Six Dufferin Place residents were treated to a sightseeing trip on Wednesday, June 9. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

out and about

VIDEO: Dufferin Place residents enjoy first sightseeing trip since pandemic began

Jun 9, 2021 | 3:00 PM

NANAIMO — Residents of a Nanaimo care home were thrilled to step out of the facility and onto a bus for a sightseeing tour of the city.

Six Dufferin Place residents on Wednesday, June 9 were taken on their first bus ride since the COVID-19 pandemic began roughly 15 months ago.

“I think going for the ride and getting out is excellent,” resident Irene Merryfield said. “We have fun, I enjoy it. I’ve never really lived in this area, which is why I like it because I get to see things I haven’t seen before.”

Willa Routley, who’s relatively new to Dufferin Place, said she was “delighted” to learn about the bus trip. “It’s a good way to see the town, since I didn’t live here. I want to see the ocean. We seem a long way from it but I know we’re not.”

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Gwen Cooke, activity supervisor at Dufferin Place, said the bus would tour any sights residents wanted to see for roughly one hour before returning just in time for lunch.

“A lot of times if we have a resident with a home in Nanaimo we’ll drive by their home and they’ll remember those places. Sometimes they just want to go down to the waterfront. It changes all the time.”

Bus trips from the home were a regular occurence before the pandemic put the brakes on the popular offering.

Cooke said everyone has struggled in the last year-and-a-half.

“It’s super challenging. (Residents) don’t get to see family members and don’t understand a lot of time why they can’t. You can explain it to them but they still want to see their loved ones. We’re creatures of family, so we try to keep them busy and occupied.”

As restrictions ease, residents will be able to gradually experience more of their usual activities, which include trips out to restaurants.

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spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt