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The Victoria & Vancouver Island
Travel and Tourism Guide
TRAVEL MAGAZINE

Over the next few months, we are going to feature articles that highlight the eastern shore of Vancouver Island and the northern half of the Island.?
Hardy-A Day Goes By

by Ron Kirstein, Edited by Lisa Cole and Linda Kirstein

We arise early knowing that we have to be in Port Hardy by 2 pm in the afternoon.? It?s approximately 6 hours north of Victoria.? The weather forecast is bleak, to say the least, and the prognosis is for it to get worse.?

This isn?t comforting information as we?re on our way to the North End of Vancouver Island to begin a week long tour, starting with a wedding at the end of the earth!? Well . . . ?not exactly.? Hurst Island is about 10 kilometers from the end of the earth.


Port Hardy Waterfront Welcome Sign
Photo by Ron Kirstein

The weather is fine in Victoria and as we travel over Malahat Drive we can see the fantastic view from the lookout at the summit.? We stop at Tim Horton?s for a quick ?on-the-fly? breakfast and then keep the pedal to the metal.? Duncan, 50 km north of Victoria, has lots of traffic lights and is slow to pass through.? Once by Duncan, Highway 19 bypasses Nanaimo, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Courtenay and most of Campbell River.? After Campbell River, it passes Sayward, Port McNeill, and then you cruise right into Port Hardy.?


When we pass the turnoff to Sayward, we go through an 80km speed zone and a police cruiser flashes its lights at us, warning us to slow down.? We find out later that we were lucky.? Many of the wedding party guests received speeding tickets.


Port Hardy Waterfront
Photo by Ron Kirstein

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Once in Port Hardy, we proceed to our home for the next two days: the Glen Lyon Inn.?? A very congenial desk clerk greets us, signs us in, and directs us to our room on the second floor. We find a spacious room with numerous amenities, including a king-size bed, fridge, microwave, coffee machine, and a desk with a real office chair.? In addition, there?s a heart-shaped Jacuzzi, fireplace, stereo-system, and bar counter.? The room also has a nook with a bunk bed in it.? They are well pre