Victoria (the city, not the state)
I travelled to British Columbia from Seattle by boat. It was a long and windy ride.
It was choppy, too. I never got seasick as a kid but I do as an adult, and I keep forgetting to take tablets for it. Apparently a lot of people did; all the toilets smelled like spew, and some were closed altogether. But luckily I was tall enough to lean on the top of some of the small shipping containers, so I could get fresh air and enjoy the view, without having to endure the wind.
All the yachts signalled our arrival in Canada, and after sending the shipping people scurrying to find my missing bicycle tail light, I was met by oddiofile, and we had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, which featured cute floating houses in the harbour.
We rode back to his place along a scenic route, which featured Mile 0, the beginning of the 8030km trans-Canada highway 1.
Over the next couple of days, oddiofile and his girlfriend showed me around town by bike. The main attractions are the legislative building (Victoria is the capital of British Columbia), the vine-covered Empress Hotel, and a whole bunch of totem poles. We also went down to Beacon Hill Park, where a band was jamming away, and there were many hang gliders. The U.S. is across the water from there, so my mobile 'phone kept getting rogue U.S. signals and crapping out.
They've just bought a new house and move in next month, although I really love their current place. My room was in an attic with a view of the city and the Olympic Mountains in the background (which are in the U.S.), and this is the first thing I saw every morning. They also have a spa bath, under a sky light and windows with shutters, so there was glorious amounts of natural light. I used it every day.
I rode out of town this afternoon, though. Google Maps suggested it would be a 24km ride to the ferry to Vancouver, but it was more like 24 miles... Google Maps has been failing me a lot lately, actually. But it was a nice ride, first along the Galloping Goose trail (I didn't see any geese) and then the Lochside Trail (I didn't see any monsters, but I saw a bunny!). It was pretty much the longest ride I'd one in one hit, so I was pretty stuffed when I arrived at the ferry terminal.
Cyclists were guided through the toll gates, and the woman sold me a ticket and said the ferry left at 7pm. Around 6:40 they called boarding for Saltspring Island, which I figured must have a connection to the mainland and a bus to Vancouver. I handed my ticket to the guy and he let me on. I expected a bigger (and nicer) ferry, and a longer trip, but whatever; 15 minutes later I was on Saltspring Island, which turned out not to be the right place. 'But it's really nice here, you should stay,' at least three people told me. They bordered on insistent, which I found a bit creepy, but I might've stayed anyhow if I didn't have a train back to the States booked two days later. One day, I'll come back.
BC Ferries recognised that they stuffed up by not looking at my ticket properly. I wasn't pissed off at all, but they still gave me a meal card for the right ferry, which is much bigger. I had to wait for a bunch of whoppin' big semi trailers before I could take my bike on, and that was on just one of four decks for vehicles. Inside, this boat (well, ship) feels a bit like the one I took from England to Holland last year, but I don't have a cabin to retreat to. That's a pity, because I'm actually rather tired. But I do have a hostel booked for tonight, and I'm looking forward to checking out Vancouver.