Alaskan Cruise Day 8: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

We had some time on the ship before docking in Victoria.  The girls wanted to go to the kid's area for a while, so we let them go have fun while we started packing.

Ella and Emma saying Goodbye to one of their Counselors

After some pizza for lunch, we headed to the kids pools on the back of the ship for a little swimming.

Ella

Emma 

 

We arrived in port 4 hours early because of a medical emergency involving a man we saw collapse at breakfast yesterday morning.  After looking at the prices for the shuttle around town, we decided to walk.  (We found out later that we would not have had to pay for the girls on the shuttle and had we known that, we probably would have taken it, but then we would have missed out on our own little adventure.)

 Not sure which way to go, we asked a couple of ladies in the shop next to customs where they would recommend.  They pointed us to a walk along the coast that would lead to a park where the girls could play.  The walk was longer than we had anticipated, and the weather was almost hot, (especially since we had not packed for warm weather.)  However, the park was worth it.  It was HUGE and BEAUTIFUL!!  We first found a splash pad with a giant watering can.  The girls loved running though the water.

Ella

Emma

We then made our way to a petting zoo, but unfortunately, it had just closed.  So, we walked around and looked at all the beautiful flowers and landscaping.  With a park this beautiful and the warm weather, it's no wonder there were so many people out enjoying their afternoon.  We took lots of pictures!

We eventually, with the help of some locals, found the playground with another splash pad.

 

We ate dinner at a little dive across the street from the park.  They served very tasty burgers and fries.  (This spot was also recommended to us by the ladies who started us on our journey.)

We wondered around town for a while before heading back to the boat.  We all had tired feet and legs, but enjoyed seeing all of God's beauty in this town.  (Unfortunately, we did not see many of the tourist sights because we were on foot and not quite sure where to go or how far away they were, but we still enjoyed our adventure through Victoria.)

Rolling down a small hill

 
Oh, and we did manage to get Canadian stamps in our passports.  We had to ask for them, and they took us into a little office, but they did stamp them.  Now the girls have their first passport stamp.