Wandering Victoria...

It wasn't a particularly quiet night last night... music (not particularly good) and singing (less good than the music) went on well into the wee hours.  Fortunately, we could turn on the TV in the V-berth and you didn't really hear the outside noise.

After we cleaned up for the day, I went over to Larry and Nancy's boat, Jacari Maru, for a tour - they have a lot of room on that trawler...

I visited with Larry and Nancy for a good while, then they came over to Wild Blue to meet Joan... and get a short glimpse of Izzy.

After the visit, we headed downtown (well, we're pretty much downtown in the marina) for lunch and some shopping.  Victoria has more options than Friday Harbor, and it is fun to wander through town, checking out the different shops and restaurants.  We needed jackets when we left the boat... the weather weasels were calling for sunny and 72º in Victoria today; it seems the Canadian weasels aren't any better than the US folks when it comes to weather prediction: foggy and cool.

We had lunch at a restaurant with outside tables (with jackets on) - always fun to people watch in Victoria.  There is a Chalk Art Festival going on, with Government Street closed off for the artists...

Some beautiful work being done...

Joan was looking for some shirts, but didn't find anything to suit her; she found some shoes at an MEC (like the Canadian version of REI), and I got a new hat at a hat shop, where they sized it to fit me.  It was good exercise walking around, topped off with a hot fudge sundae at the Soda Shoppe.

By the time we got back, the fog was settling in more...

We walked by the buskers and artists plying their trade along the waterfront... 

We stopped to watch a juggler working the crowd; he had a great act, juggling everything from a chainsaw to fire-sticks.

We walked to the far side of the harbour to check out the artists along that wall.  Looking back...

The top of the Empress is fading into the fog.

By the time we got back to Wild Blue, you could barely see the end of the dock. 

Glad we aren't heading back to the US this evening, although I doubt tomorrow will be much better... they are predicting clear.  Riiiiiiiiiight. ;-)