SAANICH PENINSULA AND VICTORIA

Rachel says:
We spent two nights at a campground between Sidney and the ferry terminals, which wasn't as nice as Bamberton and seemed to be placed on a runway, but it was also right beside a bus stop.

On my birthday, I even got to shower for the first time in six days, for only the small price of $3. Not bad. Showers are so much more enjoyable when you can feel the dirt leaving your body. Eric and I wandered around Sidney for the day, a quaint town with a coffee shop and bookstore (all independent!) on every corner. We eventually had to stop going into the bookstores because we didn't have enough money to buy all the books we wanted; we had already accumulated a bagful for Eric's parents to take back with them.

They visited us on Saturday and drove us around and fed us and even brought us to our next campsite. Thanks guys!

This campsite is actually an RV resort, but after some begging and pleading the owners let us put up our tent on a grassy area about 15 steps from the washroom/ shower building. If it gets too cold outside, at least I can run into the bathroom and run the hand dryer to warm myself up.

I am generally cold, despite wearing five or six layers on the top (a tank top, a wool t-shirt, a wool long-sleeved shirt, a wool sweater, a fleece and sometimes my rainjacket) and three on the bottom, plus a toque and mitts. Everyone is telling us this is such a cold spring and that it will warm up soon. How soon is soon?

We've been hanging around in Victoria for the past few days, but we need to get out of here because it is costing us too much money. We spend $9 every day just for the bus. Our campsite is $25 a night, a hefty chunk more than the $14 provincial campgrounds, but I think the free showers included just might be worth it, for me at least.

Eric says:
After a day in Victoria, where we walked at least 10 km trying to find a grocery store, we arrived at our campsite only to find a big truck parked beside our pseudo tenting spot. This wasn't a huge deal because people are allowed to park there (within five feet of our tent).

I had started the stove and tried to pop a Jiffy Pop, which only burned so badly that Rachel, upon eating it, almost choked. Eventually, the storm that was pounding our under-built tent subsided and after reading a few chapters in my Farley Mowat book I drifted to sleep.

Waking up suddenly is a funny thing. You can be woken up by noises like a train and be sure a dragon is ferociously tearing you from limb to limb. This night was no exception. So when the inconsiderate beast decided, in the middle of the night, to turn the key and start his diesel engine of Albertan proportions, my body released enough adrenaline to prepare it for the impact into the ground as I was sure that the storm had returned with a vengeance and blown our little tent high in the air and I was about to meet my doom hundreds of feet away from site. Adding confusion to the situation, the beast then scraped the ice from his windows, which was disconcerting in more ways than one.

After realizing what had actually taken place and calming myself down, I eventually fell asleep once again. I awoke in the morning to the sight of my own breath and decided laying awake in a warm sleeping bag was better than any other option. Finally, as the tent warmed with the now existing sun, I dressed and found that our tent was dying. Leaking, breaking and condensation were making it difficult to keep our down sleeping bags dry. Maybe a new tent is in order?

We shopped for tents, but finding something better than what we have for under $400 is impossible, so we may just have to take the hit and cut our trip a few weeks short. Otherwise, my spirits are high and I am looking forward to going to Galiano Island.

P.S.
We wanted to upload some more pictures, but this particular computer we are on right now isn't co-operating, so hopefully next time. Sorry.