Wednesday, June 13
This morning we got out fairly early, bought a bus ticket and took a ride into downtown Victoria. Someone said its a rule that these cruise ships must go into a foreign port on each trip so this was it for us.
We were dropped off right by the Empress Hotel so we walked through and admired the architecture and the grounds.
I saw several dolphin sculptures. Some were plants trimmed to look like dolphins. Others reminded me of the frogs stationed all through Calaveras County.
Since we hadn’t had breakfast before leaving the ship, we stopped at a little coffee shop for a bite. I ordered the Earl Grey tea and was very pleasantly surprised at how good it was! I should have asked if I could buy some tea but didn’t think of it until later. Sigh.
Right across the street from our breakfast spot, there was a Giant bicycle shop. Of course, we went it to look. The young salesman was very chatty. So he and Dan jawed while I looked around.
We wandered down to the harbor and, lo and behold, there was a seaplane base! A sailboat happened by too. It turned out to be a nice day with sunshine so several folks were out enjoying it.
The day had started with drizzle but that ended, the sun came out and it must’ve warmed up to 50 degrees. The wind never died down but as long as we stayed in protected areas, it wasn’t too cold.
Finding the bus stop for our return trip concerned us a bit because the bus driver gave us one set of instructions but the man at the visitor’s center said something different because of construction that was going on in town. Fortunately we walked down the correct street at the correct time and caught the correct bus.
Returning to our room, there was a “Happy Birthday” sign on the door with balloons. The room had also been decorated. It was fun seeing Dan surprised. Princess Cruises had given Dan a $50 gift certificate to be used in the spa. So he decided to get a haircut. He ended up getting that, a facial, a shave, and an arm and hand massage. Now he looks younger than me.
Since there were two birthday boys in our group, we decided tonight would be the celebration. Turns out there is another couple that live in Pine Mountain Lake who are also on the cruise, Rich and Marsha. So they joined us and that made three June birthday boys: Todd, Dan, and Rich. The travel agent gave us this evening’s special dinner as a gift which was very nice! Our waiter, from Serbia, was a hoot. He told us his name but said to call him Mr. B as that would be easier to remember.
We were all able to sit at the same table and we all had a fun time teasing one another, telling jokes and enjoying a delicious meal.
Time for bed. Tomorrow is another day at sea but we should have tail winds and not such a wild ride as yesterday.
thecyclingdiva 