We’ve all heard about the bridge-to-Gabriola idea, and remember some of the amazing arguments (like Darrell Bellaart’s) put forward to support that idea. But did you know somebody wants to build a bridge between Nanaimo and Newcastle Island? The Nanaimo News Bulletin reports: Routledge continues to test waters for bridge to Newcastle.
Filed in Nanaimo 11 Comments so far
This morning I just couldn’t remember the name of the catamaran that used to provide foot-passenger ferry service between Nanaimo and Vancouver. But in a blog comment, Bill posted the name: HarbourLynx! With that in hand, I looked around to see if anybody knew where the vessel went when it left Nanaimo. Wikipedia’s HarbourLynx page [...]
Filed in ferries,Nanaimo 3 Comments so far
Remember the foot-passenger ferry that used to travel between Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver? I can’t even remember the name of that vessel now, but it was a handy service, and much-used by a number of Gabriola residents. Many in Nanaimo would really like to see a similar service in operation now. Today’s news is that [...]
Filed in ferries,Nanaimo 2 Comments so far
By way of follow-up to my article regarding the 1887 Nanaimo mine explosion: The Nanaimo Daily News today reports that the memorial at the foot of Milton Street has been refurbished. I visited it only last Thursday, and saw no sign of recent work on it compared to earlier photographs, so am intrigued to see [...]
Filed in events,history,Nanaimo 5 Comments so far
Most days, the world of the northern English mining village where my father was raised seems ungraspably distant from Gabriola Island. I sit at my desk, looking out at the cedars towering over the first flowers of late-arriving Spring, and struggle to imagine the hard rows of company houses on the numbered streets of Horden [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island,Gabriola people,history,Nanaimo 6 Comments so far
Gabriola Island is part of the Snuneymuxw First Nation‘s traditional territory; so is Nanaimo. And in Nanaimo, the Snuneymuxw news today is what some geocachers found. A group of geocachers found more than they were searching for on the weekend. Nanaimo RCMP confirmed Monday that a group of people on an afternoon geocaching foray discovered [...]
Filed in First Nations,Nanaimo Comments Off
You know I’m interested in Gabriola’s native plants, so that wild food festival in Nanaimo on Saturday was too tempting to resist. Off I went! There was a huge crowd, and the first surprise was the number of vendors selling nettle for three to five dollars per bag. At first this looked like a get [...]
Filed in food,Gabriola Island,Nanaimo,native plants Comments Off
[On Gabriola we have GALTT (Gabriola Island Land and Trails Trust); the Nanaimo equivalent is NALT - the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust.] If you’re interested in edible native plants, tomorrow’s NALT event might be of interest: they’re putting on a Wild Foods Festival. (At Bowen Park Centre from 11 am to 4 pm on [...]
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I blogged about Changes for Gabriola-bound ferry passengers a few days ago: BC Ferries has ripped down the waiting room building in Nanaimo Harbour. Today the Daily News has a bit more on that story. In their article, Waiting room at Gabriola ferry terminal gets upgrade, they say the renovations will cost $400,000. The new [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island,Nanaimo 3 Comments so far
You’re away, but planning to come home to Gabriola soon? Don’t plan to spend any time in the waiting room at the Nanaimo Harbour terminal, because it’s not there anymore. See that photo? The view shows Gabriola in the background, and one of those huge Machines of Destruction where the waiting room building used to [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island,Nanaimo 8 Comments so far
The MP representing Gabriola is Jean Crowder. Now that we’ve got a federal election coming up, you might want to take a look at her voting record. Do her votes represent your opinions? How’d they Vote will let you see for yourself — here’s their page on Jean Crowder. I love online tools like this.
Filed in Gabriola Island,Nanaimo Comments Off
You’re in the Quinsam line-up at Descanso Bay, planning your Nanaimo errands for the day. (Yeah, I am watching you on the ferrycam. Heh.) If you like good food and you’ve got a bit of extra time in your day, go visit Markt Artisan Deli, because ohmygoodness, they’ve got some amazing food. Best sausage rolls [...]
Travelling between Gabriola and Vancouver? If you go through Departure Bay as a taxi-taking foot passenger, you’ll be relieved to learn that the no taxi at the terminal insanity is coming to an end. The Daily News reports that BC Ferries and Nanaimo taxi companies have come to an agreement.
Dear Nanaimo Regional Hospital, Getting from Gabriola to your emergency room takes some time and effort. Waiting around in the emergency room reception place for hours before seeing a doctor is stressful and frustrating. So, um, hey! Here’s an article for you to read. From the Globe and Mail: Hospital cuts wait times in half. [...]
Filed in Nanaimo Comments Off
If you went from Gabriola to Nanaimo this afternoon, you might have noticed all manner of commotion, smoke, and noise in the Nanaimo Harbour: there was a boat on fire. It seemed to be a 30-40 foot boat (though what can one tell from afar?), and there was lots of brown smoke to start with. [...]
Filed in ferries,Nanaimo,news 4 Comments so far
Gabriola’s new recycling program left me with a problem – the RDN says we can’t put glass in our recycling bins anymore. What to do with the glass, then? GIRO isn’t a convenient option for me, so I went to check out the Nanaimo Recycling Exchange. Their recycling depot is just off Bowen Road near [...]
Filed in environment,Nanaimo Comments Off
This is one of several freighters anchored near Nanaimo. (Photo taken from the Quinsam, of course.) Do they unload somewhere nearby, or are they just waiting for a space to anchor in English Bay?
Filed in Nanaimo 4 Comments so far
Looking for good coffee on Gabriola? If you like regular coffee you’ll do fine. But if you want espresso or espresso ristretto …ah, well. You’ve got to make your own or get off the island. Our favourite coffee place in Nanaimo these days is Mon Petit Choux. The croissants are fantastic, the barista is brilliant, [...]
Filed in food,Gabriola Island,Nanaimo 4 Comments so far
