Victoria, BC

The last day of our cruise, we stopped in Victoria, British Columbia for the evening.  Bryan and I made no plans other than to wander around.  After we ported, we discovered it was a couple of miles to the historic downtown area.  We saw people lining up to get on the shuttle buses when I saw a little trailer off to the side, renting bicycles for a few dollars.  So we gave the boy our money, I ran back to the ship and changed out of my little flats and into my sneakers, and then we rode off into the sunset.  I don't think I'd been on a bike since my early college days, and well, it's just like they say.

I'd been to Victoria as a young girl with my family, and I have vague, fond memories of the city: high tea at the Empress Hotel, and a bagpiper street musician in his kilt.  It was fun seeing those things again.  Bryan and I even wandered through the Empress Hotel, and little flickers of memories would return. 

We stopped in at Darcy's Pub, and I ordered my favorite British hard cider.

Then we bumped into our friends again (Lindsey, Ben, Tanner, and Alexis), and had a drink at a lovely little restaurant.

Then we wandered back to our ship through the historic downtown.

The next morning, we were back in Seattle.  We met up for a lovely coffee date with my cousin Erin, whom I hadn't seen since we were teenagers. Then we drove home, and were reunited with our girls!  It was so good to be with them again.  We had such a wonderful vacation, but we couldn't stop talking about how much we missed them.