12 Days of Family Road Trip: Part 1

Thanks for visiting my long-lost blog. I haven't posted anything in many years. I hope you will enjoy this post and the upcoming ones.

July 23

Trip: Calgary to Kamloops, 7 hrs

Hotel: The Hue Hotel, Kamloops

After months of on-and-off planning, this was the big day! My first time bringing the family out for a 12-day road trip. What could go wrong!

My wife, Hilda, packed all the kids' stuffs, and I picked toys like the Nintendo Switch, iPad, drone (DJI Mavic Mini Pro 3), action cam (ASKSO V50X), and many accessories I could have thought of.

As much as I want to limit my kid's screen time, age six and ten, these gadgets were tremendous assets for a long road trip for the driver with kids.

This trip wouldn't be cheap. The average hotel cost was $300/night. We could have picked the cheaper options: camping, air B&B, motel, etc. But for the peace of mind, hotel it was!

Map from Calgary to Kamloops

20 minutes out from my house, just about to leave Calgary city limit, I asked my daughter, Charlotte, what would be the one thing she looked forward to the most. I expected she would say something like going to the US, which was part of my tentative plan to visit Seattle. Suddenly, I started to panic! Without waiting for her response, I exclaimed, "We forgot the passports!"

This was a great life lesson; always use a checklist when packing.

After some debates, I drove back to grab the passports. I didn't want to disappoint my daughter right at the start of a long trip.

The drive was long, but it was scenic.

Took a break at the Yoho National Park Natural Bridge

The kids were excited when it came to water.

It was 33 C in the interior of British Columbia, and I wouldn't mind jumping into the water, too, if I didn't have to be adulting.

Finally, we arrived! There were many forest fires we saw during the drive to Kamloops. The closest one to the hotel was the Ross Moore Lake wildfire.

The Hue Hotel (my red car was there)

July 24

Trip: Kamloops to Sooke, 7.5 hrs (1.5 hrs on sea)

Hotel: Prestige Oceanfront Resort, Sooke

On the next day, we all could smell the smoke. Fortunately, we were heading away from the forest fire. So we started with having a good breakfast at "Amsterdam Restaurant." The pannekoek (pancake?) tasted great, but the bill wasn't😒

Pannenkoek with Ham

There was no continental breakfast at the Hue Hotel, but they offered snack bags (apple, yogurt, and a juice box. I wished I had grabbed a few more bags to feed my family.

Anyway, the most exciting part of the day was travelling across the sea on a ferry to Vancouver Island.

7.5 hr drive from Kamloops to Sooke

After nearly 5 hours of driving, I decided we had to book the whale watching. This wasn't cheap. Hilda and I had been contemplating if it was worth it. But, realizing my effort of driving this far, let's just do it! 

As we discussed what we needed for whale watching. I exclaimed, a pair long pants!. The weather was so hot in Calgary that I totally forgot about it.

Since we got time (the ferry schedule was delayed by an hour due to an "ongoing mechanical issue"), we headed to the Tsawwassen Mills to eat and buy the pair of long pants. That place looks just like Crossiron Mills in Calgary; I'm surprised, but not really. It was probably built by the same developer!

Two Whales Sculpture at the Tsawwassen Mills

The weather turned dark quick, and it started to rain. Good thing I brought an umbrella! It would be the only time I needed it for this trip, thanks to climate change 😔. As instructed by the ferry ticket, we arrived at the Tsawwassen Terminal 60 minutes before departure.

Tsawwassen Teminal Gate

It was a long wait. I should have left the car and hung out at the terminal stores instead of getting stuck in my car feeling sluggish and stuffy (high humidity).

Waiting in line to go on the ferry.

Kids went crazy with their stuffies.

After the long wait, we are finally onboard!

There was no shortage of coffee bars anywhere I travelled, including the ferry (Spirit of Vancouver Island):

The Arbutus served Starbucks coffee. The coffee bar should just be called: Starbucks 😛

One last silly photo of the kids

Surprisingly, Roger's LTE worked on the sea!

After 1.5 hrs on the ferry and another hour of driving, we finally arrived!

The hotel was located at the Sooke Harbour Marina and had a gorgeous view. Sooke was about a 45-minute drive from Victoria. The drive was windy but beautiful, so much better than Alberta Highway 2!

Just as I thought getting to the destination safely was the hardest part, there were always unexpected things, like my hotel room was not even booked 🤯. According to the hotel manager, Expedia forwarded my booking request, but it was never confirmed (by Expedia???). I booked this place three months ago, so it was a shocker to learn this as nervously standing at the check-in counter.

This was a high-travel season. Would my family have to sleep in a car tonight!

The hotel manager understood this wasn't my fault. To be double clear, I showed him the Expedia confirmation email. Fortunately, rooms were available, and I got a minor upgrade to a harbour view room with two queen-size beds. Phew!

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