Sunday we were docked in Victoria, BC. We opted for a wine and cider tasting excursion. After we booked it, we received a notice that the cider tasting had been cancelled due to a special event and an additional wine tasting was added. Disappointing for me, not so much for Linda. The excursion started with a one hour scenic drive up Vancouver Island. We then visited the three wineries. I'll get to the bottom line quickly - the first and the third wineries were not so good, the second won was very good and made the excursion worthwhile. I'll cover the first and third first and save the best for last.
First up was Unsworth Vineyards. What we discovered there was that they grow some different varietals on Vancouver Island, some of which we have not heard of before.
The tasting experience was okay. Our server was somewhat knowledgeable about the wines. I liked the Pinot Gris and Linda enjoyed the Sauvignette, but not enough to buy any.
Last up was Enrico Winery. Simply said, the wines there were not very good, at least for our tastes. And I felt that the server was simply reading from a script.
So, let's get to the good one - Cherry Point Vineyards. The tasting was led by the owner who was very informative and entertaining. We particularly liked the point he made about the difference between new world wines and old world wines - new world wines are about the grape, old world wines are about the place, the terroir.
The wines there were all good. We particularly liked the Ortega (a white wine) and the Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir won an award as the best Pinot Noir in Canada. So, we bought a bottle of each (the beauty of ending the cruise in LA is that it makes it easy to take the wine home).
The one real complaint about the excursion was that we were not given anything to eat at any of the wineries - not even a cracker. Five hours with no food!
On the way back to the ship, our driver/guide gave us a highlights tour of Victoria including the entrance to Chinatown.
Today, Monday, we are docked in Astoria, Oregon. It's an interesting port with much activity surrounding the offloading of timber from trucks and stacking it on the ground. Apparently, this timber will be loaded onto ships and sent to China and other places overseas.
Late morning, we got off the ship. We don't know why there is so much guano on the pier! Maybe this is where the birds hang out when there is no ship in port.
From there, we took the Riverfront Trolley back towards the ship.
We got off of the trolley near the Maritime Memorial Park.
We then walked over to the Bridgewater Bistro for lunch. I had the Clam & Mussel chowder and Linda had the Hungarian Mushroom soup accompanied by a nice Oregon Pinot Gris. We followed that with some halibut fish and chips.
From there, we walked back to the ship. On the way, we passed a trailer with miscellaneous crab gear for sale. We were tempted to bring some home but decided to pass on it.
Before returning to the ship, the sun came out and we sat on a bench overlooking the harbor. With the temperature about 70 degrees, we enjoyed the warmth after 2 weeks in Alaska and British Columbia!
Just a quick note on our Saturday sea day. It had its ups and downs. The down - no bingo win. The up - a lovely dinner with Captain Leo and Cruise Director Sammie. We've sailed with Leo a few times, including his first, very challenging command of Regatta. He has dispensed with the formalities and just calls us Larry and Linda.
And here's another up. Linda had asked Srdjan, the F&B manager, why they hadn't had her favorite muffins - carrot raisin. The next morning they delivered a plate with 4 carrot muffins to our suite. And it seems that they will be doing that every day.
Life is good on board Regatta!
Peace and blessings,
Linda and Larry
Shoot, no misc crab gear for me for Hanukah :(
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