Vancouver Island - Victoria

One of my favorite things about traveling is meeting people from all over the world.  It seems to me that the more you reach out, the more you reel in.  Traveling is the perfect vehicle for expanding horizons, learning new cultures, and sharing new experiences.  And we love it!  Last year on our South Pacific cruise, we were fortunate enough to make friends with two couples, and we also are fortunate enough to have remained in touch with them.

Lou and Mary live in Texas, but they have a summer home in Oregon.  We have met them in Dallas, in Portland, in Denver, and now in Victoria.  Matt and Sheila are from the UK and live in Duncan - in the Cowichan Valley region just north of Victoria - and we have visited them twice in this lovely city.  

This morning started with a seaplane ride from Vancouver over to Vancouver Island...the largest Pacific island east of New Zealand and home to the capital of British Columbia, Victoria.  The ride was a quick 35 minutes, smooth, and full of fantastic views.

It was overcast in Vancouver, but we headed straight into the sunshine spreading over the Island.

Victoria is picture perfect - full of colonial quaintness, kitschy tourism haunts, pubs and breweries, restaurants, harbor views, and flower-lined streets.

Once we landed, we made a beeline for Cora's - a well-known, well-loved breakfast extravaganza - and a perfect place to meet up with Mary and Lou.  I would show you a picture of my breakfast, but I ate it.  Joe ate his, too.  So did Mary.  Lou?  He damn near licked the plate.  To be fair, he had the waffles and fruit.

We all agreed that Cora's was THE place.

After stuffing ourselves silly, Mary and Lou went sightseeing, and we went to meet Matt and Sheila for lunch.  I'm not kidding.  We walked a bit and then landed at The Irish Times pub.  They ate lunch.  Joe had a snack.  I watched.  And drank beer.

We spent the afternoon catching up on news and families, chatting politics: Brexit and Trump, trading stories, and having an exceptional time.  The afternoon passed all to quickly and included a stroll along the inner harbor and another beer at a small social house.  

Before we knew it, it was time to catch our seaplane back to Vancouver.  Matt and Sheila walked us back to the float plane terminal where, lo and behold, Lou and Mary were there to see us off. 

It was a terrific day.  Beautiful weather, fantastic friends, and a fun plane ride.  

I sat in the front row on the way back.

Leaving Victoria Harbor

Likely the San Juans

Back to Vancouver - that the Olympic Stadium on the right.

Tomorrow - we board the Island Princess and head for Alaska!