Wayne & Irene

A Bit More Ferry Info Sue is right on with her remarks. I've never taken the BlackBall ferry ... although we did take the ferry from Victoria to Anacortes once. It was a beautiful trip through the San Juan islands but the ferry itself was quite small and old compared to the BC ferries, but really quite fine, especially considering the beautiful scenery. I checked both Blackball and BC Ferries websites and the fares work out to be quite close. One advantage of the Blackball ferry is the fact that you don't have to wait at the Blaine border crossing to go through customs/immigration. That process can be very time consuming ... sometimes more than an hour's wait. The Blackball does a quickie customs check for its passengers that takes less time. I'm not sure if there's something else once you land in Victoria, but I can't imagine the whole process would be as time consuming as going through customs at Blaine. Sue's comments about reservations are right on. In either case you really do need to reserve to avoid disappointment. Be sure to fill your gas tanks on the American side whichever route you take. Our prices ... in American gallons ... are over $5.00 per gallon and forecast to keep going up all summer. Cheers, Wayne & Irene

Living Forest -- Please Make Your Own Reservations Just so there is no misunderstanding: In my earlier messages I had suggested that I would make a group reservation for all of us and then sort out individual sites for each camper. That notion has fallen by the wayside since several people have indicated that they have already made their reservations. That is entirely fine ..;. and let's all do that. So, disregard earlier messages about group reservations to be made by me ... and please go ahead and make your own bookings as soon as your plans allow. As I indicated yesterday, we will use the covered patio area adjacent to site 214, so I recommend you select an available site in that general area if you would like to be close to the other Toyota campers for this rally. A quick note about ferries: BC Ferries operates from the mainland Vancouver site ... called Tswassen ... to transport people and vehicles to and from Vancouver Island. The crossing takes about 2 hours. You can get all the schedule info from their website. You have a choice of going to Victoria (Schwartz Bay) or Nanaimo (Duke Point or Departure Bay) when you get to the Tswassen terminal. If you are arriving early and want to take in Butchart Gardens or other Victoria attractions you would want to choose Schwartz Bay. Otherwise, take the Duke Point/Departure Bay ferry and it will land you within about 10/15 minutes away from the Living Forest park. I strongly recommend you make bookings for the crossing to Vancouver Island since the ferries are very busy on summer weekends. Waiting in their parking lot for the "next" ferry ... about 3 hours ... would be a bad start to this great ToyIn. Please message me with any questions you may have about the ferries ... or anything else ... and I'll try to help out. Cheers, Wayne

Living Forest Recommended Sites (Part 2) Here's some more information on campsites for our June 22-24 Toy In at Living Forest RV Park: The covered patio area adjacent to site 214 is a great facility for get togethers. It can hold at least 4 picnic tables and has water/electricity/sinks ... very handy for group gatherings. With this in mind I have booked sites 212 and 213 ... for ourselves and one couple of long time friends who also live on the Island and who will be joining us for this Toy In. I know that some folks have already made bookings, and that is certainly a good idea. I highly recommend that everyone who is interested in this event should make their bookings as soon as possible. There's no harm in booking early and later cancelling out if your plans change, but trying to get good bookings at the last minute will be very difficult as this is a popular park that fills us for every weekend during the summer. So ... I would invite you to log on to the www.livingforest.com site and check out the online booking form and the associated park map. To keep our group in the same area you might like to choose a site in the vicinity of the sites 213/214 ... as close as is available when you book. Once you have your booking made it would be a nice idea to post that information on our toyotamotorome site so that we can all get an idea of where we will be. I will leave it to each of you to make your own bookings directly with the campground. They will need a credit card to hold your booking, but will not charge your card until you actually get there. Please read and understand their booking rules and cancellation policy. I asked them about a discount for our group but unfortunately they only offer discounts for groups using their Group area. As I explained earlier, the Group area is very cramped, not nearly as nice as the area around sitess 212/213 ... and those Group sites have no cable TV hookups. Altogether not the best arrangement in an otherwise great Rv park. If you have any questions please let me know as soon as you can. The key to a successful event for us will be to have everybody book early so that we all get nice sites in about the same area. Looking forward to meeting lots of new friends and seeing all the different Toyota campers in June. Cheers, Wayne & Irene

Coming to the Island The road from the Creston crossing to Vancouver is called the Crowsnest Highway/Hwy 3. It is a very winding, hilly road with almost no services, I drove it a couple of years ago when I was heading back east and I said to myself: Never Again! You would be much better off coming west on I90 until intercepting the I405 and crossing the border at Blaine. Much easier driving. You will make way better time and get to use the "cheap" American gas right up to the Blaine crossing. Fill up at Blaine and you will not have to buy any of our ridiculously expensive Canadian gas at all. At about $1.50 a liter that translates to just shy of $6 a gallon in Canadian money ... right now it's even more if using US dollars. Don't forget to purchase Blue Cross or similar emergency medical insurance. Nanaimo has an excellent hospital and I will have my car with us in case anybody needs to be transported there in a hurry. Of course, ambulance service is also available to/from the Living Forest park. Wayne

Living Forest Recommended Sites The sites R1 to R4 are lovely sites, but they are quite separate from the other park sites since they are located on a small beach area that must be accessed by using a very steep dirt road down to the water. In addition, R1 to R4 do not have sewer connections, but they do have hydro and water. Last year we used the sites around the covered patio area between sites 213 and 214 ... please refer to the park map on the Living Forest RV park site. I recommend that we all book sites as close as possible to the covered patio near 213/214 since it is an ideal facility to use for group type get togethers. The official Group site alsol has a covered patio but that part of the park is definitely not as nice as the 213/214 area and the official Group sites themselves are much smaller, much more crowded ... and half of them have no TV connection as well. On another point, our RV's are only charged a smallj premium for length on the BC ferries. The "standard" vehicle they use for billing purposes is 20 feet. They will charge an additional $5 per foot for us (assuming most Toys are 22 feet) and they do not charge anything additional for the overheight aspect. They will, however, put you in with the big rigs on the lower deck, after collecting the additional $10 from you. Last year they ran specials during the summer, hopefully they will as well this year. That greatly reduced the cost. Keep checking the BC Ferries website for possible info on special rates for June. Cheers, Wayne

Hi Douglas Thanks for your interest in the Vancouver Island Toy In 2012. I plan to collect names of those interested and then make a group booking for all of us toward mid/late May. I'll ask for the sites around the covered patio we used last year. I'll then advise each person of his/her site number and then people can check in and pay for their sites for the number of days they plan to attend. For now, I'd just like to make sure as many people as possible know about the event and I hope we can get firm committments from those interested by mid May. Cheers, Wayne

Hi Gail I can be contacted at carnwini@shaw.ca or 250-246-2006. Cheers, Wayne

OOPS ... I left out the "Date" part ... The date for this Toy In will be the weekend of June 22 - 25. That seemed to work for many of the folks who did express a preference for dates. Cheers, Wayne

Vancouver Island Toy In -- Location and Dates Hello to All Well, it looks like we have a fair amount of interest in a get together this summer on beautiful Vancouver Island. Last year we met at the Living Forest campground just south of Nanaimo. A good time was had by all and it seems those who know this park, and those who have only checked out its website, are agreeable to meeting there againl this year. I encourage everyone to Google the Living Forest RV park and get an idea of how nice it really is. They have a group area but we chose not to use it last year and that was a good decision. The group sites are very cramped and they do not all have TV hookups. Instead, we chose sites around the other covered patio area and used the patio for our Meet and Greet and Pot Luck get togethers. This ensures a good time even if it should happen to be raining for those events ... heaven forbid! I will plan to make some bookings at the campground towards the end of May. I hope that those who would like to attend will be able to commit by that time and we'll sort out which sites we want and for what days. Our Meet and Greet (BBQ) and Pot Luck functions were quite enjoyable last year, so I recommend we do them again. If anyone has some other ideas for get togethers, let's also put them forward. I know everyone was also very interested in checking out each others' campers last year, and I'm sure we'll do some of that again. It's quite amazing to see some of the modifications that people have done to their rigs and get some ideas for our own Toys. There's an absolutely wonderful English style pub close to the Living Forest ... it's called the Crow and Gate and is located in nearby Cedar. If we can swing enough transport it might be fun to go there for a dinner or lunch. There's a stream that runs through the grounds where you can see lots of ducks, geese and the pair of resident black swans. In good weather you can have your food and drink outside in the garden area which is beautifully landscaped. The city of Nanaimo is also close by with lots of interesting things going on all summer and all the shopping you could ever need. The Living Forest park is close to major roads but far enough away so that you dont hear any noise. You can, however, easily walk to a small mall with a good grocery store and some other stores for anything you might need. Last year we also had some people take a trip to Victoria to visit Butchart Gardens. It's about a 2 hour drive from Living Forest but it's a world class display for any serious gardeners in the group. (It's not cheap though ...:-( So, start thinking about this get together and be prepared to make a committment by late May. Tacoma Sue has volunteered to post this info on the Yahoo Toy site and don't be shy about spreading the word to any other Toy owners in your respective areas. Looking forward to renewing some old acquaintances from last year and meeting some new Toy owners as well. Cheers to all, Wayne & Irene

The weather on Vancouver island is generally very nice from mid April to mid October. Anytime in June, July or August should be fine. Usually we get very little rain in those months. In fact, we almost always have watering restrictions for the summer months because there is so little rain then. Of course, it's the luck of the draw for whatever time period we choose, but generally those three months have really good weather with temps in the high 70's to low/mid 80s ... low humidity. As an added bonus, we have very few mosquitoes especially on the southern half of the island.

Living Forest Gets the Nod OK, I think we have enough input to settle on the venue. Living Forest is an excellent choice and, as I did last year, I'll book and assign sites in a good location to everybody who wants to attend. Last year we gathered around a nice covered patio area that we used for get togethers. That worked well, so I'll plan to do the same this time. The next big thing to decide upon is the date. Before choosing a date I'd really like to get a few more inputs from potential attendees. June, July and August are all nice weather months. I suggest we avoid the July 1/ July 4 time frame since the border and ferry services will be clogged at those time. Let's hear from everybody ... it's not too early to make some plans. Cheers to all, Wayne & Irene

I got a set of 6 Hankook's last summer by internet/mail order from Discount Tire in California. I was visiting family in the US and had them delivered to Las Vegas. Cost was about $72 each and about $30 for delivery. Walmart installed them for me. I'm very happy with them. They cost almost double that in Canada. :-( Wayne

Hi Douglas Good to learn we have another Islander close by. Not Vancouver Island, but close enough. Have a look under the ToyIns folder for info on an upcoming Vancouver Island event this summer. (2012). I'm in Crofton and will look after organizing this event if there is enough interest. Hope to see you there. Cheers, Wayne

Hi Mike We're working on a Toy In on Vancouver Island this summer. Have a look at the folder on this site. If you're interested we'd love to get your input on place and dates ... and especially to see you at the event once we get it sorted out. Cheers, Wayne

Hi Sue Great to hear from you and congratulations on your "new" RV. Thanks for your vote of confidence. To answer your question about the Park Sands. There is no group site as such, but the individual sites are quite nice and the location is absolutely beautiful, right on the ocean. Yes, it is a bit pricey but for something special it might be worth it, especially during the Sandsculpture competition time. You asked about Ladysmith. It's a pretty little town. A few years ago they refurbished the downtown area in mid 1800's style and it's very nicely done. It was voted on of the 10 prettiest small towns in Canada. Ladysmith is quite close to the Living Forest campground we used last summer. I'm not aware of any nice RV parks closer to Ladysmith, but I'll have a look just to be sure. I mentioned Victoria area simply because it's close to Butchard Gardens and many other interesting attractions that people might enjoy. If I picked a site based upon the virtues of the park itself, it would be hard to beat the Living Forest. The sites are large, nicely treed, on the ocean, close to Nanaimo for everything you might need and for lots of interesting things to see and do as well. The rates at Living Forest are also fairly reasonable by Island standards and the facilities and service are second to none. Having said that, though, if there's lots of interest in the Park Sands for the reasons mentioned above, or in being closer to Victoria, there are some other nice parks to consider. My bottom line is that I would like to choose a place that would suit the greatest number of people ... assuming there is some significant level of interest. If only a few would like to come, I'd probably vote for the Living Forest ... All you potential Vancouver Island campers: Let's hear your thoughts on date and location. It's fun to think about some nice warm weather and camping at a beautiful RV park ... especially if you look out the window and see cold, nasty weather now. Cheers to all, Wayne

Let's Get the Planning Started! My wife and I organized last summer's Vancouver Island Toy-In. It's not a lot of trouble, so I'm volunteering to be the focal point for another one this summer if there is enough interest out there. We need to settle on a date that works for the most people possible and also on a location. Last year we used the Living Forest RV park just south of Nanaimo. It certainly is a great location for this type of event, but there are also lots of other beautiful RV parks on Vancouver Island as well. It might be helpful if people decided that they would like to be close to Victoria, perhaps .... or maybe you would prefer something nearer Nanaimo ... or even the Comox valley/Campbell River area. Have a look online and check out some of the attractions in these and other areas and post a message here with your thoughts. There is one particularly nice RV park in Parksville that is right on the ocean. It is adjacent to a large public park where they hold the international sand sculpting competition every year. The scrulptures are absolutely amazing, but the RV park ... called Park Sands (Parksville) is a little on the pricey side. We've stayed there a few times and it's amazing to be able to walk out into the ocean. If the tide is out, there is a bald eagle nesting area that you can walk out to observe. The eagles let us get unbelievably close. It's an experience of a lifetime. So, if there is some interest out there I invite you to do some googling on Vancouver Island Rv parks ... give some indication of dates that might work for you ... and post your thoughts on this board. I'd be happy to make a group booking and look after the admin details. Last year we had a few social events: a meet n greet, a potluck dinner and a couple of impromptu get togethers. That also left time for individuals to take off and check out some events they found interesting. I'll be checking this board out. I don't belong to the Yahoo group, but I would be grateful if someone who does would post this notice on that board as well. Best to all, Wayne & Irene

I also used the FRP panel material from Home Depot. I replaced the shower walls/ceiling and the entire back wall of the motorhome bathroom. It turned out great and wasn't too hard to do. While I had the shower pan out I used a wood rot preventative product on the floor and some of the lower wall areas in the toilet and behind the shower where the wallboard was a bit soft and easy to pull off. i did that as far up as i needed until i reached wall board that was very solid. then i glued the frp over everything. i made cardboard pattern pieces and trimmed them until they were perfect and then used them to make really good FRP pieces without having any trimming and fussing to make them fit nicely.

Hi: I've been thinking seriously about building a bed adaptor to turn the over cab bed into a king. I'd love to hear how you went about it. Any pictures, as well, would be great. Thanks. Wayne

Hope you can join the other toy owners on Vancouver Island this coming summer. (Getting a passport is not hard, and you'll have it then for other international travel as well. :-) We had a great time last summer at a lovely campground called Living Forest just south of Nanaimo. They are well set up to handle a group of several ... at least a dozen or so ... motorhomes and have a super location and great facilitijes. Most important, they have a really positive attitude and will bend over backwards to make it a good experience for all. There are also lots of other great campsites on Vancouver Island. (We Islanders call it "Paradise" and for good reason!) Aside from camping on the Island, we're seriously thinking about a trip to the Olympia peninsula and would be happy to get any recommendations for good RV sites there if you care to pass them along. Cheers to all our old friends from last year's rally and looking forward to meeting some more Toy owners this summer. Wayne & Irene

Sounds like you're having a good trip. If you need any info/assistance along the way, feel free to call 250-246-2006 until Friday noon or so, then 250-210-2146 (cell) which we will have on all weekend for the Toy In. Cheers, Wayne

Sounds like you're having a good trip. If you need any info/assistance along the way, feel free to call 250-246-2006 until Friday noon or so, then 250-210-2146 (cell) which we will have on all weekend for the Toy In. Cheers, Wayne

Good Luck YVR Sorry to hear about your brake problems. I really hope you're able to get things sorted out and join us at Living Forest this weekend. Especially after all the work you've done so far in trying to resolve the problem. As far as food is concerned. As I mentioned before, we're planning a Meet and Greet for Friday evening. I'll provide burgers, buns, condiments etc. Our friends, Les and Fran from Courtenay (the non-Toy "guests") will provide a fresh salad, and everybody and anybody else can contribute whatever you would like. Everybody should plan on providing their own drinks and we'll all meet in the covered picnic shelter located right in the middle of our sites. For Saturday night we were thinking that a Pot Luck would be nice. Irene and I will contribute a casserole of my world famous pasta and meat sauce. Other than that ... the sky's the limit for everybody. It's looking like we'll have about 16 adults and 2 children, so let those numbers guide you ... that's assuming YVR can make it. I haven't planned any other activities as such but I hope everybody will enjoy checking out each others' rigs and perhaps doing some hiking on the park's beautiful trails. We'll have our car there as well and Les and Fran have a crew cab truck, so there is some limited transportation for local jaunts to the nearby grocery store if needed. I've also programmed the Nanaimo Hospital into my GPS in case anybody should need to use their services .... hopefully not. For our American friends ... I hope you've arranged some medical insurance for this trip and don't forget to fill up with your nice, cheap gas before crossing the border. (can you say $5.00 per gallon??) Looking forward to meeting everybody this weekend. The weather forecast isnt' bad ... a bit cloudy and cool, but some sunny times too ... and no rain in the forecast. Cheers to all, Wayne & Irene

Vancouver Island Get Togethers Let's have a meet and greet on the Friday evening. I'll provide hamburgers, buns, relish and everyone can bring their own favourite drinks to wash it down with. Our friends, Les and Fran from Courtenay have promised to contribute a big bowl of Les' great salad. Anybody who wants to add anything else is free to do so, of course. Irene and I were thinking that a Pot Luck supper on the Saturday evening might be fun. The group picnic shelter area in the middle of our sites would be perfect for this purpose. It's plenty large enough to hold us all, has several picnic tables in the enclosure, has electric and water services as well. Let's plan to get together around 6 pm or so and see what goodies everybody has to offer. We have a large stack of good quality disposable plates and cutlery that we will provide to keep the washing up chores to a minimum. The weather here on Vancouver Island is slow to warm up but we're hoping that it will get back to normal in the next week or so and we'll have great weather for our event. Cheers to all, Wayne & Irene

, Wayne! How many reservations are confirmed now, if you know? With the addition of Tacoma Sue it looks like 8 sites now. One of them is for our friends from Courtenay with the 5th wheel, the rest are Toyota's. There's still time for a few more if there are any lurkers out there who haven't booked yet. We're looking forward to meeting everyone and seeing all the different Toy's, especially all the modifications and improvements that everyone has made. I finished a couple of projects this past winter. I ripped out the ugly old carpet and installed some nice vinyl flooring. Also redid the bathroom and shower area with fiberglass FRP paneling since I didn't like the wall paper shower stall that our 91 Warrior came with. Also installed a new flat panel TV/DVD and replaced the original microwave with a new and bigger one. We just spent 3 days dry camping in French Beach provincial park near Sooke BC. I discovered that we go through one full tank of fresh water per day and need to empty the holding tanks once a day as well. Both of those operations were carried out using buckets and water containers carried about 100 yards to the outhouse for dumping and the fresh water tap for filling. It was a lot of work and we've discovered that we REALLY like having full hookups. See you all soon. Cheers, Wayne