Sue & Steph's Adventure Extravaganzaaaaa... Victoria Style

Saturday, June 25 (Canada)

So I’ve had this blog ready to post for a week now, but I haven’t had internet access so it’s a little late... 

Since the time change worked in my favour on the way home, I got to have two Saturdays! 

When I arrived in Vancouver on Canadian Saturday, June 25^th I went out to the greeting area at the airport where my parent’s friend Jenn and her four year old son Lucas were waiting for me.  I had no trouble finding them, thanks to the “Steph” sign Lucas had made for me!  I had made plans to go straight to the ferry to Victoria to meet Sue, so after I shuffled things around in my suitcase in the airport parking lot Jenn drove me to the Tsawwassen ferry.  We just missed the 12:00 ferry so we drove into town to get lunch.  We had Tim Hortons sandwiches (SO good) and then drove back to the ferry.  I was in time for the 1:00 ferry so I got my ticket and waited for it to arrive.  It was an hour and a half ferry ride to Victoria.  I started out sitting inside because I had no idea where I was going, but I noticed some people sitting outside on the upper deck so I went and sat out there.  It was a beautiful day; I sat out on the deck and soaked up the sun and the amazing view.  It was also an amazing feeling to breathe in fresh air...  I never thought I would appreciate it so much! 

It was about an hour and a half ferry ride over to Victoria where Sue and Adam were meeting me.  I had no trouble finding them when I got there... and was SO excited to see them, and Sue’s ring!  In case you didn’t know... they got engaged the night before I got there!  Apparently I have a thing about hanging out with newly engaged couples, haha.  We started our adventures as soon as we left the parking lot... as we only had a limited amount of time.  First we drove into Sidney and walked to the pier.  On the way Sue pointed out Jessie’s Juice Company, which is owned by the country singer Jessie Farrell.  We finally made our way down to the Sidney Fishing Pier where we had an awesome view of the ocean and saw people fishing for crabs!  We then walked up the main street in Sidney and stopped for lunch at the Red Brick Cafe.  After lunch we drove to downtown Victoria where we saw horse-drawn carriages, the parliament buildings and the empress hotel.  We then walked through the inner harbour where we saw Plasterman.  Plasterman was a guy dressed and painted completely white from head to toe and he would stand still like a statue, but if someone put money in his money can he would move around and pose for a picture with them!  We were too cheap to pay so we just watched and took pictures.  Sue had been talking about a place called Wannawafel and I can’t say no to waffles so of course we had to go.  We each got a waffle, and they were delicious... just what we needed to give us some more energy to keep touring around.  As we walked through the inner harbour we went past the spot where Adam had to proposed to her the night before... I was so excited!  I tried to make them rein act it for a picture but some old man was sitting on the bench where it had happened... so I just took a picture of an empty bench down the sidewalk... same idea!   

By this point I had been awake for pretty much two days and was getting pretty tired so we decided to make our way back to their place.  On the way back we drove down Dallas Road where we saw some of the cruise ships... they were HUGE!  It was just like you would see on TV!  We had made plans to go mountain climbing/hiking the next day, so we drove down to Goldstream Park to see the mountain we would be climbing, Mount Finlayson.  We finally made it back to Adam and Sue’s where I had a tour of their place, showered (which felt amazing), had supper and went to bed around 8:30/9:00. 

Sunday, June 26

We had planned on leaving at 9:00 sharp to go to the mountain, so I set my alarm on my ipod for 8:00 just to make sure I had enough time to get ready to go.  My alarm went off and I got up and started getting ready.  I was kind of wondering why Sue and Adam weren’t up yet but didn’t think anything of it until I looked at my phone and realized my alarm had gone off at 8:00am MB time, which was only 6:00 BC time... so I went back to bed for a couple hours!  Sue came in and woke me up at 8:30 and we got ready and the three of us headed back down to Goldstream Park.  Mount Finlayson was 1.5 km... we had to take a few breaks on the way up but we made it to the top!  When we got to the top we stopped for a snack and to enjoy the view.  It was so awesome, you could see the ocean, mountains and city all in one glance.  We then tackled the downward climb.  It wasn’t too bad, just a little awkward at times.  We got back to the bottom around 11:30 and then drove to the 6 Mile Pub (the oldest pub in BC) for brunch.  It was all you can eat brunch with bacon, eggs, French toast, fruit, pancakes, and anything you could think of... I was in breakfast heaven!  After breakfast we drove to “Granny’s Ocean” aka Esquimalt Lagoon.  Sue and Adam call it Granny’s Ocean because it is the road on the way to Adam’s Granny’s house.  It was a lagoon where the ocean surrounded either side of the road.  We stayed there for about half an hour as  we picked some awesome sea shells, took some beach pictures, put our toes in the ocean and found a sweet fort made out of trees that we hung out in for a bit!  It was fairly warm out but the sand was BURNING hot!  We had taken our shoes off to put our feet in the water but couldn’t stand in the sand for longer than a few seconds without our feet burning!  We made our way back to the car by finding an alternate path walking on fallen down trees.  On the way back to Sue & Adam’s we went to Hatley’s Castle.  Hatley’s Castle used to be the army base but it is now Royal Roads University.  The castle was in the movie X-Men.  It was cool and very “Harry Potter” looking.  After the castle we drove back to Sue and Adam’s to change out of our hiking clothes and get ready for the afternoon! 

Once we got changed we drove back downtown to Fisherman’s Warf.  Fisherman’s Warf was a harbour where many people docked their boats.  There were also tons of houseboats... but not like the houseboats that you rent and take on a holiday.  People actually LIVE in these houseboats!  It was crazy, there were literally homes where people lived year round... it was so cool!  Sue had told me about Sammy the Seal who is always nearby the dock at Fisherman’s Wharf and people come to feed him.  But of course the one day that I was there he didn’t show up!  I did see a seal from the car when we were driving home later in the day, but it wasn’t Sammy.  After Fisherman’s Wharf we drove to Ogden Point (aka the breakwater).  The breakwater is a huge cement wall/walkway that was built to prevent waves from crashing into the harbour.  We walked along the breakwater to the very end where there was an old lighthouse.  Along the way we saw jellyfish and starfish and at the end there was a neat old lighthouse.  Our next stop was at a petting zoo called Beacon Hill Children’s Farm.  Yes, we realize that we are grown adults... but who doesn’t like a petting zoo?!  At the zoo we saw adorable baby pigs named Fleur and Noir.  We also saw peacocks which were in heat and had their feathers spread out, it looked really  cool.  There were also llamas and donkeys.  I’m not sure about the llamas but the donkey’s names were Jenecee and Peanut Butter.  The best part was the baby goats... we could go right into the pen and pet them, brush them and cuddle them!  They were adorable and were all named... there was one for each Vancouver Canuck, one for each character of Bambi, a couple names Will & Kate after the royal couple, and many more.  They were so soft and cute... I wanted to bring one home!  We took the scenic route on the way home, driving through uplands where there are tons of fancy expensive houses.  We also drove through the University of Victoria campus, it was HUGE... there were so many old, new and beautiful buildings along with perfect campus grounds.  I was going through slight ice cream withdrawal since my body was used to eating it every day, and Sue had the perfect solution.  They took me to Qoola Frozen Yogurt Bar.  Let me tell you, I was in HEAVEN!  There were ice cream dispensers (like slushie dispensers at a gas station) along one wall and you could choose as much and as many different flavours of frozen yogurt that you wanted (vanilla, cookies & cream, pineapple, strawberry, coconut, etc.).  Then you could go to the topping bar where they had every topping imaginable (sprinkles, cookies, gummy bears, reese’s pieces, skor, crispy crunch, etc., etc., etc.).  The downfall was that you pay by weight... and I wanted EVERY topping!  It turned out being not to expensive and TOTALLY worth it!  It’s probably a good thing they don’t have something like that in Brandon cause I would be there every day!  After we stuffed our faces with frozen yogurt we went back to Sue and Adams and just hung out for the night.  It was nice to relax and visit for the evening.  

Monday, June 27

Sue and Adam both had to work, so my plan for the day was to catch up on sleep.  Apparently my body had an alternate plan, cause I was up at 8:00!  I laid in bed for a couple of hours updating Thailand pictures on facebook and finishing my blog.  I had breakfast around 10:30 and then was tired... so I had a nap from 11-2!  When I woke up I showered and got ready for the day and walked down to Walmart.  It was about a ten block walk.  It was nice to go for a walk and breathe in the FRESH air!  It started drizzling a little bit but it felt refreshing.  I got a few things at Walmart and then walked back to Sue and Adam’s.  Sue was running late from work so I started supper and when she got home we finished it and ate her delicious chicken pot pie!  After supper we watched Limitless.  It was a good movie, but my eyes were slamming shut part way through so as soon as it was over I went straight to bed. 

Tuesday, June 28

My second attempt at sleeping in also failed... this time I was up at 7:00!  I laid in bed for a little bit and then decided to get up and go for a walk hoping it would wake me up for the day.  It was cool out and again I really appreciated the fresh air.  Apparently the walk didn’t wake me up because I got home around 8:30, had breakfast and fell asleep again from 9-11.  Again, when I woke up I showered and got ready for the day.  I headed back towards Walmart but went to the mall instead.  I looked around there for a little while but didn’t buy much... things seemed MUCH too expensive after coming from Thailand, and I didn’t think it’d be appropriate to try to barter in Bootlegger, haha.  I went back to Walmart to waste some time and then walked back to their house.  Adam came home shortly after and offered to take my suitcase for me so I didn’t have to haul it around later, so I got that packed up (which took a while) and sent it with him.  I watched TV for a little while (which still seems very weird) and then walked down to the bus stop where Sue got dropped off from work to meet her there.  When she arrived we walked home together and made some smoothies!  We chatted while we drank our smoothies and Adam came home shortly after.  As soon as Adam got home we had to leave so I could catch the ferry.  On the way we stopped in Sidney to grab Subway for supper and then went to the ferry.  Sue and I said our goodbyes (sad face sad face) and I got on the ferry.  There was an amazing view of the sunset over the ocean and the mountains so I spent the first little while outside taking pictures and enjoying the view.  After a while it started to get dark and I got really cold so I went inside for the remainder of the trip. 

When I got back to Vancouver Jenn was waiting to pick me up from the ferry and she took me back to her house.  It was already midnight when we got back so she just showed me around quickly I went straight to bed. 

It was a very quick trip jam-packed with lots of adventures.  Thanks to Sue and our awesome tour guide Adam I saw more of Victoria than I had ever imagined I would be able to in such a short time.  The best part was seeing Sue... it had been way too long and we had so much to catch up on.  I knew I missed her but I didn’t realize how much!  I had forgotten how much fun we had together and how close we became when we lived together in Brandon.  Thanks for an awesome four days Sue, it was so good to see you and hopefully I will see you very soon!  PS.  Congratulations again :)  xoxoxo