We're going cruisin'

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Mon 14th May: Caught up with Mel this morning. It was a painless endeavour. She had arrived in Vancouver on Sunday as well and with a couple of emails I met her in the hostel she was staying at. I had booked into mine for Sunday and Monday nights but where I was staying was a little cruddy so I forfeited my 2nd night there and rocked up to where Mel was staying and booked in. We had a pretty lazy day, catching up on all the gossip over coffee and lunch then after we settled into our room we went for a walk to Stanley Park....and absolutely beautiful park down by the water, really big with a lagoon. As we were walking around the lagoon we came upon a cute little old lady who was feeding a couple of raccoons dry cat food and raisin brad. Unfortunely, neither of us had our cameras so we decided to return tomorrow in the hope of seeing the little masked bandits again. Walked back to the hosel via a couple of beaches (Canadian style, not Aussie style).

Tue 15th May: Mel and I decided we should do something about booking our trip to Alaska. Dropped my memory card into get photos downloaded onto CD then headed to a travel agent. Man, this trip up north is going to cost a lot more than either of us anticipated but the bloke in the agency was an absolute honey (I'm in love {",}) and nothing was too much trouble for him. We ended up booking an 8 day cruise up to Whittaker along the Inside Passage as the cruise was the same price as a one way flight from Vancouver to Anchorage!!!
The cruise leaves Monday arvo and we are both so excited. After leaving the travel agents we headed back down to Stanley Park with some Cheerios and raisin bread to feed the raccoons. We didn't have to wait long for them to appear and we both got lots of photos of the cute little masked bandits. Didn't get too close to them as I wasn't sure whether they carry rabies.

Wed 16th May: Headed across to Victoria on Vancouver Is. for a bit of sightseeing. Took a while to get over there....2 buses to get to the ferry, 1 hour 35 min to cross then another long bus ride to get to Victoria as Swartz Bay (where the ferry docks) is about 35 km north of Victoria. Bunked down at one of the hostels in what we felt was not the most desirable part of town, Went looking around and went shopping at a second hand store for a couple of things to wear to dinner on the cruise. This shop was awesome and the stuff in really good condition. I couldn't see the point in spending a lot of miney for something I was only going to use while cruising. Was surprised I didn't feel weird about buying pre loved stuff!! Stopped for beer and fish 'n' chips at a pub near the harbour.

Thur 17th May: Pretty desturbed night's sleep as the hostel is really noisy....may have something to do with the fact that it's in an old warehouse. Anyway, I wanted to go and see the world famous Butchart Gardens about 25 min drive out of Victoria. For the fact that it's a popular attraction when in Victoria, the transport to get out there was disgustingly bad. We waited for over an hour for a public bus without one turning up....and yes, we were at the correct bus stop!! Gave up on that idea as a way to get there. Rang the Gardens and were told to go down to the bus depot and catch the shuttle to the Gardens. However, what she failed to tell us was that the shuttle only leaves every hour!!!!! Finally arrived at 12.45pm....3 3/4 hours after leaving the hostel.

Had lunch before we started to wander through the Gardens. Guys, I ate a hot dog. Not a vego one. A real authentic one and man, was it delicious....with onions, pickled capsicum and tomato sauce. I've decided that trying to remain totally vego here is going to be extremely difficult. The Canadians certainly LOVE their meat...comes with everything, including pancakes and maple syrup. So....I'll probably eat some meat instead of mucking around to find something healthy and vego.

Finished our wander but not before my camera decided to chuck a hissy fit and not work - focus error (and Mel's battery had died even though she had charged it on Monday night) so didn't get as many photos as we wanted. Back to the bus stop and we stopped 6 short of getting on the bus!! So, guess what? An hour's wait to get back to Victoria. By the time we arrived back in Victoria there really wasn't much time to do much more. We wandered around the harbour and went into a wax museum which was a blast. The gardens were beautiful but for the cost to get in plus ALL the mucking around to get there and back it wasn't worth it.

Fri 18th May: Made an early exit from Victoria as we had to get back to Vancouver to pick up the tickets for the cruise. This weekend is a long weekend across Canada - Victoria Day - so the travel agent was not going to be open on Monday. Really didn't feel like doing much once back at the hostel. We'd bought some food to make dinner as eating healthy food is pretty expensive. Went out after dinner to experience downtown Vancouver on a Friday night. Sat in a loung and drank beer! Man, I'm turning into an alcoholic. It's Asia's fault......{",}.

Sat 19th May: Woke up this morning to find it raining. So we went to a huge shopping centre for Mel to get her hair cut and for me to buy a cheap bag to carry the clothes I had bought in Victoria. Went to see Shrek 3 while there and loved it. Shrek is such a hunk.

Ok Peoples, will probably not do an entry while on the cruise so will catch youse all when we arrive in the grand ole US of A (Alaska). No photos to download on this blog as my camera died and I've sent it home as they were unable to fix it immediately. Bought a new one yesterday so now have to learn how to use it. It's the same as Mel's so she may be able to help me....even though she's as crap at electronics as I am!!

Till then........luv ya 'n' miss ya all. Wish you were here! xoxoxo

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