WORTH THE DRIVE

I was amused at Alyssa Schwartz’s “Surf and Turf” (July/August) because of her description of the road from Port Alberni to Ucluelet and Tofino. My first trip to the West Coast was in the late 1940s when we took the Uchuck freight boat from Port Alberni to Ucluelet. Then a bus took us to Singing Sands, where we rented a couple of cabins. This was before Long Beach was included in the designated park lands.

My next trip was when the road was first opened to the public; it was still used as a logging road, so access was limited. Needless to say, the road was not paved – lots of potholes and rough spots. The car I rode in was an amphicar manufactured in the early 1960s. The owner actually drove it in the surf at Long Beach.

Over the years, the road has had lots of improvements, probably the main ones the paving and barriers on the corners and sheer drop-offs. Today, the main challenge is the weather as your writer found out.

I can’t wait to get back to sample some of the delicious seafood again. —Ann Isaac, via email