Parksville

My parents were coming down island from Courtney so we bought some picnic fixings and met them at the Rathtrevor for lunch and walk on the sand at low tide.
 

Most summers there is a beach festival in Parksville and a large area of Sand Castles that artists built at the start of the festival.  Every year they have a different theme.

When I was a kid there was no Inland Island Highway and you would slowly miander the single lane road passing through every community on your way up island.  After Parksville, before Qualicum beach, there is a passenger only ferry to Lasquetti.  It was one of those ferries I had never taken.  This trip, that was going to change!

Lasquetti is a bit of an outlier Gulf Island.  BC ferries does manager the ferry contract, but the ferry (foot passenger and bicycles) is operated by a contractor.  The Island has Telus landlines, but doesn't have BC Hydro power or any sort of water connection.  There aren't cell phone towers, but much of the island have cell coverage.  On a busy day, the ferry runs 4 trips.  Our plan was to rent electric bicycles but that fell through when the company discovered two of our party aren't adults - apparently you can't rent an electric bike to a teenager!  Lasquetti is 30km from end to end so there is no way we were going to walk it.

We got on the ferry and 45 minutes later we were in False Bay.