Victoria BC -- Where everyone says "Eh?"

September 14, 2007 – Today was a full day at sea as we head down the western coast of Canada to make it to Victoria by 6pm. That’s our last stop before we end up in Seattle first thing in the morning. We were unable to meet up with our friend Robin Bruins because she is in Tucson for a few days. However, we did connect with my former college housemate, Margie Coles. She plans to meet with us in the morning and show a few sights before we have to leave for the airport around 3.

We are having a hard time thinking about returning to work on Monday. It’s been so far from our thoughts this week, though it will be nice to get back to normal eating habits. We’ve been dining on more stuff than usual – full lunches and dinners, plus desserts. Typically, both Diane and I stick with a daily allotment of about 1500 calories, though we’ve gone far, far beyond that on the trip, where there are no Lean Cuisines or non-fat yogurts. But we’ll be back to those quickly enough – and to the gym. We did do a “walk for the cure” today, which the cruise line organized. It was a 5K walk for breast cancer, with each of us making a cash contribution for the privilege of walking nine times around the Promenade deck. I made it only five times before I got shin splints, but Diane managed to finish the entire walk. (Last year, this ship alone raised $50,000 of the cruise line’s total donation of about $500,000.) Tonight we’ll be walking around Victoria, adding more mileage to our shoes.

We are already packed up, with only our clothing for tonight and tomorrow left out. We’ll be off the ship around 8 or 9, back on solid ground and into reality. There will be no more room stewards to put out fresh towels, to make our beds, or even fold the toilet paper onto little pointy ends. I wonder if I can take any of these guys home with me…

So far, Ketchikan has been our favorite town, not only because the people are so friendly, but because the economic developers care enough about the tourist trade that they’ve created a district that’s inviting, clean, and friendly. It’s the polar (pun intended) opposite of Juneau. When we landed, the first thing we saw was a school bus storage lot. The shuttle buses were $2 for a one-mile ride into town, which we could have walked, except it was raining. The port area was littered with cheap little shacks staffed by people selling tours. The stores looked old, and the few restaurants were really bars that smelled of old alcohol and cigarettes. We stopped at a coffee shop offering free internet service, but when we ordered our drinks and sat down, we learned that the service wasn’t available that day. But we could get some for a dollar a minute across the street. No thanks.

Lunch was at a Mexican restaurant – the only place we could find – recommended by a man standing on the sidewalk in front. “It’s really good,” he said. “My wife had a whole plate of nachos, and it was so big that she couldn’t finish it all.”

Well, never visit a restaurant when the only recommendation is that the portions are large. I had a taco and an enchilada, and both were cooked in old grease. They sat hard in my stomach.

In fairness, I did like the people at Temsco helicopter service, even though our flight to the Mendenhall Glacier was cancelled because of weather. They were friendly, chatty, outgoing, and helpful. It seemed that they really appreciated people’s business. Our bus drivers were enjoyable to talk with, too. But the port area left a lot to be desired.

Sitka was terrific, especially considering its small size and remote location. Here, too, the people were friendly, especially at the information center, which was set up right by the water. The local arts and crafts displays were very basic, but the goods were great quality. Both Diane and I bought some handspun and dyed knitting yarns made by a local woman who explained how she created each color combination – from watching a stormy sky, to sitting on a boat in the middle of a kelp bed, to researching the clothing colors worn by the Russian settlers. Everything had a story. Sitka is not a wealthy town, but we liked the people and the history and the fact that there was a lot of pride even if there wasn’t much money.

I'll be posting a lot of photos as soon as I can wade through them. More later...