When I went online to buy tickets to see Elton John in Victoria, it was an exercise in frustration. I was on the site as soon as tickets went on sale but all I could get were the $600 tickets. I tried for about 20 minutes and then gave up. We are fans but not, I thought $600 fans. Dale came home and went onto another site, where they re-sell tickets. We didn’t pay $600 a ticket but we definitely paid more than the price printed on the tickets.
It seems that all my little trips involve some form of adventure, by which I mean complication. This trip’s complication was that our son drove me to the ferry terminal to walk on the ferry. Dale was going to drive on and I would meet him onboard. It was most convenient for Darin to pick me up at 12:30, which got me to the terminal about 1:30. However, I was not able to buy a ticket because there was a 2:00 sailing and they don’t sell tickets for other sailings ahead of time. And the waiting room where you buy the tickets has no amenities. So I sat on a hard bench for half an hour so I could get a ticket. Then I was able to go into the terminal and get a cup of tea while I waited. On the plus side, it was nice spending an hour with Darin.
Dale called me when he got into the ferry line-up. I told him I would go and sit once I got on and he could find me. As I walked on using the overhead walkway I saw our Explorer driving on, then as I walked towards the front of the ferry, Dale came up the stairs. We went to the little express cafe and got a tea and a muffin and settled in for the trip. Later we played a game of Scrabble and for a change, Dale won.
It wasn’t raining when we got to Victoria so we checked in, dropped off our bags and hit the city. Darin told us about a pub he likes so we went there first. We had a martini each and an appetizer, Humboldt squid. It was different than calamari but still delicious. We went to another restaurant for dinner and dessert. The next day we had breakfast and then went exploring again. This time we drove because it was raining. We drove to Oak Bay, checking the houses we saw for sale online. Victoria real estate is expensive too. After an afternoon tea break at Murchie’s we ended up back at the hotel trying to figure out what to do before the show. In the end we drove to the venue and then walked to a nearby restaurant. It was very busy and we were told there would be at least an hour wait. Well, there was no place else to go so we stood there waiting, chatting to another couple. As it turned out, the wait was only 20 minutes, so we had plenty of time to eat before the show.
By 7:30 we were in our seats waiting. We discussed which songs we thought might start and end the show. An older English gentleman seated beside us told us what he thought and it turned out he was right for the opening song. Elton started right at 8:00 which caught many concert goers by surprise. There were several empty seats near us. We were also taken aback at two younger couples near us. They arrived late to their seats, carrying two drinks each and then left several times during the show to get more beer. We know what the ticket price was for the seats near us. They could have paid a lot less for other seats that they didn’t sit in.
The concert was amazing. The old songs were recognizable even though Elton had changed the arrangements to suit his older voice. He also added piano riffs to the songs, so most of them were much longer than the versions we had heard before. He played non-stop for over two hours, then came back and played two more songs for his curtain call. We grew up with his music. His songs, along with those of the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, formed part of the soundtrack of our lives. We aren’t super fans, but we are glad we heard him in concert. As he is turning 70 soon, it was about time! We left the concert a little deaf but very happy.
We were lucky with our ferry experience going home, we basically drove straight onto the 11:00 boat. A very successful weekend off to see the Elton, the wonderful Elton of John. Admit it, you just sang that last bit, right?