"God is so good..."

That song has been going through my head all day today! We had quite the adventure today trying to get back to Victoria. We arrived in Vancouver from Philadelphia last night at 8pm (11pm according to our bodies though). We stayed overnight at the airport Sandman Inn as we couldn't get to the last ferry in time. So, this morning we took the free shuttle back to the airport, then waited for the bus that takes you from the airport to the airport station where you can catch city buses. We waited about 20 minutes in the rain for the first bus, then got to the station. Once we were at the station we discovered that the bus to the ferries only runs on the hour. We arrived there just after 10am and had hoped to catch the 11am ferry. Well, we found that the bus didn't come to the station until 11am so there went that plan. And once again we were waiting in the rain for almost an hour. While we were waiting, a girl was chatting with us about how her bus had been late by half an hour, and that was why she missed the bus at 10am so that she couldn't catch the 11am ferry. We chatted with her and tossed around the idea of calling a cab, but decided we could wait for the 1pm ferry as we weren't in a rush. She went to a nearby hotel to wait inside and we stayed at the bus stop. She came a little while later looking stressed and on her cell phone. She informed us that she had heard from a cab driver that all the ferries at Tsawassen were cancelled for today due to a storm. She was calling B.C. Ferries to confirm this. When she finally got through, she was told that the 9am and 11am ferries had indeed been cancelled but they were hoping to be able to let the 1pm ferry go, but it was weather permitting. A little while later a transit official came up to us with the bus driver and announced to all of the people who were waiting that all of the ferries for today had been cancelled. Joel tried to explain to him what we had been told about the 1pm ferry...but he crossly replied that he had just got the update he gave us 5 minutes ago on the direct line B.C. Transit has with B.C. ferries. There were quite a few university students waiting there and were frantically trying to figure out what to do. One guy asked us what we were going to do and I said that we would probably go to the ferry terminal anyway and see if the 1pm or 3pm ferry could go. All of us got on the bus and the unhappy bus driver drove us to the terminal. I'm not sure what his or the official's problem was, but they seemed disappointed that we all still wanted to try for it. It didn't make much sense to us as what did they think all of us would do? Those students had classes tomorrow and a few people were travelling back and didn't have the money for a hotel. So we went to the ferry terminal, bought our "standby" tickets in case the 1pm ferry could go and settled in to wait. I went and got some food for us while Joel stayed with our bags in the waiting area. By the time I returned, an announcement had been made to say that the 1pm ferry would be able to leave as scheduled due to a break in the weather. We made it to Victoria today as planned :) but what an adventure! Waiting in the rain was good practice for Ireland, I guess. I have to say that I was quite impressed with the ferry terminal staff as they were very nice and cooperative. The B.C. transit driver and "official"... I'm still not sure what all of that was about but I am very glad that we all decided to try the ferry anyway. Joel was also thrilled to be back at my parents' in time to watch the Grey Cup ... and even happier to watch the victory of the B.C. Lions!! Whew! Thanks for sticking with me on this one...I think this entry is a record breaker :)