Hurrah. It’s CANADA DAY! The live band kicked off at 0815 this morning. Just after several thousand runners pounded past the harbor in the annual 10K Canada Day Harbor Run. We are in the middle of it and I am delighted. This is so cool that I (Lara) talked the Captain into a crew rest day. Tonight there are fireworks!
Did I mention that this too cool?! To our port there is a live band on the green grass lawn of large imposing government building. In front of them are many, many booths of the local talent. There are face painters, artists, wood carvers, lemonade stands, popcorn etc... To our stern (rear) are more booths and behind them is the famous Empress Hotel (charming and old looking). To our starboard (right) are street entertainers and the Canadian Visitor Centre.
Surrounding us in the marina are the following:
ß Prince of Whales – a whale watching boat. It is leaving about every two hours.
ß The Countess - A high speed rubber raft that is loading in people dressed like astronauts (without the helmets). This is a high speed boat adventure.
ß The Thane – a sailboat offering a three hour sail adventure.
ß The Clipper – The huge ferry boat that takes people to Vancouver/elsewhere
ß Victoria Harbour Ferry – These are cute little harbor run-abouts.
ß A bunch of private boats are arriving every minute. It is going to be packed in here.
The live music is blaring and the party has begun (at 0900). At noon it is in full swing. There are thousands of people riding bikes, walking and jogging about.
We are fortunate that we arrived yesterday or I am sure we would not have found a slip space due to the holiday.
Earlier today we found the grocery store to stock up for the next 5 weeks. After about 20 minutes in the store I decided that I could no longer look at the prices. UGH. How about $6 for a box of cereal and $23 for frozen chicken? I will have to avoid complaining about US food prices. We managed to fill two carts with food and beverages. Wells Fargo rejected our CC. I hate that – having to call my bank to tell them that I will be using my card outside the USA. We kept thrusting CC at the cashier until one worked. This is also kind of embarrassing as we felt like criminals... However; BONUS - For only $5 they will deliver our valuable supplies to the boat (down the street, down the ramp and all the way to the front gate of the boat. That is totally a bargain!).
We are having a GREAT day. I can’t wait until tonight and the fireworks begin. We have a front row seat.
The Captain is about to make me help him replace a light bulb. It’s way up on top of the antenna stack. Party Pooper!
No naps today as I want to get out and explore the fun happening all around us.
Tomorrow we are up and out at first light!
2 comments:
I saw on my desk calendar at work that today was "Canada Day" and made a snide comment to one of my co-workers. Didn't dawn on me that you two would be in the middle of it. So what exactly is Canada Day? Like our 4th of July?
Yup. Canada Day is their 4th of July. I think the gained their independence from Britian in 1974. It was a great party. I can't believe that we happened upon the thick of things! It was amazing.
Lara
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