Trip to meet the In-Laws Part One

Friday we were leaving the island to go to Merritt. Patty had to work till 3pm but I took the day off seeing as it was only a 4 hour shift for me. I did some running around in the morning getting ready then took Aunty to Tim Horton's for lunch. I still had a couple of hours to kill so I grabbed my camera and went to take some photos. I spent about an hour looking for things (bugs) to photograph before heading back home to wait for my wife.





When Patty arrived home we grabbed our things and with the help of Ben (pushing us out the door) we threw everything in the car and hit the road. About 5 minutes into the trip I realized we had forgot the gift we had gotten for Patty's mom's birthday so I turned around and Patty ran in and grabbed it. Back on the road and hoping we had everything we headed for Nanaimo and the ferry terminal. When we got to Nanaimo there was a huge lineup and we had to park on the road to wait to get on the ferry. We knew we weren't going to catch the first one but were hoping to catch the 5:10 ferry to Horseshoe Bay. When I purchased our ticket I asked the guy what our chances were and he said slim to none. Well luck was with us as we made the slim part and were the second to last vehicle allowed on the Ferry which left the port 20 minutes late.



We went up stairs had a bite to eat then went back down to the car to wait our arrival in Horseshoe Bay. Once off the ferry and out of the area traffic wasn't too bad and we made pretty good time. We drove without stopping to Merritt and as we went into town Patty pointed out her old house and some other spots in her old haunt. Patty was in Merritt for almost 40 years. We drove to Patty's friend Anita's apartment which wasn't too far from the only place I'd ever been to in Merritt (Subways). (2 years ago on a trip to Kelowna for a football game we stopped there for lunch and I remembered it was right by the arena and aquatic building) Anita was waiting for us and we sat and chatted with her for a couple hours before going to bed. Anita gave Patty a Christmas present she had kept for the past 3 years as she hadn't had a chance to give it to Patty before now.