Jay and I met up at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal this afternoon and boarded the 1500 sailing together. It was nice out so we stayed outside on the top deck looking out to the waters as the ferry meandered through islands to Swartz Bay. It was apparent that Jay was enjoying this ferry trip as he was dancing to the tune of Celtic music performed by the quartet on deck, which they also drew a small crowd. In support for local artists and musicians, Jay even bought their album.
Arriving at the Swartz Bay ferry terminal, Jay called Hertz rental to shuttle us from the ferry terminal to the airport, a complimentary service offered by Hertz as stated on the web site, but that's where we encountered our first problem. According to the representative on the other end of the line, they offered no such service, so we had to shell out $20 out of our own pockets just so that we could pick up our rental vehicles. Although we had scored a great rate of $20 and $25 per day respectively on priceline.com (as opposed to the $45/day posted price) we were still livid. Upon arriving that the Hertz rental counter, Jay pressed for an explanation to this discrepancy and demanded compensation for the cost of the taxi fare. That's when I realised just how much Jay drove a hard bargain, refusing to take no for an answer. If we weren't so civilised, this could have turned into a brawl. I stood beside him envisioning us climbing over the counter fighting tooth and nail with the Hertz rental weenies on the other side, throwing punches, strangling necks, screaming and yelling, wearing angry expressions on our faces, and somehow, getting into a pillow fight with goose down flying all over the place. All in slow motion, of course.
Snapping back to reality, Jay was able to get some credit towards his next rental at Hertz and upgrade his compact to a Ford Escape at no extra cost.
We made it to the rehearsal dinner, albeit a little late, where we had reunited with the Jamie and James (the bride and groom to be) and their friends and family at the Maple Palace Chinese Restaurant in Sidney.
Back at the Hertz rental counter, it was now my turn to pick up my vehicle. It was, at this point, closer to 2100 and by this time, the compact/economy car I had requested were all gone, so they had to upgrade me to a 2006 Ford F-150 instead, at no extra cost. With the same representative Jay had to deal with, I was able to haggle with him and walk away with a coupon booklet of valuable discounts towards my next rental after making a stink about the taxi fiasco and how this ginormous gas-guzzling Ford F-150 would set me back. Inside, however, I was pleased with the complimentary upgrade and looked forward to driving this black monstrosity instead of the Hyundai Accent or a Ford Focus that I would have got if I came earlier.
At this point, I contacted Lindsey Fraser, my CouchSurfing host who generously offered to put me up for a few nights, and made arrangements to meet up. Towering over me at 6'6", Lindsey was a friendly giant with a big heart. After dropping my things off, we went out for tea at a nearby cafe and talked about personal interests such as hobbies, music, and movies. It was when we were walking to the 'big rock' lookout point that I had discovered that he too had seen "Me and You and Everyone We Know" and loved it as much as I did!
With our tea in hand, we had finally reached this rock he was so eager to take me to and climbed it to see the dominions below. This viewpoint offered a spectacular 360º view of the geographical regions of Victoria, including the parliament buildings, the downtown core, the Craigdarroch Castle, Oak Bay, and Saanich. Looking above at the night sky, this peak also provided a magnificent view of the constellations twinkling above. Talk about enjoying the simple pleasures of life.
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