Mark and I returned home a few days ago from a wonderful trip to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and then the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. We drove north of Seattle about ninety miles to catch the ferry to Sidney, B.C., on Vancouver Island. We chose that ferry route because it winds through some of the San Juan Islands en route to Sidney, and we had never done that before. Apparently there are more than 500 islands in the San Juans, from the very tiny to the very large. And they are so beautiful.
Mark watched our journey from the bow of the ferry, not wanting to miss a single thing.
First stop was Orcas Island. We did not disembark, as it was a short stop, but apparently this island is very popular with bicycle riders and whale watchers. As we were leaving the island, another ferry was pulling into the terminal.
Another shot of Orcas Island's terminal area.
Next stop was Friday Harbor, which is on San Juan Island. Again, very picturesque.
Our ferry was the Chelan. The ride was quite smooth, and while the weather was very nice, it was a little chilly on deck.
Another shot of the islands, with a boat in the foreground.
There is some sort of huge home or resort on this island, which you can see if you click on the picture.
After landing in Sidney, we drove south to Victoria, where we get settled into the hotel which would be our home for the next three nights. And no, we didn't stay in the famous Empress, shown here in the background, but we were close by in the Marriott.
Here is a glimpse of our hotel through the trees, taken from near Victoria's inner harbor.
We ate dinner that first night at Nautical Nellies, and the food was amazingly good. We highly recommend it to anyone traveling in the Victoria area.
Of course I had to get my Curves workout in while we were there. And there was a facility very close by our hotel. It was fun to work out with, and get to know, some very friendly women in Canada!
Next we walked through the Parliament building on a self-guided tour. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia, and their seat of government is very impressive. I'll put more pictures in a later post that will detail some of the stained glass inside.
We thought it would be fun to get an overview of the city and the surrounding area by taking a tour on this double-decker bus. It was well worth the time, as it gave us ideas of places to go back to later and visit by car.
Mark and I were sitting right up front on the top deck of the bus, and at one point a tree limb was hanging too low, and the bus hit the limb, which broke the windshield right in front of our faces. It sounded like a shot! And the farther we went, the longer the cracks became. You can click on the picture to see the damage. Mark told the driver what happened as we got off the bus. We were just thankful that the glass didn't come out in our laps or faces!
There are gorgeous hanging baskets all over the city of Victoria. Our bus driver said that there are over 1600 baskets, and that each basket contains an average of about fifteen different types of plants.
Mark and I did a LOT of walking every day on our trip. Here we are in front of a totem pole in the Victoria Convention Center, where we just walked in to look around.
One very special outing was having afternoon tea together. A quaint little place was recommended to us (thanks, Brad and Sharon!), and it was wonderful in every way.
Is there anything that can be better than having tea with your true love?
Blethering Place, where this lovely tea took place.
This sign adorned the path on one of our walks (this pic is for you, Sarah).
The next few pictures were taken in the rose garden at the Empress Hotel. What an amazing array of loveliness and exquisite beauty.
More to come soon!
The next day, Mark and I decided to journey up the east coast of Vancouver Island. The cities of Duncan, Chemainus, and Nanaimo had been highly recommended to us, so off we went. First stop was Duncan, which is the City of Totems. There is a yellow-footprint-marked pathway that winds through this little town, a journey that takes one past more than 50 totem poles. These poles vary in many ways, each depicting various people, animals, and events. Very interesting.
There were plaques at every totem pole so we would better know what we were looking at.
This one was very fat, as you can see. Mark is dwarfed by the sheer size of it.
Next stop was Chemainus, which is known for its murals. It seemed like the side of virtually every building in this small town had a wonderfully painted mural depicting some historic event in their past. It was fun to see how the different artists' styles represented those events.
This mural was our favorite. If you click on it and look at the detail, you just might agree.
Even Subway had a mural!
A park in the town with lovely landscaping and a water wheel.
Next town up the coast was Nanaimo. They had a battery there which once served as a lookout for incoming ships, and as a point of defense if needed. We arrived at noon, just in time for the daily firing of a cannon near the battery.
Of course before you fire a cannon, you must play the bagpipes, right?
A man in period costume readies the cannon, and then proceeded to fire it.
Walking along the waterfront in Nanaimo. It was a beautiful but windy day.
Jake had recommended to us that we must try Nanaimo bars when in Nanaimo. Here I am, in all my windblown glory, holding the Nanaimo bars that we finally found in a bakery in town. They were SO yummy! I have since made them at home, because we liked them so much. Next up: The Butchart Gardens!
