As mentioned in Day 2 we stayed at Bill and Diane’s home located just south of the junction (Route 4 and Pacific Rim Hwy which connects Tofino and Ucluelet) and about 10 minutes north of Ucluelet. It’s a beautiful property, very rustic and eclectic. We slept upstairs in what they call a loft as its in the upper roof area of their home and the only place you can stand up is in the center of the loft and I believe I had 2 inches to spare. Then of course the roof slants as you would expect it to on either side with one vertical 10 inch beam which our hosts warned us to be wary of not hitting our heads. As much as we tried to avoid these beams we each hit our heads several times. It’s a good thing both of us are hard headed!! The beds on either side of the roof were extremely comfortable so both of us had a great night’s sleep! We hope by the 2nd night we will do a better job of avoiding the beams. I wish I had taken a picture of the loft but you will just have to imagine it.
We had a quick breakfast, finished day 2 blog then left to head up to Tofino, but before we did I only had 14% left charge on the Audi so we headed to the Tourist Office at conveniently located only 2 minutes north of Bill’s place and he followed me so I could get a ride back and leave the car at the BC Hydro level 3 fast charger. After about an
Just as I started to plug in a nice gentleman says “Hey I just bought a car just like yours, only mine is Red!) His name was Ed from Boston and he said that he looked at the Tesla and loved the Etron much more. It was the first time I met a fellow Audi E-tron owner and of all places to meet someone with the same car as mine that lives across the continent in a remote location is uncanny!!! I placed the banner I had printed on the side of the car to advertise my trip and get conversations going and hopefully sign up for the blog, which Ed said he definetly would. We got a ride back with Bill to his place, I finished my blog for day 2 and then when Bill was ready to head to work he dropped us off at the Junction. My car was about 78% charged when a Nissan Leaf owner parked right beside us and she needed a charge on her car, so I said I’m almost finished and in about another 5 minutes my car was up to 82% and that was plenty. She was very thankful she didn’t have to wait long. So far since we left Vancouver we have yet to pay for any charging! If you are interested in seeing my charging log go simply go to the section on the website and click on the button showing “Charging Log”. It will show you all the parameters and specs on charging.
Now we started our journey north to Tofino. I’ve been to Tofino for the last 30 years about 2-4 times per year but you never get tired of the wonderful smell of the trees and ocean air. It’s truly wonderful to breath in. It was Rich’s first time and as soon as we got to Long Beach half way to Tofino from the Junction we had to stop so Rich could get a good look and smell of the Ocean. When looking West the next stop would be Japan!
By the time we arrived in Tofino it was almost lunch time so we went to Bill’s shop and said we would meet him for lunch at the hatch right next to the water. Now all the parking spots were full except the ones reserved for EV’s. Well I went right to this spot and plugged into the Sun Country Charging station and topped off my battery right next to a Tesla Model S. My new E-tron felt right at home next to another Electric Car. Charging here was also Free as was the parking spot!
We had a great lunch, walked around town, I left Rich to expore on his own while I visited my customers Storm and Tofino Trading company. I haven’t been in Tofino for about 2 ½ years as I retired from O’Neill Wetsuits 2 years prior and when Mary Ann was first diagnosed with Cancer. I did say I wouldn’t be a stranger and was very happy to be back. When I walked in to Storm Surf Shop, I was very happy that Amanda one of the staff recognized me. Mary Ann also sold to Storm and Amanda new Mary Ann as well. She said “Mary Ann was a kind and vibrant women, always a smile to share, full of life!”
I also visited Toby of Tofino trading just a few steps away. Great to see her and give her a big hug.
I was able to get a great parking spot half way between Storm and Tofino Trading and I did put up the poster on the side of the car. When I returned I noticed several people reading it a family from Germany. Of course they liked the Audi and the women of the group all commented on how much they liked the colour. Actually the first thing that most people comment on is the Colour, everyone loves it especially the ladies.
By now it’s around 4 pm and I wanted to get some nice photos of the surroundings with the Audi in the photos. After all the trip is centered around this Electric Car and how it’s going to make it all the way to Newfoundland.
We scoped out some nice spots around Tofino and then went right back to Long Beach for more photos.
I met Diana in an O’Neill Wetsuit who just finished her surf session. I didn’t really know her but she new who I was being the O’Neill rep for so many years. I had her in some photos pretending she was a model and she did a great job.
We also bumped into Jay and his wife Kat. Jay of course was our host for dinner at his place the night before. They both are amazing surfers and are the perfect example of a surfing family. They have two daughters so cute, Jade who is 8 and Rui who I think is 3, and yes they both surf. Jade already has a quiver of 5 boards to choose from. Kat is one of the top female surfers in Canada and is on the Canadian Surf team. She is training hard to make the Olympic Team!
Rich and I had a lot of fun at long beach, I took some more photos then we headed to Ucluelet.
Rich and I had a lot of fun at long beach, I took some more photos then we headed to Ucluelet.
In UKEE which is the endearing nickname for Ucluelet we stopped in to Relic Surf Shop and had a great time with the staff Jade and Daniel. I asked for Mike the owner who I know well but he was working on his new satellite shop at the Junction. I did text Mike and he agreed to meet me the following morning for breakfast!
I know that Rich was a wine lover so I knew the perfect place to take him for a good glass of red wine and that was the Black Rock Resort right on the water where the surf was pounding. We tried to get into the dining room overlooking the surf but it was booked so we headed to the lounge where he ordered from our bar tender named Erwin, a Syrah from the Okanagan that he highly recommend. Rich thought it was the best Syrah he tasted anywhere! They were 9 oz glasses and did taste yummy to me. I agree but two glasses were over $40 including a tip. When you include the view and the time we had it was worth it. I took a video which will be on my utube channel which I have yet to figure out how to post. But when I should figure it out by Sunday when I’ll have more time on the Ferry to Prince Rupert.
So we didn’t get to eat at the Black Rock dining room so once we finished the wine we found a nice Japanese Sushi place. The first two dishes were great but Rich was really hung up on getting not just one plate of Squid but two, one for each of us. It was OK but I really didn’t enjoy it. When we went to the counter to pay the chef who was from Toronto asked us how we liked the meal and of course we said everything was great except for the squid! He was very apologetic and comped us for the second dish. He was also very grateful for us giving him our honest opinion. I also showed him the car and even thought it was now dark he loved the car and especially the COLOUR!!!
Headed back to Bill’s place and just as we arrived I headed to the bathroom as soon as I could as the squid went right through me if you know what I mean.
Other than the squid we had a great day.