The Prairie Inn

I had to pay a visit to Saanich Peninsula Hospital today for a medical test. Not what I really wanted to do on a day off, but old age brings on its ailments. No matter.
Saanich Peninsula: it's like a vertical plank on the wall that has separated from the rest of the house except for one nail holding it on at the bottom. Victoria is at the bottom, the BC Ferry dock is at the top. If you want to get up Island (the rest of the house) from the ferry dock you have to drive almost to Victoria first, or else take the little ferry from Brentwood Bay. Our airport is also located on the peninsula. Otherwise it's a quiet, rural sort of place.
I like quiet, rural places, green crops ripening in the sun, the smell of manured fields and freshly mown hay, and Central Saanich is as picture perfect a rural scene as you'll find anywhere. If you went to sleep in Spruce Grove, Alberta and woke up at Keating Cross Road it might be a while before you realized you had been whisked off somewhere else. Only the mountains in the distance would give the game away.
Saanich Hospital is on Mt. Newton Cross Road and so is the Prairie Inn. I don't know how old the Prairie Inn is, probably from the early 1900's. If it was waiting for me, it's wait is over. I finally got to try it out after I was finished at the hospital. That way the day wasn't totally wasted. It's a cozy little place, oriented to sports fans. Lots of TVs. Pool table. The food was plain but good and reasonably priced. I had a reuben sandwich with potatoe salad. I love reuben sandwiches, and the Lighthouse IPA went great with it. The waitress was pretty and attentive. I liked the place. It caters mostly to the farmers around there, but a burgeoning population of well-to-do city folk buying up property all over the peninsula adds to the clientele. A special bonus at the Prairie Inn is a free and speedy wireless connection.
One thing nice about taking the bus is that you don't have to worry about having a few beers.