To-fi-no

After cursing our stupidity at forgetting the camera our recent trip to Vancouver Island to catch up with Simon and Zoe was an entirely positive experience.

Victoria, British Columbia's capital, is made up of a wonderful and very impressive array of, you guessed it, Victorian architecture. It is often referred to as a city of newly weds and nearly deads. Our friends Simon and Zoe have recently settled there and, not being ones to exclude themselves from anything, they have managed to fit themselves into both categories; Newly weds living in a retirement village! I don't know how they secured the apartment but they have and it's classic. Cribbage on Thursdays, housie Wednesdays and 19th Centry literature readings every Saturday night.

We got up at the ungodly hour of 3:30am on Saturday morning and drove the 4.5 hours to Tofino. With our priority being to surf as much as humanly possible, Simon and I hired surf boards, the thickest wetsuits possible, booties, hoods and roof racks while Anna and Zoe were treated to a day spa at the Wickannish Inn. We stayed in a great little backpackers called the Trek Inn. The manager was a great host and was actually a guest there 12 months ago, bought the place and hasn't left since. We met some very cool canucks and enjoyed the local hospitality. You might have determined a little too much if you'd seen us at 2am on the dock catching crabs, swinging off a winch and splashing around with phosphorescence.

We are back in Vancouver now staying with our friend Lee. Anna is packing her bags as though she were performing brain surgery, the intense looks of concentration and precision of placement is quite astounding. Discussion revolving around the advantages of rolling clothes as apposed to folding them or how jumpers and pants are great items to pack together are common place these days. I cannot help but giggle at her dedication to the task.

Anna's work threw a party for her last night. It was a fun night with a very eclectic group of people. If Anna’s Philipino colleagues have their way we will be married in the Philippines next year. We're not making any promises.

San Fran tomorrow, very cool. Very exciting.

We will get some photos from Simon and Zoe and post them, promise.

Bye for now