Reuters, CA Elizabeth (Lili) and Jonathan (J) Fisher arrived Monday at Vancouver International airport via British Airways flight BA85. They were met by Sarah Ritchie (CEO Catface Creations), Ashraf Vania (employee of Catface), Benjamin Thomas (unemployed) and Kimmy Todd (unemployed and apparently proud of it, hmmm). Mr. Vania was in charge of transportation and had arranged a black stretch limo for the journey to Victoria. To the rest of us travelers however, it appeared that we were, in fact, travelling in a late model Pontiac Grand Prix that was unusually decorated with stickers and a dangling pokeman ornament. Mr. Vania’s expert driving skills, rivaled only by Indy drivers on a closed course, enabled us to arrive at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal at 6:50 pm! Unfortunately ticket sales for the 7pm ferry had already closed and we were not able to secure passage on this sailing. Lucky for us though, we were able to enjoy the thrill of unloading the luggage, dragging it across the parking lot and then taking it back again and re-packing the car! Unbeknownst to our new Sarahland travelers, this type of fun and excitement occurs regularly on our group excursions. Growing faint with hunger, we were able to persuade our, unusually difficult, driver into taking us for a bite to eat. We were able to enjoy a lovely dinner at the nearby McDonald’s fine restaurant. After dinner we enjoyed a leisurely warp speed drive back to the ferry terminal. Here we enjoyed yet another round of luggage removal! We bid our farewells to Mr. Vania and ventured aboard the MV Queen of Saanich for our journey to Vancouver Island. Our ocean voyage was relaxed and enjoyable. A calm breeze and warm temperature afforded us the chance to view our majestic surroundings from the exterior passenger deck. We capitalized on this opportunity by having an impromptu photo shoot with our foreign guests Lili and J. As with every Sarahland adventure, this too was an educational experience. Our onboard tutors, Ben and Kim took the liberty to educate Lili and J on some of the more important details of Canadiana. Our 1 hour and 40 minute ocean excursion came to a close as we disembarked at the Swartz Bay terminal. Waiting to greet us were two of our favourite on-call Sarahland drivers, Bev Thomas and Tracey Edwards. |