Woke up in the Westside tent for the last time this trip, and parsed through all my items in an inventory, recycling whatever possible. After cleaning up the site, I was packed and ready – I’ll be carrying everything from this point forward. I walked to the shuttle stop and a woman stopped to offer a ride into Friday Harbor – sure, why not? She was nice, a counsellor for at-risk youth and a nurse with decades of clowning experience. She spoke of living on the Pueblo Indian Reservation in New Mexico, a culture which keeps no appointments but instead values long conversations resulting from chance meetings in public places. Once dropped downtown I started to lurk and compute, grabbing bites to eat here and there. I ran into Dr. Rich Osbourne and talked salmon, orcas, Governors’ Plan, and The Whale Museum. I also caught up with some shipmates, grabbed a pint, and discussed a return to Adventuress. The next morn I spent most of the day waiting at the wireless coffee shop. From there I boarded the ferry and took in a bird’s eye view of Adventuress as we steamed past. We continued Northward on the way around San Juan Island to Sidney, BC. At 5:15pm we could see blows and orca dorsal fins on the water, surrounded by a large number of watch boats. As we entered Sidney Harbour, nine jets flew overhead in a tight diamond formation, crossing the bow… Wha-? BC Day! After passing through customs and boarding the packed bus into town, I exited at City Hall, there finding the Victoria Electronic Music Festival underway, beats bumping and a large group grooving away outdoors in the courtyard. I checked into the hostel, locked up my bags, and returned to the fest to check out some music. King Britt, Charles Feelgood, and DJ Irene were droppin beats as the sun set, and the crowd gained intensity as the night took over. When fireworks erupted, casting reflections in the glass building-fronts, a flock of birds flew overhead and a celebratory roar emanated from the party-goers, now in full swing.
