Goretex outer clothes. Besides, one of the main reasons we want to retire on the outer coast is for the winter storms and most of all, the WAVES!

iPhone Hipstamatic photos

The ferry crossing is uneventful, other than the usual suspects that faithfully set their car alarms so that no one will steal their vehicles while the ferry is in transit. The larger ferry that we're on is blissfully quiet and it is an easy two hours in which we can read on our iPads.

As we sit in our cars, preparing to disembark, an announcement tells us that the road south that we intend to take to overnight at my sisters', is closed due to an accident. There is, however, a detour.

When we finally do get onto the road, it turns out to be a non-event, presumably cleaned up before we got there.

NEX7 photo PP in the Moku Hanga app.

Tonight we'll catch up with my sister and brother-in-law, whom we visit only a few times a year living in Langley. Now, we'll be less than three hours drive from each other, and we hope to be able to visit much more often. Mandy and David share our love of the ocean and especially the outer west coast, so we will eagerly expect as frequent guests once we get settled.

More later...