A glorious morning turned into a very hot day by noon. 26c in September is pretty darn hot for Victoria and I felt all of it as I walked home from Mile Zero with a pound of freshly roasted coffee beans.
I got to Mile Zero via a circuitous route. My day started with a bus ride to Sidney for a doctor's appointment. The #72 bus takes a leisurely route through Saanichton with lots of views of the Gulf Islands and the mainland far off to the east. The sea was calm and clear and I could see all kinds of boats travelling around, but the mainland was shrouded in cloud so there were no views of Mount Baker for me.
The farms around Saanichton didn't disappoint, however. Lots of cows where they should be, some deer where they probably shouldn't be, and even a flock of Canada geese grazing in a pasture. The orchards are full of apples and pears just waiting to be picked, and the pumpkins are all starting to appear, bright orange peeking out from underneath the slowly fading, broad green vines.
The less said about the doctor the better. But I disembarked from the bus on Gorge Street so I could walk over to Mile Zero before hiking home along Government Street, picking out pockets of shade along the route. The sun was low, hot and focused on frying my forehead. I didn't stop to look at the flowers on my way home, but I was grateful for every single tree.