Oswego Hotel Victoria

So after an hour or the bus and sky train we arrived at Tsawwassen Bay ferry terminal and boarded to make the trip over to Vancouver Island, we were met at Schwatz Bay by our host Rowena. This was to be our first couch surfing experience in a while, since Calgary in fact, and it was good to have that sense of nervous expectation again when meeting our host.

Rowena was so easy to talk to, she was fantastic in coming to meet us and putting us at ...

... Country in between Vernon and Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley. It was a perfect road trip - music from my Zune loud and clear, dry, uncrowded roads, supreme, constantly changing scenery.
I love BC! Every time I drive through it I'm reminded that it's the most beautiful place in the world.

... the dexter disc brakes on the fifth wheel have been great, I dont think I would want to tow the fifth wheel with drum brakes.

So there you have it, another year gone by, tomorrow Amanda  runs in the Victoria marathon, and next Friday we fly back to New Zealand, its been a great trip, and I would encourage anybody thinking of such a journey to get on and do it before homeland security makes it totally impossible!!!

 

... world, the construction of a new. Neat bark paths weave past them now, accessible to buggies and wheelchairs. Ropes and fences make people keep their distance, and everything is explained by helpful boards. This accessibility will widen the audience this forest receives, and hopefully make more people value it. But I preferred the other side, where the trails tended to vanish and the air of wilderness remained ...

Last night as I was going to my room I walked by a lounge where they were having a dance contest (think Dancing with the Stars but with regular people). These people were great! The oldest couple were ages 65 and 67. They could move and were so cute together.

After the dancing contest they had a karaoke contest. Compared to the dancers, this contest was well, yuck! I'm the first to say I can't sing but neither ...

... ab von nordamerikanischem fastfood und welches ich bestimmt jeden zweiten tag bestellte. hab in dieser bar viele reisende und auch nicht-reisende kennengelernt und deshalb kamen in mir ein erstes mal abschiedsgefühle auf, als ich mich mit sack und pack richtung fähre nach seattle aufmachte.

ah ja, das kanadische gesundheitsministerium hat mir einen meiner tagesausflüge so ziemlich vermiest... da machte ich mir die mühe eine buslinie zu den butchart gardens zu finden ...

... and annoyed. The guy that was sitting on "my" bed was really good about it and moved and let me there again. Went downstairs to speak with the front desk to find out what was going on as I had put up my little piece of paper to say I was a stayover. They apologised and just gave me new sheets, etc. I still felt a little uneasy... Kiran had messaged me by this point saying her and Courtney were having retail therapy at a nearby mall. So I caught a bus ...

... Chelsey who was over from Vancouver for the weekend to party. The next 5 days consisted of me, James, Mario and Chelsey hanging out in Victoria and drinking mammoth amounts every night for 5 days straight - a feat I had never before accomplished but enjoyed immensely. In addition to partying every single night, Mario and I went whale watching, me, Mario and James attended a 12 fight MMA bout which ...

... Phillips and their daughter Holly. We felt buoyed by the richness of the day's conversations and warm fellowship. On Friday Arnold picked us up to take us to the Royal BC Museum, where we explored the fascinating First Nations exhibit. Then we were swept off to Jim and Alison Prentice's beautiful waterfront home for more great conversations and some birdwatching. We appreciated their interest in our mission and their apparent understanding of the issues. The day was complete ...

... l*ke. She works in Educ*tion *nd is currently working on curriculum items for the Winter Olympics to be held in V*ncouver in 2010. The m*scot for the g*mes is "Inukshuk" which is the c*irn m*de by Eskimos to m*rk the pl*ce where food h*s been stored. Mike then took us *ll by bo*t to dinner *t the West Arm Diner which w*s on the l*ke. We picked bl*ckberries *nd *te them.