Boats! (This photo is dedicated to my sister's boyfriend's dad.)
Victoria Parliament buildings at night
Oh, and did I mention my hotel room had its own balcony? No photos of the glass elevator, though I loved that too (It's the little things...)
On Thursday, I boarded the
ferry, scheduled to depart at 4pm. The kind lady border official correctly identified my fandom after I told her I was headed to Forks.
I'd never been on a ferry before. I knew that there had to be an option to stay indoors, and that there was probably a bathroom of some sort, but other than that, I had no idea what to expect. I guess I was expecting public transit (slightly dirty, somewhat crowded), but on water. In actuality, the ferry was really nice. It was extremely clean, including the bathrooms (hooray). There was a small cafeteria, and tons of relatively comfortable seating. The ferry even has wifi, though it's $3 per trip to use. I stood outside for a few minutes total of the 90 minute trip, but I was too scared to be that close to the water on a moving vessel for very long, and also it was really cold. The first time I got up out of my seat, I almost fell over, but after that first time I managed to get myself around on occasion with no major issues.
Cruise ship out my window
I would have taken more photos inside the ferry, but I didn't want to creep people out.
The trip took 90 minutes. I listened to the Twilight and New Moon soundtracks - they felt very apt. The ferry was rocking quite a bit during the last third of the trip, and the not so gentle motion was both making me sleepy and making me not feel so hot, so I dozed for awhile.
The ferry docked around a quarter to 6.
I walked to
Bella Italia. I helped an Edmonton couple from the ferry reach the same destination, with my handy Google map. I had emailed to make a reservation earlier in the day.
The staff were really nice and didn't make fun of me when I ordered mushroom ravioli without seeing the menu. It was pretty tasty. I would bet the other food there is really good, too. The wait staff also brought me a pen, which I used to draft this entry while I ate dinner. No slacking on my part!
I tried not to eavesdrop on the other diners, but I did overhear some interesting tidbits. Occasionally I heard people mention the restaurant's connection to Twilight - not as a positive or negative thing, just as a fact. Also, a woman at a table with a bunch of family lamented that she couldn't drink any of the wine because she was "only 19". Ohh, right. American drinking age is 2-3 years higher than Canadian... weird.
I walked to my hotel. On the way, an eight-year-old boy shouted "Edward Cullen sucks!" at me when I walked by, probably after he saw me take a photo of the Dazzled by Twilight store. I bet the girls just love him.
Anyway, I had reserved a room at the
Red Lion Inn, conveniently a 5 minute walk from the bus terminal to Forks and visible from the ferry, excellent factors for someone like me (I could get lost in a phone booth).
I dropped off my backpack and went on a walk around the area.
I walked to Safeway first. This is the view on the way to the Safeway:
Definitely no views like that back home!
This is me looking left, and then walking a few steps and looking right. The Lincoln Theatre and Bella Italia are separated by a furniture store. Sadly, neither Face Punch nor Love Spelled Backwards Is Love was playing.
Fountain and mural
Dilapidated Dairy Queen
Port Angeles appears to be a clean, friendly town (excepting the harsh 8-year-olds Twilight-hating bicycle gangs). I would have liked to arrive earlier to go to all the artsy shops near the harbour, and will try to find time to do so on Saturday morning before my ferry back to Victoria.