So we left Allie at home to guard the house, lest any of those renegade birds decide to break in to steal the valuables, like kitty treats or warm, soft kitty blankies,
Yeah, and you stay OUTTA here! |
And with Sadie on the bench seat at the back of the van
Car Ride! Yaaahhhhhoooooo! Car Ride! |
And Eddie in his crate in the middle of the van
What? Huh? Am I goin' home now? |
And Petey riding shotgun - sort of - beside me in the front of the van
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz |
We headed off to the Saanich Peninsula. Rather than going down Hwy One over the Malahat, a pretty but not always safe mountain highway, which would have taken us south to Victoria, from which we would head north up the peninsula,...
Hwy 1 down and 17 back up, or pretty little ferry ride across the bay??? (Map from http://www.explorevancouverisland.com/) |
....we decided to take the little ferry from Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay, which would put us on the peninsula just a short drive from the vet's.
We had read a lot of stories about ferry lineups on this route, so we allowed lots of time. Here's our van in the long, scary lineup at 9:50 AM, waiting for the 10:25 ferry:
It's lonely being first |
Eddie, Sadie and I got out for a little walk while we waited. There's not really anywhere to walk a dog there - just a narrow road with no sidewalks, and private "NO TRESPASSING" properties with very pretty beachfront that I could only photograph from the ferry terminal.
Then I glanced up to see a big, big dog standing on the empty road, no human in sight.
I hustled my dogs into the van, in case he wasn't friendly, and turned around to see him trotting towards me.
Hi! Gladtoseeya! How're ya doin? Can I haz a cookie or a pat on the head! |
What's that black box in front of yer face??? |
Very friendly, lovely boy, though I still didn't let him meet and greet my crew. He had no collar or tags - had I not had a vanful of dogs, I would have been tempted to offer him a ride to the nearest animal control. However, we were surrounded by First Nations lands, so chances are he lived in the vicinity as many of their dogs are allowed to roam free.
We travelled across on the M.V. Klitsa, which according to a nearby sign holds 22 vehicles on average. A baby compared to the big ferries that travel to the mainland and back, but rather more picturesque.
The trip across takes about 25 minutes, and is very pretty. The green hills surround the bay, with mountains in the distance on the open side of the inlet.
Those green hills are spoiled only by the high density development - sure brought to mind a song from my youth....
Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky-tacky.... Little boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same.... |
The boats in the marina, however, more than made up for the sameness of the little boxes on the hillside - there were boats of all sizes and shapes and colours:
Red ones.... |
and blue ones..... |
Ones that looked homemade.... |
And ones that were futuristic. |
And little tow-alongs with cormorants sunning their wings. |
And even boats in for repair - and the sign waaay in the back says "Tomorrow". |
And then there were colorful kayaks and canoes racked up waiting for spring:
Kayaks on dock |
Canoes waiting for spring |
But my favourite was one off by itself in the shadow of the hills, all black and ominous, a pirate boat lacking only a skull and crossbones hanging from its mast and Captain Hook parading along the deck:
Avast, ye landlubbers, avast! |
On the peninsula, we stopped to pick up Cora, one of the directors of Broken Promises Rescue for whom I'm fostering Petey, and then headed off to the vet. Petey was an angel, and submitted to all sorts of pokes and prods and very personal intrusions, and soon the bill and the estimate for other work was presented, and we were on our way back home.
Petey slept like a log the whole way back, exhausted from his medical ordeal.
Those vet visits are enough to make my head spin! Or maybe Dr. Poke 'n Prod just turned me right inside out when she was fishin' around in there. |
All in all, we had a very nice day full of new experiences for Eddie and Petey, a favourite activity for Sadie (riding in the car), and some photography opportunities for me.
And tomorrow will be February 1st - which on Vancouver Island means winter is over and spring has begun!