Canada: Part 1

As noted in my previous post, I was absent from my blog for approximately two weeks.  During that time, I did many things that I had never done before, in a place I had never gone: Canada.  I thought it silly that a native Oregonian like myself had never been to the friendly, geographically close country.  Thus, I arranged a trip to Victoria, Canada with my sister Shelby, and we embarked on our first sister vacation separate from our parents (apart from Eugene, which doesn't count).  She was excited to see the Parliment building and other historical sites; I was excited to take advantage of the lower drinking age.


And so our journey began.


We traveled to Seattle by train, and then took a ferry from Seattle to Victoria.  Sounds easy, right?  Only we are very silly travelers.  Each of us brought a sports duffel bag, plus a purse as luggage.  The weight was manageable enough, until we got off the train in Seattle and had to walk to the ferry port.  The walk was about one mile (mile and a half?) which is nuthin' for a distance runner.  Unfortunately, the added baggage (both physically and metaphorically) Plus the heat made the walk more difficult.  To top it off, my sister was nauseated from the heat, and stopped numerous times to potentially vomit into the ocean.  We looked like two pathetic, unprepared, weary travelers.  Shelby was eventually in such a depressing state that I took her duffel bag and slung hers on one shoulder, mine on the other, so that I looked like an amazing, balanced body builder.  


When we finally reached the ferry port, we had several hours to kill.  I was stoked to ride a ferry (not a first for me, however; I went to Whidbey Island for a cross country race back in the day) and impatient.  They organized us into eight boarding groups, and somehow Shelby and I landed in the sixth group.  This was the order we were to enter the ferry and find seats.  Like general admission at a concert, the scramble for positioning was intense.  Everyone wanted to be on the second floor, but this was already full by the time we boarded.  A window seat was also desirable, but these were also taken.  Finally, if nothing else it is preferable to be seated next to the person you are traveling with.  Unfortunately, this was also not a possibility: the silly ferry was arranged in rows of three, and most people were traveling in pairs.  Thus, there were many end seats where one could awkwardly join a twosome.  Shelby and I found two of these that were only one row apart from each other, and set up camp.  By that point, we were thankful that we had seats at all.


I was a little disappointed by the layout of the ferry.  I had pictured it in my mind like the Titanic, where I could chill on deck, play some cards, wander around and stand on the rail with Leonardo DiCaprio.  The Seattle Clipper, however, was nothing like the Titanic; it was an airplane in the sea.  The seats were all enclosed, and arranged just like an airplane.  The only attractive elements of the Seattle Clipper were 1. the observation deck on the top level, where one could stand outside, and 2. Alcohol, cigars and perfume sold without sales tax.  Sadly, I took advantage of none of these things.  I read a hell of a lot of The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky, went a little mentally insane from all of that Russian literature at once, and pretended to sleep.  


We landed in Victoria approximately 2 and a half hours after getting on the ferry.  It was already evening, and the city was poppin' with tourists.  Left and right I saw people posing with totem poles (there are a lot of them in Victoria), posing with the Parliment building, posing with horse-drawn carriages, posing with flowers, posing with each other, etc.  The camera flashes were like a fireworks show.  


Shelby and I were hungry (I was hungry the entire trip, actually) and so we checked into our hotel, threw  our luggage down and headed straight for the local Irish Pub, named "Irish Times."  Irish things were quite popular in Vicoria.  I ordered a drink called "Questionable Virtue" because I was pleased with the name.  It was a citrusy, vodka-infused beverage.  I was excited to order alcohol myself, in public, legally.  Alcohol was actually really expensive in Victoria, however.  Sadly, I did not get shwasted.


Shelby and I participated in my favorite activity of the trip the next day: we went to the Undersea Gardens.  There, you descend down beneath the sea level in a stationary boat, and view the fish and other sea life in their natural habitat.  The fish were hilarious: they were huge, awkward, and swum around with their mouths agape.  We were given booklets to help us identify the different ocean creatures.  I was eager to see a wolf eel.  They look like this:

Kind of freaky but intriguing, right? I didn't see one until the undersea show.  Every hour or so, the Undersea Gardens put on a show where a scuba diver goes into the ocean and points out different sea creatures to the audience, whilst someone else gives us information about the silly creatures.  At the beginning of the show, an intense mix of Rocky/Jaws music began playing in the background.  As if on cue, one of these freaky wolf eels swam out from behind a rock and revealed himself to the audience.  It was nearly eight feet long and incredibly intense ("SO INTENSE!"-Double Rainbow guy).  Once scuba man came out, however, and rang a dinner bell, we were shown the softer side of the wolf eel.  The frightening creature swam up to the scuba dude, rubbing his leg affectionately with its creepy head.  Apparently wolf eels are very friendly with scuba divers, and even like to play! Maybe I will buy one and keep it as a pet someday.

At the conclusion of the show, the Scuba dude was supposed to be hanging out in the gift shop area, answering questions from the audience.  After debating whether or not I wanted a shot glass with a wolf eel on it (I decided against it; shots are gross enough without an eel on them) Shelby and I attempted to exit the shop.  Scuba dude, however, apprehended us by the door.  With a smile and twinkling eyes, he said to us: "Hey ladies, do you want to watch me feed a baby seal?"

Now, the scuba dude was youthful and pretty cute.  Plus, I had never seen a baby seal being fed before.  So we waited for him out by the pier.  Scuba dude came out, still in his scuba suit, with small fish in hand, and walked up to us.  "I'm afraid she swam away," he said, "She was here just a half an hour ago."

We shared an awkward silence.  "Well, bye," I said, and we left.  I think that scuba dude must have the best job ever.  He gets to hang out with fish and wolf eels all day, then hang by the gift shop and use the best pick-up line I've ever heard in my life.  What type of girl can resist a baby seal?

Alas, I saw no baby seal feedings that day.  A little disappointing, yes, but I learned a good pick-up line for my man friends.