We lollygagged so long in the morning, the housekeeping staff phoned us to see if were getting out to allow them in to do their thing. Nice people our housekeeping staff, except they seem to miss emptying one garbage can each visit. Perhaps it’s their “green” effort.

Pressured then, to do something, we went to the Butchart Gardens, where there is the huge Fall to Winter transformation going on. Entire beds of flowers are removed and replanted within one day. It’s truly amazing.

I was meeting a friend and coworker late in the afternoon, so after our Butchart trip, we thought we go back to our room and relax for a bit before heading into town. But on our way back, we were drawn to follow the signs to a place called Sea Cider.. get it? Sea Sider?

What a find! A lovely building overlooking the Georgia Straight, and we had the great delight of sampling seven of their ciders. What a riot that was. We would have bought bottles to bring back home, but not sure if it would survive the trip in the belly of an aircraft. Michael and I both agree that these ciders blew Strongbow right out of the park.

After a quick visit to our room (complete with overflowing toilet, flood and repair) we went into Victoria town. I met my friend and had beer at the Bard and Banker. Nice decor! Fabulous Hali-bites! YUM! Afterwards, Michael and I decided to have a bit of sushi and went to the Japanese Village on Blanchard Street. We were hoping to see Sammy-san, but still we were treated royally and enjoyed our salmon and tuna sashimi (beats the frozen stuff from home any day), negitori rolls, miso soup, and of course… SAKE!

On the way home, since I was the passenger, I had the opportunity to gaze out the window, and to my great delight, the stars were bright, the evening clear. Michael and I stopped in a dark corner and star gazed for a few minutes before tucking in for the evening. Another fabulous day.