Out West. Everything’s further away
At 2pm today, after doing 3 loads of laundry and pre-cooking dinner for the kids, Werner and I left for Vancouver. We managed to get the 3pm sailing (I confess to speeding in the 80klicks per hour zone), and debarked at Tsawwassen around quarter to 5.
Then we drove to downtown Vancouver, direct to our hotel, checking in at 6pm. That’s 4 hours of travel time. Beautiful trip, through the Strait of Georgia, etc etc etc. 
But my, everything’s really big out here, and so far away.
When I lived in Boston, it used to take me 4 hours to drive to Manhattan. And when I lived in Europe, I could cross a couple of countries in 4 hours. By train.
We’re here for Northern Voice 2010. Hope to see some good people there.
I’ve lived on the island for just over a year and still find it a bit exasperating that it takes so long to reach the mainland. But everytime I mention this to a local they look at me like I’m crazy for want to leave Victoria at all. Sa la vie. Just another form of “Island Tax”, I suppose.
I hope you enjoy Northern Voice.
Comment by Jenni — May 6, 2010 #
Haha, so true (re. Victorians’ attitude about wanting to …um. leave, “paradise”). The adjective “insular” seems rather apt!
Comment by Yule — May 6, 2010 #
It’s funny to imagine European density on Vancouver island. Bullet trains to Tofino hourly. Commuter trains to Jordan River every five minutes. Subway lines linking Oak Bay, Sidney, Langford and points inbetween.
We still wouldn’t need 13 governments, of course.
Comment by robert randall — May 6, 2010 #
Well, it used to take about 45 minutes on the ferry from Larkspur to San Francisco (or maybe it still does on the slower ferries) As for driving, just last week, when a lane was closed on the Golden Gate, it took us more than an hour to go 10 miles, or to get into San Francisco from Marin.
Hope you enjoy Northern Voices — and I am sorry it didn’t work out for me to be there this year.
Comment by maria — May 7, 2010 #