Secker Goes Globetrotting
27th Jun 2012 A day trip out of Victoria Over breakfast we were discussing what to do with our day. My dad suggests going to a forestry museum as he said it sounded quite good and they had a train that took you around the old area - and as his knee was causing him trouble that would suit him. B was also quite keen but mum and I weren't sold on it. After breakfast we discussed it again, dad read out what the guide book said about it and mum and I, still not massively sold on it said that a day trip out of the city would be quite nice. It wasn't a long drive and we rocked up and the B.C Forestry discovery centre (its not even called a museum!) by about midday. We'd just missed the train and the next would be in an hour. We bought tickets and got a map - from the looks of it, the train would be about a 40 minute chug around the grounds. In the meantime there were other exhibitions and displays to look at. It basically provided a history of how logging has been an integral part of the B.C economy for well over 150 years and how as industry developed the way they logged was also developed - i.e. the use of trains. Dad and I were sat outside in the sun waiting for my mum to read all the bits of the exhibition (dad and I skim read, mum reads EVERYTHING!) and we were debating the length of the train ride. I said it had to be 40 minutes as they run every hour and from the look of the map it was quite a big area. He said, Carina, I think it's only 15 minutes. I'd already been disappointed that it wasn't a steam train taking us around. It's not mentioned anywhere in the info that it's a steam train but I just assumed. As did my mum so it wasn't just me. I refused to believe that it would only be a 15 minute journey. We boarded the carriages which were just carts on train wheels, and off we went. 10 minutes later - not even 15, we were rolling back to the station. I was a little disappointed I have to say. And so Finally was my dad! After the thrilling -not even a steam train - ride we had Ice cream and then looked at the rest of the museum. Despite my sarcastic response to most of what I saw at the discovery centre, it was interesting to some extent. It's an industry England doesn't have to the same extent and so we all learnt something which I guess is good. I couldn't resist just singing the Monty Python lumberjack song as we finished our visit! We'd decided a stop in a place called Duncan was in order on our way back. Duncan is the city of totem Poles (tho it's more of a town). It has something like 80 totems in and around the town including the worlds largest in diameter. Given half the chance mum and B would have walked around all 80 of them but dad and I said we should keep it small. Mum and B stopped off at the post office first to buy stamps and dad and I waited for them to come back (on account of his knee - and he finally caved to our suggestions he buys some kind of pain relief gel to rub in!). As we were waiting, there was this commotion in the street as this woman didn't see a cyclist and walked into his path, he wasn't going that fast and swerved to miss her but caught the strap of her handbag as he did so. Luckily she realised and let go in time, just as he fell off. Both very lucky it wasn't worse and they were so polite to each other about it. Geez, Canadians can be so nice! We got stuck in with some of the Totem trail and eventually stopped for a coffee break. Dad wanted ice cream so we went off to get him some (it's like having a child sometimes!) and mum and B went looking at more Totem's. We took the scenic drive back, which just hugs the coastline for a while. We wanted to stop at a winery or two as its a popular wine region but the first one we came to closed at 4pm and we arrived at 3.55. So we decided just to head back. We went out to Nautical Nellies again for dinner. I Debated having the steak and mushroom pie again. It was that good that I had to. Frankly nothing else on the menu grabbed me. It was just as delicious as the first time. Our Rummikub championship of course continued. I think at this point in the week I was losing badly and B was winning by miles.
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