Hello everyone. I thought I’d give you an update before I head out for the day. If I don’t then I don’t know when I’d update you again and would have a lot to share. Yesterday was another long travel day. It was somewhat enjoyable but at the same time was just a lot of time in transit. I woke up at 10:05 am, just missing my free breakfast. So I started to gather my things and sort through what I could again mail home, considering I made purchases at REI and a Sounders replica jersey. I checked out at noon, the latest possible time, jumped on a shuttle, then the train, and walked from the train station to Qwest Field. I was basically walking with three bags fighting Mariners/Twins game crowd. It was cool seeing all the Twins fans again. It’s funny how when fans are in a strange place and identify each other we are quick to strike up conversation. However, when we’re at our own stadiums or towns we talk MUCH less to each other. Maybe that’s just me as I didn’t inherit my dad’s gift of gab but I sense it’s everyone in general. I had to go to Qwest Field because that’s where the Sounders Team Store is located. The night before at the game I purchased a shirt that was in the sale area. It was a large. When I went to put it on it was most definitely not a large, more like a skin tight, form fitting shirt. I checked all the tags for any indication it was a boys or womens size but still saw nothing. I told the guy at the counter and he said “Oh yeah those two arms of the sale rack are kids shirts.” Nice. Anyway I got my replica jersey, Montero, who scored the two Sounders goals at the game I was at. After that I grabbed a taxi, I wanted to enjoy my last two hours in the city, and headed to the Kinko’s so I could Fedex my stuff home. The FedEx guy of course took his time and cost more than I thought it should. That was my fault though because I was shipping on a Sunday and didn’t have the option of USPS or UPS.
After that I headed to Pike Place to grab lunch. I thought I’d miss a bunch of the crowd as it was now 1:30 and the Twins game had started. I was very wrong. It was even busier than the day before and I couldn’t find a decent place to eat without a wait. So I started walking and headed to a coffee shop I heard was good,Uptown Espresso, in the Belltown area, which is my favorite neighborhood in all my walking of Seattle, found it, had a latte, but they only had cookies for food. I grabbed a cookie because I needed food. I then started briskly walking to Pier 69 to grab the ferry to Victoria. They said I had to be there at 2:15 and it was already 2:15 pm. They were a bunch of liars, I didn’t get on the boat until 3:05. I would have had plenty of time for lunch on the way there. Anyway, I got on the boat, grabbed a seat and hunkered down for the ride.
The ride was nothing spectacular. The windows were quite dirty and it was cloudy and a little foggy so the views weren’t that great. It was still cool to see Seattle that way and go through the Puget Sound. I was able to do a lot of reading that I had saved for this ride and look at places to go in Victoria. Clearing Canada Customs took forever in my mind. The lady grilled me about my trip, what I do, why I would want to visit Canada and Victoria, and if I could recall all the places I was staying and traveling to. She then decided to cross-reference this with my itinerary which I thankfully had printed and readily available. I thought I was going to be pulled aside and searched the way she was going. The walk to my hotel, which I booked through priceline two nights before, was a short one. I got to the hotel, asked for a harbourside room, and went up to my room. The room is awesome. Nice chairs to relax in, a huge comfortable bed, goose feather pillows, and amazing views. I can see Fisherman’s Wharf from my room. I quickly set my stuff down and wanted to take a walk at Sunset. So I went to the Sea Breaker and took in the sunset views. Then I grabbed a coffee at the local cafe and headed downtown to find food. I did eat some food, a Salmon burger with a great aioli spread. I got a great night’s sleep and woke ate 7:00 this morning. I have to go now to catch the whale watching tour. I’ll upload photos after the tour from last night and then a separate post for the whale tour. Peace