Day 8, June 6, 2018
Seattle, WA – Victoria, BC
?? miles/3 hours.
We had to get up at 5 A.M. this morning, to get to the Port
of Seattle by 6:30 A.M., to catch the Victoria Clipper for our journey to
Victoria. Believe it or not, I did pre-pack the night before, but we were still
kind of rushing, as I had to wake all four kids, and not wake the Chamblins. I thought
this would be the worst of the morning, but oh no….
So as we were settling on the ferry the, made an
announcement that upgrades to “comfort class” were available. The price seemed
reasonable, so I splurged. The children were thrilled. At one point I looked
over and Hunter was toasting Camden (with soda at 8 in the morning!!!)), “Here’s
to first class.” Oh boy.
Just as I was relaxing and enjoying our cruise (and view), I
realized I’d forgotten to give Barrett his medicine. I reached for my purse and
discovered that I didn’t bring his medicine. My stomach dropped. Bad, bad, bad
news. Three days, in a foreign country no less, with an un-medicated Barrett.
Can you say, “Holy Sh%$”? Oh man you guys, the anxiety began to rumble in me. I
tried mindfulness activities and even contemplated ordering Bear cocktail.
Guess what? I didn’t get totally Zen, but I did manage to stay calm enough to
focus and come up with a plan. Unfortunately, our planned excursion to Butchart
Gardens became a casualty in my quest for pharmaceuticals.
I found a Rexall Drugs and described our predicament. The
pharmacist was very nice and explained what I could do. I just needed to get
Barrett’s records from our pharmacy in the States, because a physician’s prescription
wouldn’t work because medical licenses don’t transfer country to country. As I
was only asking for a three-day supply and was willing to pay out of pocket
(and had Barrett bouncing off the walls behind me), the Canadian pharmacist
just needed some kind of evidence that Barrett does indeed take that medication
and his dosage. Unfortunately, our pharmacist in Georgia wasn’t as
accommodating (not the lovely Rebecca at Publix, but another someone at another
store). I begged and pleaded, and even the Canadian pharmacist went to bat for
me. The American finally budged a little, but said he had to call his district
manager. We went to lunch while some random person decided our fate.
After lunch I returned to Rexall and the news was good. I
only had to sign my life away - and all the paperwork was for the American side
of the equation. The pharmacist kept shaking his head and mumbled, “You
Americans are all so worried about privacy and getting sued.” I couldn’t argue
with him.
We love Victoria. Everyone is sooooooo nice. I was really
bummed about missing Butchart Gardens, but now I know I’ll have to come back.
We strolled around downtown and enjoyed the Canadian discounts. Aud and I went
to Lush, where they informed us the prices were the same as the states, but
with the exchange, we enjoyed a 25% discount. I also found a wicked cool bookstore,
Munroe Books, which is located in an old bank building. It was very cool.
For dinner we enjoyed a fabulous meal on Victoria Bay, where
my boys were treated to a nice young lady in a very revealing top and no bra,
who escorted us to our table. When she bent over, there was a free show!
Boobies! Oh boy! The fun didn’t end there! After dinner, as we walked back to
our hotel, we passed a group of twenty-somethings having a sidewalk party
outside of 7-11. You could smell the skunk weed. One young lady was dancing
like an acrobatic belly dancer as her compadre strummed the guitar. We had to
go to 7-11, because we needed water. Audrey and I exited the store first and
this guy, who was kind of cute in that long-haired-bearded-hippie sort of way,
asked us ladies where we were from. He was very excited (and very high) about
the fact we were from the south. He asked me to, “Please give him some of the
deep Georgia accent.” I apologized and explained that I was actually born and
raised on Cape Cod. He was most disappointed, “Noooooooo!” I actually felt
guilty about my birthplace. Sorry dude. He turned to Audrey and said, “I bet
you have a deep southern accent.” Audrey started laughing and said, “Nope, I
was born in Baltimore.” He was gobble smacked! “No! You girls are killing me!”
He then bid us adieu. I’m sure some are thinking that we were in an unsafe
situation, but I assure you we were not. He was a very happy guy and all it
would take to defend us would’ve been a gentle push. He would have tipped right
over.
Once the boys joined us, we
continued
our journey to the hotel. In no time two different guys were hot on our heels (they
were not part of the sidewalk party). These gentlemen were engaging in a lively
discussion in which every other word was an f-bomb. After about a minute I
gathered the children and stepped to the side to let them pass. Once they did,
Barrett uttered under his breath, “
Fuuuuu@$ you.” I kid you not.
