Victoria, at last

The anticipation has been great. I got the idea from my son who suggested a trip to celebrate my 60th birthday. “A bike trip,” of course, is how I replied.

When I checked in at the Victoria Clipper yesterday the agent commented, “You made this reservation a long time ago.” I did.

Making plans for the height of the season here in this corner of the Pacific Northwest I knew could be tricky, so I planned well ahead. Not so much Victoria, it’s a large enough city with many choices for accommodations, but the next stops in the San Juan Islands — they’ll be packed because there are few choices.

Everything so far has been smooth. My family of 4 flew to Seattle then took Link light rail to the Pike Place Market where we dined at a tiny little place, Pike Place Chowder, which according to Yelp, was the place to be. We opened the joint, first in line at 11am, and I can confirm that the chowder is very good. That left us 3.5 hours to kill before our ferry departed. We were on foot carrying our panniers, which are fine for short distances, but we struggled with the 1 mile trek through Belltown as we shouldered the panniers with makeshift camera straps. My wife wished for wheels so she could drag them, but that’s where having two strapping boys along made a difference.

Packing only panniers

The ferry ride itself was smooth sailing, the water calm. The ride is long at 2:45 hours, so we were all whipped by the time we arrived.

Victoria is in the middle of a heat wave; today will be 80 degrees, like yesterday, before cooling back to a more normal 68 on Sunday — great temps for riding.

This morning I am confronted with three tasks: write this post, do my laundry in the sink and go rent the bikes. This post has won out, as the boys are still sleeping.

At Seattle’s Pike Place Market

The Empress Hotel defines Victoria’s Inner Harbor