Victoria

Friday morning and we wake up to a glorious, clear blue day. I’m staying with Krystal (a work friend from Ottawa) and her boyfriend. They are recent transplants to Victoria, having taken two months of the fall to drive across the better part of the country.

The previous day, Krystal met me at the bus stop and took me on a concise tour of the downtown. We had a delicious meal and locally brewed beer at ___ Inn [the name eludes me], played a game and drank tea out of real china (whole set off Used Victoria =$10!), then met some people at a bar, including Alanna – also, formerly of Ottawa, but a Victoria native – and her boyfriend, who was dj-ing that night.

Now, with the entire, beautiful day before us, Krystal and I set off for a seaside walk. We see a huge otter – my new favorite animal – and an enormous, bright orange starfish.

But what began as a “good walk” gradually morphed into something of more substantial proportions. Excluding brief stops for a BC-mandatory coffee, at Krystal’s work, and the grocery and liquor marts, we walked steadily from the time we left the house before noon until we returned around 5:30pm.
I don’t think my guide intended for it to become such a journey, a thought that only started to occur to me later in the day. Krystal began to casually throw in that she was still unfamiliar with all the streets in Victoria, still trying to get her bearings in the new city. We were still meandering about at this point.
Starting around 4pm, she would stop, pause for a moment, and then exclaim, “Hmm… oh, I know where we are!” Frequently. To the point where the surprised tone so obviously present in her reactions did not inspire confidence that we would make it back to the apartment. Ever.

But we did. And right into the building’s hot tub we went. Then into the pool. And then back into the hot tub.
The result: minimal battle damage. (The 4th toe on my left foot was more blister than anything else – yes Mom, it’s healing fine and no, it’s not because I had on inappropriate footwear. Even though I did, that’s not what caused the blister.)

Later on, a handful of people came over and the evening was spent enjoying homemade pizza, more delicious BC beer, Rock Band, and good company.