Friday, November 12, 2010

October 31, 2010--Day Thirty-Two!


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We ate breakie with the senior’s, who are given a prepared meal three times a day. We visited Helen quickly (Alexander’s granddad’s wife) and then we started our day. Alexander’s granddad gave a quick sermon and then we got ready to go. We had a quick tour of White Rock, including visiting Sherry. (Helen’s daughter) and then headed towards the Tsawassen Ferry Terminal. We were headed to Victoria and Mile “O” today to officially finish our Cross-Canada Road Trip!!

We had reserved a ticket so we got to get on the ferry first. The ferry was a bit different to East Coast ferries as these ones were just coasted ferries and not meant for open sea and big storms. Once on board we headed up to the buffet and settled in for lunch. Alexander’s granddad treated us as we went in, sat at the very, very tip of the bow and enjoyed a fabulous lunch buffet!

This is supposed to be Vancouver’s rainy season but we were finally lucky and got some great weather. It was clear as could be and we were able to watch the ferry navigate through the many islands around Victoria.

It was a fast crossing. Well, fast compared to some of the ferry trips we have been on. It only took and hour and a half, but as we enjoyed a delectable lunch it felt much, much faster than that.

We were one of the first vehicles off of the ferry and on our way towards Mile “O”. Alexander’s Granddad had been there before, not in a while, but he flawlessly navigated and brought us to where we needed to go. We made it to a large park in Victoria and Alexander’s Granddad asked a police officer if we were going to right way, so we knew we were!

Mile “O”

It felt…exciting! But sad all at the same time.

Our adventurous trip to drive from East to West Coast, through Labrador during the Autumn/Winter Canadian Weather was complete….

It was the end of a trip I will never forget.

Though our feat to go from the farthest Eastern point to the West coast was completed, we still had about a week left of travelling left to do.

At Mile “O” there was another statue of Terry Fox, representing him reaching the end he was never able to reach, and there was also a plaque devoted to Steven Fonyo, who completed the run for Terry Fox.

Alexander and I hiked down to the waterfront and Alexander’s Granddad stayed on the boardwalk.

We hiked down to the waterfront and put our hands in the Pacific Ocean….

It was an emotional moment. We looked at each other and realized exactly what we had done. It is a trip that most wish to take, but never get to do.

If you have never done it and have always wanted to I hope you do. It is a trip you will never forget!

Back on the cliffs we headed back to the Jeep. We took some time to tour around Victoria. Alexander’s granddad showed us around. We saw the downtown and parliament and the harbourfront, a huge hotel and the fishermen’s warf. None of us had been there, but we saw it so decided to pull in. There was a good place to park, so we decided to walk around a bit. We admired many of the floating houses and decided that we probably couldn’t handle that, given our sea sickiness during our ferry adventures…

Anyhow. It was neat to see that people enjoyed living in an environment such as that.

Wandering around we saw some people grouped together in front of a small store. There was a seal floating in the water just in front of the stall. Evidently, the seal had found the perfect spot to hang out. The store offered sardines for a dollar each or six for five dollars. People were buying the bait fishes and feeding them to the seal who would gently pull them from the people’s hands. The sea gulls were also keenly watching this and tried to go for the fish, someone had to stand dutifully on guard to squirt the gulls with a water gun to keep them away.

Alexander’s Granddad bought us some fish and we got to feed the seal. It was at the top of our list of highlights from the trip. I had never fed a seal. We had seen a lot in the distance on many of our whale watching and ferry trips, but none up close. The are just like a dog, but a dog with skin and …well anyhow…

We got some fantastic pictures, and an even better video and it was a highlight from our trip that we won’t forget anytime soon.

We watched some other people for a bit, one guy was about to drop the sardine into the seal’s mouth, but a seagull happened to swoop down just too fast and enjoyed a sardine for dinner. Sneaky things…

After wandering around the floating houses and enjoying their Halloween decorations we headed back to the Jeep and drove to the ferry. We saw people dressed up out trick-o-treating around Victoria and then in Vancouver as we drove back. When we got back to Alexander’s Granddad’s we visited for a bit and then passed out on the floor…..zzzz…

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