Sunday, my first day off, started a bit too early with a six o’clock phone call from one of my committee members at my church. And then, of course, I couldn’t get back to sleep, so it was up and at ‘em.
Squamish Baptist Church. A very friendly congregation.
Fernando and I caught a cab to the Squamish Baptist church. It was a small church of about 100 people. The young pastor greeted us at the door and gave us a very warm welcome. The worship service was excellent. After the service we asked directions to Quest University, which out to be about a 20 minute walk away. One of the elders asked us if we had any plans for lunch. When I said we didn’t, he invited Fernando and I to lunch, which we gladly accepted.
University Highlands - Quest University Canada
He was a retired police officer from Vancouver West, who had retired in Squamish. He asked us if we would like to tour quest University, and we gladly accepted. Naturally I had to fire a few photos while we were there. Fernando is getting to be just as big a shutterbug as myself. The University is only a couple of years old, and is beautifully situated on top of the hill. This was the original location that we were supposed to be housed at. The sky was foggy with clouds obscuring the hillside, but the site was still beautiful. On the way out of the University we stopped and he took our picture of us beside the large sign.
View from Quest University. Another misty day, at about 6 degrees Celcius.
The family couldn’t have been more hospitable. I’ve always marvelled at how Christians in far off places can become instant family when you are traveling. They made us feel that we had known them for years. Their house was a beautiful multilevel residence built on the side of a hill. There was a front veranda coming off a second level with huge bay windows overlooking the mountains on the far side of the valley.
Sunday visit with a family from the baptist church. What a warm welcome!
After lunch I asked to be taken home, as I had to finalize travel arrangements with Bob Arsenault for the next day. Bob came over and I introduced him to Skype. He was able to do a video call to Steve Huebner. This was Bob’s first experience with Skype, and he was quite impressed. Meanwhile, Steve got a preview of his hotel room for next week.
After I did my laundry, we booked an oceanfront suite at the Weigh West Marine Resort, in Tofino, Vancouver Island. This is the westernmost point in Canada, and is right beside a Marine sanctuary. Bob lived in British Columbia for 20 years, and has volunteered to be my personal guide to one of the most beautiful spots in Canada. We will be catching a ride down to horseshoe Bay in the morning with one of the drivers here who lives in Nanimo. This same fellow works part-time for budget rent a car and called ahead and told him to give us the employee rate. We plan to catch the 8:30 ferry across to the island and then rent a car to travel roughly 300 km to the other side.
My roommate Reto accepted on overtime shift for tomorrow. They also called me, but I declined. After a lovely dinner with Reto in the Timberwolf restaurant downstairs, it was time to pack up and retire for the evening.
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