High Tea and Higher Beer

The day dawned sunny and cool. Yay! We moved at our typical, new, slow pace and drank our coffee and lounged until about 11:00 am. We drove into downtown Victoria, ate a picnic lunch, surrounded by totem poles, and people watched. After lunch we drove to Beacon Hill Park where we fed the ducks and walked the paths alongside gardens overflowing with blooms of all colors.


P- We're going to feed the ducks here? There are only 3 of them.

G- If we feed them, they will come.

The first piece of bread had barely hit the water and flocks of ducks appeared from all directions.

P- Damn! Where were these ducks hiding?! Every duck between Mississippi and Alaska just appeared in 2 seconds!

G- Yeah! And these ducks are great because they're hungry. They mustn't be fed often. The last time I went to Audubon Park to feed the ducks, I could hit those bastards in the side of the head with a loaf of bread and they wouldn't even eat it.

P- Well that didn't last long. We should have brought more.

There was an adorable quasi water park with a large watering can that sprinkled water from its spout and shot water from its top to the delight of many children playing in its downpour.

From the park we walked several blocks, through a neighborhood of craftsman and Tudor style homes, to the Parliament building, only to discover that we were 1 block away from where we had just had lunch. We took an interesting tour of the Parliament building, learned a little about Canada's governmental system and history, and met a cool woman from Seattle (Grace) who went to college at LSU and was married to a guy from Jackson, MS. We chatted with Grace while her young son demonstrated his talent of hopping on one foot. Having lived in the South, Grace was in agreement that the people of the Pacific Northwest who complained about the heat or the terrible rain "storms" needed to be slapped.

After our Parliament tour, we walked along the harbor to the Empress Hotel where we inquired about High Tea.

G- It's $55.00 per person.

P- For tea? Holy shit!!! Are we having tea with Queen Elizabeth or just by ourselves?

G- These people take their tea time very seriously. I think scones or little cakes are included.

P- For $55.00 tea and scones should come with a happy ending.

G - I'm thinking not. Have you seen the Queen? It doesn't look like she's had a happy ending in about 50 years.

After boycotting High Tea, we walked further up the block to discover an oyster bar in the middle of happy hour. Giddy up! Oysters on the half shell from a little island bay just off the coast and a local Canadian beer. We devoured the oysters, dipping them in all 4 of the sauces that were provided, and lamented the loss of so many Louisiana oyster beds. Thanks BP...........assholes! We discussed how much we hoped to be able to get Louisiana oysters when we got back home.

After the oysters, we walked back to our car and took a drive along the shoreline to the Chinese Cemetery. The sun was setting, the wind was picking up, and it was cocktail hour, so after a brief stop to watch some kite surfers, we went in search of a liquor store. We were unhappy to learn that Canadians can only purchase liquor at private or government owned liquor stores, not in groceries. One strike against living in Canada one day.

G- I've looked all over and cannot find Bloody Mary mix. All I see is Clamato.

P- Let's ask that guy. Excuse me, where is your Bloody Mary mix?

After staring at us with a look that indicated he was clueless, Phyl explained a Bloody Mary. Ah! A bell went off and he explained that Canadians don't drink Bloody Marys, they drink Caesars. He went on to explain that he had recently been in Seattle and had ordered a Caesar and the bartender had looked at him like he was crazy.

P- Yes, because in America, Caesar is a salad. Yes, I know that we can buy all of the ingredients at the grocery, but I need something quick and easy. I guess we'll just have to buy beer.

G- Holy shit! Did you see the price of the beer? Stella is $15.99 for a 6 pack and $29.99 for a 12 pack! That's double what we pay in the states. Even the Canadian beer is very expensive!!

P- That's it! Canada is off the list of possible places to live. I can't sell a kidney to pay for a 6 pack of beer!! We drink too often for that and I need both of my kidneys for filtering.

G- Thank goodness we brought 2 cases of wine with us from Cali. I wasn't in a wine kinda mood, but it appears we're having wine at cocktail hour.

P - Wine it is!

San Juan Island & trip to Vancouver Island BC

As we know by now, one's day is determined by the ferry schedules. We awoke at 5:30am, before Boots even contemplated crowing, and were in the ferry line by 6:20 am.  We had coffee and even changed the sheets on the bead before repacking Stormy. The morning sun was creeping over the mountains, and Gina was smiling.  How things have changed in 2 short weeks.

We stopped at Lopez Island to drop off and pick up passengers, then headed to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. An adorable little town surrounded the harbor, but we followed Carole's instructions and headed to South Beach.  There, on the hill overlooking the Straight of Juan de Fuca we ate our breakfast of yogurt, granola and bananas.  It was a little chilly and we were in shorts, so we covered with the Neat Sheet.  We were in the middle of some much needed facial grooming, in the early morning light, when we were intruded upon by 3 kayak carrying interlopers.  We watched them brave the waves and paddle off into the Straight, then we walked on the beach and played on the huge piles of driftwood.

We followed the coast line and stopped at several overlooks and walking trails along the Straight of Juan de Fuca, hoping to see whales.  Unfortunately, no whales were spotted, but the scenery was beautiful.  We continued to the northern tip of San Juan Island and ate lunch at Roche Harbor where we watched numerous sailboats and motorboats arrive and depart.

We watched with laughter as the Phecal Phreak "We take crap from anyone!" boat prowled the waters taking shit from the other boats.  Apparently the saying, "one man's crap is another man's treasure" is true.  After lunch and a stroll around the Harbor, we made our way back to Friday Harbor to grab a coffee and get on line while we waited for our 3:45 pm ferry departure to Sidney Harbor, just north of Victoria, BC. 

It was fairly quick and easy going through Canadian customs "where are you headed?, where do you call home?, do you have any gifts for anyone here in Canada?,and do you have any firearms or pepper spray?".  Answering NO to all,  we were soon headed south, on Hwy. 17  into Victoria.  In keeping with the Sherwood Forest theme of Garberville, we finally found Robin Hood Inn and stopped for the night as we were exhausted, having gotten up at 5:30 am.  Art greeted us in the lobby, gave us directions and showed us maps for virtually every thing and place we could conceivably want to see on Vancouver Island.  He was quite the friendly character and Gina restrained Phyllis as her eyes began to roll back into her head, a definite sign of impending sarcasm. Gina thanked Art and moved them out of the lobby as quickly as possible.  Bedtime could not come quickly enough!!