Steve and I woke up at 6:00am to prepare for visiting Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. I walked to the Comfort Inn continental breakfast area. Steve took a shower and met me later. I was the first one to eat breakfast. The worker was finished setting up the food and drinks. The waffle maker was still there. The '05 trip was the first time I saw a waffle maker. I overflowed the waffle maker with too much batter and I made a mess. I tried my best to clean up after myself ^^ I ate one waffle, a pastry, an apple, and drank orange juice. I ate light to avoid potential stomach problems.
Steve arrived around 6:30am. He grabbed his breakfast and we sat together watching CNN. We remembered in '05 CNN covered Hurricane Katrina. We saw the people in New Orleans evacuated. After breakfast, we went back to the hotel to pack up and bring our belongings to the car. Steve parked the car across from the Comfort Inn. Then we walked to Port Angeles Coho Ferry Terminal to purchase ferry tickets.
We arrived at the terminal at 7:20am. The round trip cost was $25.00. We walked to the pedestrians waiting area to complete the Canada's visitor card. We brought our Passports. The currency exchange window was closed. No worries. Victoria businesses exchange US$ for CAN$ without a fee. Personally, I wanted to exchange the CAN$ to show respect for the country I pay Canadian goods with CAN$. I planned to pay with credit, and CAN$ was used for emergencies. In '05, I had to pay some goods with CAN$ instead of credit. I realized I forgot to bring my CAN$ coins. The coins were at Steve's house.
The ferry departed on time at 8:20am. The snack area was renovated to include a gift shop with books, magnets, and shirts. Steve and I played Fluxx. I had a three game winning streak. Steve had some winning streaks, too.
Welcome to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
The ferry arrived on time at 9:50am. The first stop was to be questioned and checked by the Canada Border Services Agency Customs. The agent checked our passports and asked questions. We passed customs and headed out to Downtown Victoria. I applied sunscreen at the corner of the Empress hotel, ferry terminal, and the British Columbia capital building. There was a homeless person asking for money. The homeless problem obviously had not changed.
The light breakfast was really light. I was hungry. We stopped at 7-Eleven at 10:19am. I walked to the snacks and I saw a Hostess old logo.
The first shop we entered was For Kids & Silly Adults. The toy shop looked good and we took a five minute walk through. I was looking for a stuffed dragon ;) Chances were rare I find one.
At 10:37am, we arrived at Chinatown. In '05, when Steve brought the car, Steve drove around Victoria and I saw a red Chinese house. I didn't know the correct name. I wanted to see the house. We walked through Chinatown and we didn't find the house. I didn't know what happened. Chinatown was clean. Really clean!! No trash, no garbage, no smell of urine compared to the Chinatowns in California. The cars stopped for pedestrians. Victoria people were polite. I saw bootlegged goods in Chinatown. No surprise. Steve and I took pictures of the Gates of Harmonious Interest, the entrance to Chinatown.
We walked pass Victoria City Hall and the park next to City Hall was being prepared for Christmas. The tree was being prepared for decorations. I saw The Garden of Eden, an adult shop the next block ahead. And there was a convenience store selling goods with Brian from Family Guy. I saw a parked police car and I took pictures. Yay!
Steve and I choose to eat lunch early. At 11:28am, we entered the Irish Times Pub restaurant. The restaurant was empty with a few tables filled, the full service bar empty, and the bartender cleaning up and chatting with co-workers. The restaurant played Irish music and the décor inside reminded me of an Irish restaurant locally in the San Jose area. There were days a live band played Irish music. Steve ordered the corned beef and I ordered the Fish & Chips. Personal lesson learned: don't order Fish & Chips on vacation or at a time I need energy to walk around. The Fish & Chips didn't give me the energy for today.
Shopping Time . . . Oh, How Fast Men Shop, LOL
The first store after lunch we entered Curious Comics Books & Games at 12:15pm. The store had games, figurines, comics . . . the whole nine yards for anime fans, gamers, SciFi fans, and the like. The store sold bootlegged anime CDs. Shame :< And the store sold The Settlers of Catan games and expansion sets.
The first book store out of many we checked out was Dark Horse Books. The store was closed. Next was Snowden's bookstore that we stayed briefly. The two bookstores were close to each other. We saw the department store The Bay selling 2010 Olympic goods and apparel. We briefly checked out the apparel. We wanted to buy Olympic goods and I suggested we come back later so we didn't carry the stuff. Steve agreed.
We continued book shopping and we entered Books On View at 12:40pm. Steve gave the worker a list of books on his wish list. I browsed around and I saw A View To A Kill DVD for $6.99CAD new. Good price for a James Bond. I purchased it. No luck for Steve's wish list. Steve got a pamphlet of all the bookstores in Victoria. After Books On View, Steve needed to use the restroom. We walked to a McDonalds and a Chapters. (Chapters is the Borders bookstore of Canada.) At 1:15pm, we separated. I walked inside Chapters and checked out the bargain section to wait for Steve.
Steve met up with me at Chapters at 1:30pm. We then walked inside The Bay Centre mall to The Bay department store to purchase our Olympics appeal and souvenirs. Steve and I discussed we get the Olympics stuff now so that we walk in a straight line to all the bookstores and then to the Victoria Coho Ferry Terminal. At The Bay, I purchased a 2010 Vancouver Olympics jacket for $72CAD, regular $120CAD. Here's a secret for those who read the blog: I went to Vancouver in March 2007 for a business trip. Anyone asks me where I purchase the jacket, my answer is I purchased at Vancouver in March 2007. I'm not going to say Victoria November 2008. Shhhh! ;) I wear the jacket in 2010. Steve purchased Olympic pins for gifts.
Time was getting close to the 4:00pm ferry departure time. Time to walk and shop. The next bookstore was Russell Books at 1:52pm. Steve browsed through the fiction area to find any books from his wish list. We stayed briefly. Steve gave me a pamphlet of all the bookstores he found from Russell Books. Shepherd Books was the next bookstore. Shepherd was a small bookstore. We stayed briefly. The next bookstore was blocks away. Steve looked forward to Sorensen Books because the bookstore sold old and rare collection books. Big time potential to buy books from Steve's wish list. We arrived at Sorensen Books at 2:30pm. The bookstore was closed. Steve was disappointed.
The extra time from the closed Sorensen bookstore allowed Steve and I to take our time on the way back to the ferry terminal. I saw a DVD box set containing The Departed (2005), Point Blank, and Bullitt for $20CAD at Chronicles of Crime, a bookstore selling mysteries and crime. I purchased the DVD box set and paid in $US. I forgot the reason why I paid in $US. After Chronicles of Crime, we saw the coin collectables stores we visited in '05. Steve remembered the coins he looked at and he told me his current coin collection.
At 2:40pm, the final shop was Moose Crossing. Steve and I purchased Canadian souvenirs. I purchased Olympics and Victoria magnets. I had to pay $US because my credit cards didn't work. Steve purchased postcards. I took another picture of a Victoria police car. Happy ^_^ And we took pics in front of the Canadian Monte Bear Police.
We still had plenty of time remaining. We took pictures at the Remarkable British Columbians in front of the Royal British Columbia Museum. And we took pictures of the British Columbia Government Legislative Building. The time was 3:02pm after all the pictures were taken.
Going Back To The U-S-of-A
We arrived at the Victoria Coho Ferry Terminal at 3:15pm. Steve and I sat on the benches and took a breathier. I read a few pages of The Choice book. I felt weak. The Fish & Chips was a crappy lunch. At 3:30pm, we went through US Customs. The agent inspected our passports, scanned our passports, and asked questions. After customs, we waited at the Coho loading dock. I saw the cars and trucks entered the ferry below. I made a joke to a family that their son was dancing. I said he's preparing to dance to attract girls. An example of positive sarcasm :D We boarded the Coho at 3:40pm.
I went straight to the snacks. I purchased orange juice, oatmeal, and a bag of cookies. They helped me stay awake throughout the ferry ride. Steve got redemption from the ice tea vending machine by getting two Doritos bags from the vending machine. The ferry departed on time at 4:00pm. Steve and I played Fluxx. I won a Fluxx game with All You Need Is Love.
We played Fluxx most of the way. We stopped playing the last 10-15 minutes of the ride. I was tired and felt weak. We arrived at Port Angeles Coho Terminal Ferry at 5:45pm. We went through US Customs a second time. Nothing big. The agents breezed everyone through quickly asking simple questions. Looked like a formality check to see if there were clues anyone was suspicious. Steve said the agent didn't open his passport.
We walked through Downtown Port Angeles to Steve's car. Downtown was quiet and many shops were closed. We stopped at Wendy's at 6:00pm to eat dinner. I ordered the hamburger combo and I forgot what Steve ordered. I forgot to tell Wendy's to hold the mustard. No worries. I ate light and I could have eaten more.
We listened to Yo Yo Ma and Isaac Stern on the way back to Steve's home. We talked about the movies we watch tonight. We talked about Stanley Kubrick at Taco Time and we choose to watch Dr. Strangelove. And we watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a movie I didn't watch. I asked Steve to stop at a supermarket before going home. I was weak and tired. I needed good food to eat. We arrived at Safeway in Port Orchard at 8:05pm. I purchased cashews, yogurt, wheat muffins, oranges, applies, kiwi, and deli roast beef to last tonight, Wed, and Thur. At the deli counter, the two deli ladies and I talked about classic rock. The store music played Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n Roll." The first lady asked the second lady who sang the song. I said Joan Jett to the first lady. After I paid my groceries, I took a picture of a vending machine showing a cheesy kid being a spy. I couldn't think of a joke. Here's the pic:
Steve's At The Movies
We arrived at Steve's house at 8:35pm. We moved our belongings and the groceries inside the house. I unpacked the groceries and put the perishables inside the refrigerator. Steve received his latest Netflix DVDs. We choose to watch Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, one of three movies Steve received from Netflix at 9:19pm. Then we watch Dr. Strangelove and then Monty Python. Steve waited for me as I prepared my late snack consisting of an orange, an apple, some roast beef, a kiwi, and a muffin.
The Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was so-so. Good action. Steve commented most of the characters died so why there was a back story. Good comment. Steve was tired understandably from the driving and he went to bed. I stayed up to watch Dr. Strangelove at 10:56pm. Unfortunately, I dozed off and went to bed after watching half of the movie.
I'm growing up Finding Raymond Mar
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