Day 60 - Port Angeles WA - 6910 Miles

Another sighting that just made me shake my head. These two photos show the actual process for using a particular crosswalk in downtown Port Angeles. Who came up with this idea? Were there public hearings? Did they seek competitive bids for the signs and flags? All that effort and I haven't seen the process followed by anyone. People simply wait for a decent opening and head into the crosswalk. Drivers see people in the crosswalk and stop (as they are required to do by law). It seems to work well.

Crosswalk Flags and Instructions

Detailed Instructions for Crossing the Street

Yesterday we took the ferry to Victoria, BC. It's amazing that such a narrow body of water can be the difference between a dump (Port Angeles) and a beautiful, vibrant city (Victoria). It's kind of like Niagara Falls, Ontario vs Niagara Falls, New York. In any case we spent about 5 hours wandering the harbor area and downtown.

Victoria Harbor

Victoria Harbor Houseboats

The Empress (Hotel) - Circa 1906 (Again, the Hotel)

Empress Hotel

British Columbia Parliament Building

It was pointed out to us when we arrived that Victoria was in the middle of its International Buskers Festival. I had no idea what a busker was, but I'm (almost) always up for a good festival. It turns out a busker is a street performer. You know. The people who, for the most part, range from boring to annoying and then expect you give them money for successfully wasting your time. Since we were there on a Wednesday afternoon rather than the weekend, we were treated to the particularly boring and annoying. We managed to avoid most of them.

We stopped in an Irish pub for a beer and some poutine - my favorite Canadian heart-healthy food. You start with french fries, cover them with cheese and bacon, and then douse the whole thing with brown gravy. I could feel my arteries closing up as I ate.

Poutine

We left a bustling Victoria and after a 90 minute ferry ride returned to a near-deserted Port Angeles. There must be some way to fix that but I'll just add it to the growing list of world problems I'll let someone else deal with.