rrrrroadtrip!

Most of yesterday was spent on the road... we piled into the van and headed up to Quallicum Beach to pick up a friend who has just moved back to the island after 5 years in the US.

We took our time going up, stopping in Duncan and twice in Nanaimo before getting into Quallicum. The stop in Duncan was at the Sally Ann (great bunch of toys for Alice including some grab bags of Lego); the stop at the south end of Nanaimo was to browse the flea market (more great finds including an odd old(?) Fisher-Price toy which looks like an engine... will try to find more info and post photo); then we popped up the road to get some fresh veggies to accompany lunch... then went in search of somewhere to stop and eat.

We chose Maffeo Sutton Park in Nanaimo (it's right downtown on the waterfront) and boy were we impressed. There was a wedding party gathering at the bandstand, there are two oversize chess boards, basketball court, skate ramps, a huge kids playpark, plenty of benches and picnic tables, and an adjacent saltwater lagoon. We will definitely stop there again.

Anyhow, the ride back was a little more painful... we only made pit-stops for bathroom breaks, gas (which is always cheaper up-island) and groceries (including a box full of berries and produce from my favourite farmer's market just north of Duncan). But we made it OK.. I even managed to knit a bit along the way.