late blog post cuz i was too tired last night and the doozy headache came back.  stupid canadian headache.

last day in Victoria.  it was a pretty good one.

1. slept well.  check out time was 11:30 (awesome) so i took my time getting ready and packed up.  checked out at 11:29 (according to my new watch).  i gave the front desk lady my room key, it took her forever to see that i had charged some dining to my room so she charged me for that separately.  which is fine.  but while she did she almost rang me up for $3000.00 of charges and TOLD ME ABOUT IT.  "thank goodness i didn't press enter!" she says to me.  i smile my "you're an idiot" smile and wait for her to have me sign.  she does, then sees i made a long distance phone call and has to charge me for that too.  then she can't figure out how to do something on the computer, so she has to call the hotel accountant that knows their computer system to come over and help her.
there is no Zen in Victoria....only Zule. 
and lotus flowers in the Butchart Gardens.meanwhile, there is an elderly couple using the laundry facilities that have come back to return the key.  and two more couples are sitting there waiting to be checked out that, worried that they'll be charged a late fee, because it's now after checkout time by several minutes.

the accountant lady shows up, fixes the computer with one click.  the front desk lady thanks her, and continues to charge me, the old man just drops the key in front her on the counter, and then she tells the couples waiting that it'll be a few more minutes because she HAS to go to the bathroom.  then she gets flustered with my last $7 charge and says this is how she gets when she has to go to the bathroom.  at this point, the "you're an idiot" smile is gone from my face and i just wait with irritation.  she finished my charges, another woman came to relieve her front desk duties so she could relieve her bladder...   IDIOT.

2. went to the post office to send out 2 manuscripts to canadian publishers.  though, now i'm not so sure i want canadians trying to publish my stuff.  it might come out looking like a comic book or a stephen king novel.  did some brief gift shopping, and took myself to my last lunch in Victoria.  a pretty cool place with a pretty good cheap beer.  then headed back into my car to go see the Butchart Gardens.
last beer in Canada.  i'm obviously happy about this. hi mommy!3. got there about a half hour later.  it was beautiful.  i won't bore you with the 175 pictures i took.  but suffice it to say my favorite was the Japanese gardens.  plus, i totally got lost in the rose gardens.  it's a big circle of roses and somehow i couldn't find my way out.  my headache started to come back around then and it was getting kinda bad.  so i felt ready to leave but had about an hour and a half until i had to be at the ferry, so i killed more time and looked around more and took more pictures.

sturgeon fountain.  badass. this guy has ALL the answers.














4. got to the ferry fairly early.  the Canadian customs people made a joke about Californians.  i wanted to flip them the double finger and tell them how we can atleast control our bladder (present company excluded) but they can have me arrested for that.

these look like boobies.  but pretty boobies! did anybody see that Leprachaun!?!  5. on the ferry, it was quiet.  not a lot of people at all.  it was a good ride.  i did some writing, enjoyed the sights.  we pulled into Friday Harbor, tons of boats everywhere.  some people got off, a few others got on, then we took off for Anacortes. 


 as we left Friday Harbor, i stayed at the back of the boat outside.  i watched as we pulled away from the harbor, watching the sky change from light to dark behind the NW mountains, from pink to orange.  eventually it just became a silhouette view of the mountains topped with endless fir trees.  it was chilly, but how often do you get to see the sky change behind the NW mountains while riding on a ferry?  totally worth it.

too pretty to go inside.6. we arrived back in Anacortes and got back into our cars.  this was the first car in line that everybody had to pass.  the couple inside were making out.  but then they made it to the front seat and kissed and cuddled.  i had to take a picture.  it was sweet.  i realize this might be exploiting them, but i look at it more as sharing their love.  it was pretty cute.

good for them.7. got back to Anita's to stay the night and pick up my luggage and have some more deep conversations.  it felt nice to share my breakup with somebody so impartial with so much wisdom.  she had some good questions and insights and bits of advice.  i listened to all of it.  we stayed up fairly late and by that time, my headache was still pretty bad.  so i had to take 2 more ibuprofen on top of the 4 i'd already taken to try to put me to sleep.  thank god for movies on my lappy toppy.

the American journey home begins tomorrow.  maybe a stopover in Anacortes, then back to Kayse's in Kent.  i'm surprised to say i'm happy to get back home.  after leaving my hotel room, i really felt ready to be home.  not exactly homesick.  but i feel like a few accomplishments were made on this trip that i really wanted to accomplish.

here's to a few more along the drive down.  thank you, Canada.  you may not be the brightest bulb in the box, but you certainly help cast a good light.  i'll see you again someday.  and i'm bringing a LOT of books for you to read about, ya know, stuff.


self portrait.  i can't believe how good this turned out.
i'm super pretty.  and awesome....