We discussed separate or riding together, and decided one of us needed to be the navigator... that would be the Blonde above, with the map in her hand.
First things first: we ran to the other side of Victoria Harbour for some Tim Horton's... not so much because the food and coffee are great (although some Canadians seem to think Timmy's puts something addictive in their coffee), but because "it's the Canadian thing to do."
We checked out an RV park that fronts the harbour, then headed out for the scenic drive along the southern part of the island here. It was another beautifully clear day...
A clear shot across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with another gorgeous view of the Olympic Mountains. The drive winds right along the shoreline - plenty of parks and scenic places to pull off...
And, we pulled off frequently... they promote that scooter as their "two-up" option, but two grown-up size adults are a tight fit. I enjoyed the snuggling. My ass was not happy about the lack of real estate on the seat; not to mention the fact I was sitting so far forward that I had to splay my feet out to either side. Joan didn't have it any better: her long legs didn't have quite enough room to make it around me and back to the minimal passenger footrests. Knowing that we didn't have to live with it, we laughed about it... in between the complaints about whose ass hurt more. I kept thinking that we looked like the scooter scene from Dumb & Dumber. ;-)
One up would have been better, but their one up scooters were even smaller... and I'm pretty sure we would have looked like Weebles on those. Joan looks good one up on this one...
We drove around to Oak Bay; stopped to rest our butts and get a shot of Mt. Baker on the far horizon...
From there, we ran north... 'till it was time for another butt rest. We stopped in a heavily wooded park...
All along this route, the scenery and landscaping were beautiful. We turned inland... and got mildly lost. No big deal - see where the sun is, turn south, and drive until you come to a big bunch of water... we got to see some different scenery.
On the way back to Victoria, we stopped at Fisherman's Wharf. After a walk around the floating homes...
... we ordered some fish & chips from Barb's (they are quick to tell you that "they are the best around"). Yes, I ate fish. If you batter it, and deep fat fry it, I can eat almost anything. ;-)
Back into town and a scooter-tour through Chinatown, around the harbour, and all through downtown. Scooters really are a good solution to urban mobility. We cruised all through Beacon Hill Park - they are hard at the floral landscaping right now, and the place looks beautiful. One more pass through the city streets and a unanimous vote to return the scooter.
All said and done, we could have rented a car for about half the price, but where's the fun in that? About the time I mentioned that, a Porsche Carrera went by... yeah, that would be fun, too. I have really missed our scooters, and this was a fun change of pace (we usually walk or take public transportation when out with the boat).
We walked back to the Inner Harbour to take Izzy for a dock walk. Even more activity going on, so up and down the dock once was enough for her. We sat with her in the cockpit for a while. Her eyes got wide when she heard the noise of a bow thruster... looks like we are going to have a new neighbor. Joan said, "There goes the view," as this 51 foot boat backed in on the next dock over.
I said, "There goes your satellite TV signal, unless they go all the way back."
Fortunately, they went all the way back on that dock - I turned on the TV and we still have a signal. And a nice full view of the lights on the Parliament Building.
We'll walk around some this evening; check out some of the buskers; and have a nice meal out. Tomorrow, it's back to Friday Harbor.
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