Alaska Cruise - Victoria

Day 7
Victoria

We liked the first family meeting on Friday so much
we had another one on Saturday. These two days were
at sea so we weren't rushing off to excursions.
Susan brought the "The Cremation of Sam McGee"
poem to share. Some of us heard it twice and
didn't mind a bit. The poem takes place near this
area, during the Klondike gold rush.

Do you think these two ladies could stop taking pictures for just ONE MINUTE?! Sheesh!!
They are taking pictures of each other here (and it was DURING the meeting, I might add).

After the meeting we strolled to the calm, warm stern (back)
of the ship. Mom made us these matching Redd scarves
and the matching green shirts that read, "Redd Cruise 2004"
Mom claims, "dropped down from heaven," and she is
sworn to secrecy as to who had them made up.
We have our suspicions. I won't say the name but I
suspect her initials are G.G.H. I tried to catch Mom off
guard with a comment about the shirts but she was too
quick and didn't give it away.

Girls in scarves
Susan, Karen, Patty, Linda, Mamacita, Sarah, Laurel, and Jenny-Poo

The Brotherhood (our 7 dreamy hubbies) taking pictures of
us, making us feel like celebs.

And who wouldn't have a moment on the way to
lunch to stop and look at jewelry? It's not like we're
starving around here, I'll tell you what!

I saw a black thing in the water for a moment.
Who knows what it was, maybe a whale, maybe a
seal. Well, it was something!

At 5 pm we slowly pull in to the city of Victoria on
Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada.
We learned from our eagles and lighthouse boat driver,
"Never approach a dock faster than you want to hit it."

Our rubber chicken guy, The Spud-meister.
We went on his Butchart Gardens excursion.

Some vehicles are really just TOO LARGE to be in a parking lot.
Don't panic, it's just an illusion.

As are RRRrrrrronald and Sarah.
(That hat reads, "St. George Fire." He must be one of Mom's neighbors.)

As we pull away from the harbor our driver points out this sign.
Mile 0 is the starting point of the Trans-Canada Highway. Cool!

Noticing that we hadn't signed up for the Wine & Chocolate
tour of Butchart Gardens, I brought a box of See's Candy
nuts and chews to share. No one complained and it was gone in
a jiffy! Peter and Blair were off looking for a wheelchair to rent and,
as you can see, we waited for them like one pig waits for another.
Don't worry, they did get some. Earlier in the day a woman on
board saw me with the box and excitedly asked me where I got it.
I told her I'd brought it from home (not to mention protecting it
with my life from that guy I was sharing a cabin with). She
asked if it was nuts and chews. Yes. She seemed ready to pay
any price for it! I was beginning to think about what my price
might be but then I thought about my dear sisters who already
knew about it and how disappointed they (and I) would be had
I succumbed. Fortunately, we parted ways in the nick of time.

The snapdragons were almost too loud for my eyes.
Dad introduced me to snapdragons (as I recall).
Breanne and I like to make them sing, "La la la LAHHHHH!!"

A serene glimpse of Butchart Cove and Saanich Inlet
as seen from the Japanese Garden.

This one wasn't in the Butchart Flower Guide.
Anyone know what it is? This reminds me of
Georgia O'Keefe's Red Poppy painting.
Patty says it's probably a rose. Yep, I'll
bet this was in the English Rose Garden.

This is the 100th anniversary of Butchart Gardens.
Two totem poles are being created by two local craftsmen.

On the way back to the ship Michael and I stopped into customs
to get a Canada stamp on our passport. The guy sort of sighed,
rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, just don't tell anyone."
I'm sure he would not have liked stamping 2600 passports.