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Day 4
Today was a day of firsts for the Wilkins. It was our first time on international waters, our first time on foreign soil, our first time using our passports, our first time going through customs, and our first time on a ferry.
We got an early start today by being in the dining room of the hotel by 6:30am – it was hard for the rest of the family to be up and ready by 6:30 – especially since we on vacation. But we had to catch the 8am ferry to Victoria and be there early for passport check and proper documentation. The sun comes up early here, so it was daylight way before then, making traveling that early fairly easy.
We check in for the ferry, show our passports, fill out the customs papers, and board grabbing a window seat. An hour and half later, we are in Canada. The trip was 22 miles long, but ferries do not move that fast, especially the vehicle ferries. We opted to just walk on leaving the car behind. As we depart in Canada, we go through the customs area and got drilled as to why we
were there among other questions. I know the guy was just doing his job, but he could have been a little nicer about it or at least smile. As we walk out, onto Canadian ground it started to rain – not good weather for a walking tour of the city.
We were in Canada for only a few hours, so come sun or rain, we were walking. We walked and walked and walked (and yes, there were many complaints). We saw many of the architecturally unique buildings and stopped in several tourist shops (there were lots to chose from). We toured a miniature display museum at Stephen’s request. It was interesting to see the detail in all of the models, and it was not raining inside there. We then grabbed a quick sandwich for lunch and continued walking and shopping. We found a geocache and dropped off a travel bug (I know many will have no idea what a geocache is – but you should inquire). We visited the parliament building area and a few other interesting sculptures/gardens/displays. Then it was time to head back for our afternoon ferry back to the USA.
We, again, went through the
passport check and customs. The passport/customs routine was much faster getting back to the USA than it was getting into Canada. We were able to get some nice pictures from the views and landscapes you see from the ferry. We kept hoping to see a whale, for some do live in those waters, but no luck.
We found Victoria to be a city that was very crowded with buildings/stores/etc and people all over. They didn’t seem to mind the rain at all. You definitely needed a map to get around – unless you buy one of those pricy city tours. The city was very quite attractive with all the unique buildings, hotels, port area with hundreds of boats, seaplanes, and islands. It was a place you could sit and watch and not be bored (if it wasn’t raining). We found the people in Canada to be very nice and helpful - strangers would walk up to you to offer their assistance – guess we looked liked lost tourists (we sort of were as we stood there holding our map trying to figure out where to go – in the rain). Store owners were also
very friendly and talkative. A different vibe than what we are use to in Atlanta.
I am afraid the rain has set in for the next day or so – which really puts a damper on our activities for tomorrow – touring the west side of Olympic National Park (including beach areas). It will be a long wet soggy day. Clearly Mother Nature did not get a copy of my itinerary!
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Mary Jean Wilkins
non-member comment
Guess I'll write in this block this time!! I have this mental picture of you all standing in the rain looking for the right place to go for!!! Back in the good ol USA even rain isn't too bad!! Have fun and will be looking forward to tomorrows reading. Love you all.