On November 8, 2010, we woke up very early in the morning to catch the 8:30 am ferry — the only one leaving that day — from Anacortes, Washington to Sidney, British Columbia. Located over 70 miles north of Seattle, the Anacortes Ferry Terminal was quiet and nearly deserted when we arrived at 6:00 am. We went into town for some breakfast before queuing the rental car up to get onto the ferry.
The boat ride was pretty fun; we saw the sun rise as we made our way through the various islands between the United States and Canada. The trip took about three hours, with one stop at San Juan Island. I saw a lone seal or seal lion swimming in the harbor as we made our way out of San Juan; with a thick layer of blubber, it must have still been warm in the chilly water!
Our first stop on our second international tour of Autumn Gem was at the University of Victoria, located on Vancouver Island. My parents are accompanying us on this leg of our tour, and their knowledge of the area has proven to be very useful thus far.
Autumn Gem 