Raptors, reflections, orcas and more

 I'm going to start this post by saying I wish I was an HTML guru. I have an amazing idea for the blogs home page as I have heard from a few people that it's tough to stay up with all of the posts. I'm not sure how other bloggers do it but I do know that the stock template here isn't quite right...part of me wants to say suck it up it's a big world and you can't see it all even vicariously and the other part wants this blog to be a bit of a chronological journal of my time in this space...something that afterward I can travel through.

 So if you know of anyone who is HTML happy, open to the idea of helping someone out (not for free of course...but for cheap for sure) :) Send them my way!

 So I've been in Victoria for longer than I thought I would be. To be honest when I pulled up on the ferry from Port Angeles after my amazing and quiet journey through NW washington...I wanted to keep on driving. Too many condos, too much traffic...it was sensory overload for a night.

 But...now I'm feeling like I've fallen into complacency, which is strange because I really haven't at all..but it feels like it's too long here and it's time to get moving before the bad weather sets in. It's actually because it's pretty kick ass here...my scooter can go everywhere, everywhere takes 10min, I have family here...it really would be ding dang easy to settle in for the winter. But...rent, a job, routine...bleah and blah unless it was something awesome like working a boat and that's out of season. So i prepare myself to roll forward

 It's great when you show up somewhere and visit because most of the time people who live somewhere don't really do all the cool things there are to do. There is always tomorrow for those people...I was happy to bring a bit of today to my sisters best friend and we have had some great times.

 #1 Raptors and burgers - A good day starts with a good breakfast...Blue Fox cafe is a pretty good start to the day.

some crazy french toast thing...awesome

smoke salmon eggs bennie...it was on a bagel...heavy duty delicious

Lara took my sister and her husband to a place called the Pacific Northwest Raptors...then she took me after I heard the kid raving about it! It was indeed....awesome! We had a great guide named Tina, they showed us some Falconry (you can take a class...do it...DOOOO ITTT), we met a couple of 17yr olds that spent the summer there volunteering because they didn't know what they wanted to do with their lives yet (what a great way to spend the summer), they have an amazing collection of birds and then we paid a little extra to take an "owl prowl".... Imagine a bird so quiet that I saw it come over my shoulder before I heard it. Strolling the forest floor....a little meat on the glove and whoosh...in comes Cleo the barn owl. We got some great tidbits of history on the killing of owls during the period just before the plague struck europe  as they were know as harbingers of death...little did they know they were killing some of the only predators the infect vermin had. Cleo took turns feeding off of the hands of Lara, two great older guys that joined us an myself. The tour lasted about 15-20min I think and I fed Cleo about 4 or 5 times.
 Awesome day all round...I do have concerns about the pay for privilege style setting and of course would have rather seen all of the birds in the wild...but that's not realistic and the attendants left me with the feeling that they cared very much for these birds so I give it a 2 thumbs up as an experience and would recommend others to try it.
 After the birds we went to Goats on a Roof...had some amazing burgers and ice cream and came on home fully satisfied!

The golden eagle...eyeballing me for running into one of his own many years ago

bald eagle...young

Cleo on my hand

So close...his feathers are amazing

The classic owl...

Spectacular and born into captivity...reservations for sure but I saw one up close in real life when it flew in front of my car. If it's that or this...I'll take this

The snowy owl

Up close and personal

Falcon eyes!

During the demonstration

After our owl prowl I wanted on more pic!

Ta Da!

#2 East Sooke Park - After the Raptor experience they told us that it was the period of annual migration for all raptors. So with lara working the day job I keenly headed into East Sooke Park for a look see. Firstly...Sooke is amazing. East Sooke Park would be a reason to buy one of the elusive properties that are for sale around it.
 I headed straight up to the bluff where all the bird watching ws to take place and when I got there I realized I had forgotten my binoculars...but instead of raptors I was treated to the tale of an orca pod passing by. 1hr earlier and I would have seen about 50 of the spectacular creatures in one spot. Lara is jealous as she has been here for 2 yrs and has had zero sightings...I simply told her it was because she worked...and that was damn liberating to say! :)
 After they passed I headed down to the water side and then took the coastal trail hike back. The scenes were amazing and I think between the raptors and the park I took about 500 pictures in a few hours.

a seal?

 #3 The reflection----- this journey is a strange one. Never before have I not had a place to be, a thing to do or something that wasn't just my time my way. So as I sit here in Victoria, knowing that winter is rolling in up north and that the chilly weather is not all that exciting to travel in....I'm torn. Should I stay or should I go...

... that was really just an excuse to listen to that song! :) I'm going, I'm getting mentally ready to leave in the next day or so...head north to Port Hardy (after a trip to tacofino in Tofino) and take the ferry up to Rupert in order to begin the epic eastern leg of the journey. Bambalamb and the georgian bay here I come!

1. I saw this while walking on the beach...hello Mr Octopuss!

2. Hey honky...great day for a walk but you're going in the wrong direction

3. Don't go...dooon't go

4. Wahhhhhh

It was a rough day on the sea for the pirate tourists

cool starfish seen off the breakwater

Personally it was a perfect day...the weather added to the flavour

awesome day for a walk along the lower break

at the finish...soaked and smiling