The Surf is Calling

October 21

We contacted our next scheduled campground in Tofino, “Surf Grove”, and were told there was availability if we wanted to arrive a couple of days early……….no brainer……..we are outa here.  Although North Island is beautiful, and is probably a great place to be “in” season, it is deadsville right now.  Our hosts could have done more to help us out……….a name and phone number of some guy who doesn’t pick-up or return messages just doesn’t cut it as customer service my book.  Either way, another early start……packing up, hitching up, with blue skies ahead, and the beaches of Tofino in our future.

One thing that has surprised us as we travelled north are the mountains here on the island.  Had no idea.  They make for a beautiful drive heading south on Hwy.19, as numerous logging trucks pass us going north, probably to Beaver Cove where we were yesterday.  Jutta kept trying to capture the views from the truck while in motion, and took a whack of pictures……..unfortunately only a handful are blog worthy.  We made excellent time as traffic was light, and were at the Hwy.4 turnoff in a few hours.  This road is famous for being twisty/turny upsy/downsy all the way to the coast, and recently for being closed daily between 9am – 1pm, then again from 4pm – 5pm……..road work.  Our timing was perfect, and we joined the back of the line heading west at 1:15, maybe 30 cars back from the front, then we waited probably a half hour as eastbound traffic was allowed to flow first.  I can’t imaging the length of the lineup in Ucluelet/Tofino if it took that long to clear!

Before long we are on the Pacific Rim Highway, heading north to Tofino, and along the way passing a few places Jutta had looked at as options for earlier trips that never materialized.  They look nice, and will still be there when we return, although I know Jutta is missing the Five Star experience now.  There is a big project underway along the highway, installing a new paved bicycle lane from Ucluelet to Tofino…….30 – 35km………really nice……..new bridges, drainage, landscaped…….our only criticism is that it is too close to the road, but I’m sure it will be popular with many.  Surf Grove campground has either been well cared for, or has undergone some recent upgrades………you have never seen an RV Park office like this in your life…….washroom/shower facilities are immaculate and cleaned regularly, the sites are all quite uniformed and clean as a whistle, and we took one as close to the water as possible for our first two days………still can’t see the water from any of the sites, so moving to our pre-booked location in a couple of days won’t be a big deal.  Ton’s of surfers here.

All sites here except for a few (booked) are backing in required………now I don’t think I’m going to run out there and try an obstacle course or anything, but Plan B was slotted perfectly on Site 119 with only one jiggy jiggy.  Thats how you can tell a good backer upper………how many jiggy jiggy’s? Our neighbours across the street who arrived a short time later……..get this, the husband was the spotter and his wife drove the truck……….are you kidding me?……..this guy is just set himself up for all kinds of grief……as Jutta knows well by now, it is always the spotters’ fault.  I counted at least 15 jiggy jiggy’s, and just when you thought it was all over, she got out of the truck with a four foot carpenters level and went back to the trailer………back into the truck, maybe 10 more jiggy jiggy’s, some harsh words exchanged, and, could it be…….is it in place?????……..no…….3 more jiggy jiggy’s before they called it done.  Jutta and I left for a beach walk, and they were still setting up camp when we returned over an hour later.

Ahhhhh……our first beach walk……first of many I am sure. We walked out to a point at the end of the bay, the last stretch on a boardwalk with family names etc. carved into the boards.

Dinner tonight at the Wildside Grill…….Jutta called to make sure they are open, and to see if we needed reservations (see below)…….holy crap, everything is open here!  Wonderful.  They are very sensitive on mask wearing and social distancing, and that is great with so many people around. Some of the best fish and chips ever…..cod with a crunchy coating and not greasy at all…….also ordered a side of the gumbo…..Jutta the chowder.

I was in the sack early after this long day, and was excited about what tomorrow would bring……..glad we came here early!