Holland Point

Our day started out promising. We grabbed lattes at Tofino Roasters, scones at Summit Bread Co., and had our leftover cheese and bread packed for the road. We drove out of Tofino and about 20 km into our 4+ hour drive, we saw a sign the read HIGHWAY CLOSED. A young man told us a rock slide had closed the highway, but they were hoping to open it at 10 am. It was 9:20, so we drove until we reached the stopped traffic and then began to wait.

After 10, a construction worker came down the highway and told everyone that it was going to be another two hours. We ate our scones and waited some more. I eventually walked down the highway only to discover that some people near the front had been stopped there since 5 am. I was also able to see the rock slide and the rock that sat on the highway was the size of a bus. I wandered back to our car and said to Brad that were weren’t making it home today. We had no cell service, so all we could do was wait.

At noon, we were told two more hours. Evan finished a book, Brad started his second book, and I took a nap.

At 2, we were told two more hours. I went to use the port-a-potty that was about 1.5 km away and discovered it had no toilet paper.

At 3:45, we were told 10 more minutes. They gave us water and granola bars as some sort of compensation for our patience.

At 4:10, we were allowed to proceed.

I don’t know how far the traffic had lined up behind us, but on the other side of the rock slide, cars stretched for at least 5 km.

I didn’t get cell service for another hour, so by the time I got through to WestJet it was our boarding time in Victoria. And it began pouring rain.

Driving through the winding roads and rain, I was able to rebook our flight for the following day and then book a hotel. We didn’t arrive in Victoria until after 8 pm, and after a quick supper at The Commons at 10 Acres, we drove to our hotel.

It wasn’t the day we had planned out or how we wanted our vacation to end, but in the end, it all worked out just fine. And it’ll probably be a story we can tell for many years to come.Read more