Even more surprising than committing these acts is the fact that I can't but admit to the acts to everyone. My view being that I enjoy laughing at myself just as much as the next person.
So without further introduction I hence admit 'Oops I had another Chad moment'.
The Scene
Well Saturday morning I was planning to make a trip to Victoria, on Vancouver Island. You know Victoria, as in Empress Hotel, capital of British Columbia Victoria. Now Victoria is fairly distinctive. I had been there before for a day hence knew what to expect. I expected to see the vine covered Empress hotel, and
and the parliament building.
So needless to say when I arrived to this
I knew something had definitely gone wrong. I had arrived at Galiano Island not Vancouver Island. Whoops!
Now don't get me wrong I had already found some indicators prior to the arrival at Galiano Island that I had stuffed up. They were:
1. The Ferry departed 15 minutes before I had expected it to depart. I did at that moment go, 'hmmm, that's weird'.
2. There was a 2nd ferry at another gate when the ferry I was on left.
3. The brochures on the stand on the ferry didn't have any reference to Victoria. They were all about other islands in the channel, like Galiano Island, Mayne Island, and some Salt Spring Island. I noticed this and well, again didn't think much of it at first. As the ferry ride continued it was this indicator which propagated my suspicions.
4. The Ferry Captain asked drivers to return to vehicles earlier than I expected. By this time though I pretty much had come to this conclusion and was preparing to swallow my pride. In fact I had already started making my admissions to friends and family by then.
The Confirmation
Before we docked at Galiano I swallowed the pride and approached a staff member on the ferry with the assumption that I was on the wrong ferry. Answer was, yep. And a, 'I guess they didn't check the tickets that closely today'.
The Error
I have identified my error as being impatience. I got frustrated at the entrance to the ferry terminal due to the crowd and queues not going anywhere. There was a tour group of like 50 people at the entrance lining up for a ticket booth, plus another 50 who had come from the bus I had caught to the ferry terminal. I noticed there to be machines to swipe and pay by credit card, which was immediate and easy. I swiped, paid and escaped all within a minute. At this point I was still lost and well I did what any good sheep does. I followed. I followed a person up the escalator, along the path, and to the departure point where another 100 or so people were waiting, for the only ferry at the terminal. I didn't read any signs. And as soon as I arrived at the gate they started letting everyone board. It was 8:35am, and the Victoria Ferry was due to depart at 9am.
Oh well I've learnt my lesson. Again.
Anyway Galiano Island ended up being a blessing in disguise. It was a highlight to the weekend. A mere 3 hr detour. When I had confirmed my stuff up I confirmed that there was another ferry leaving the island for the Victoria Swartz Bay terminal 2 hours later. It gave me 2 hours to explore a small island I would have otherwise missed. And well it was hardly a terrible mistake to make. The island is a popular day trip destination due to its spectacular views, and feeling of isolation. It would have been better with a bike, and a plan to see the island, but hey, I was sightseeing on the run. I took a walk around to a viewing point, and also stopped off for a coffee until I was able to connect to the 2nd ferry. There was no additional ferry ticket purchase required for my error. So all in all I view my actions just like computer programmers do. Not a mistake, but a "Feature".
The rest of the weekend on Vancouver Island was okay. I did see some other places of interest. But heck the story to go with it doesn't compare.
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