8/28 Vancouver Island
We started out early, heading to Tsawassen to take the ferry across to Vancouver Island. We missed the 10 am ferry by a few minutes (what? so we woke up late. we're on vacation!), so we had to pass nearly an hour's time at the ferry terminal before heading out on the 90 minute ride. It wasn't tough.
The terminal was packed with touristy little shops and food concessions, as well as many interesting people. It was prime people-watching territory. We also found a cool spirit bear at the doorway, as well as several friendly dogs.
The voyage itself was wonderful -- definitely not just a means to an end. We watched a hydrofoil, several float planes and many island as we glided from point to point. Philip and I took seats outside on the starboard side to enjoy the view.
Upon reaching Vancouver Island, we headed to Butchart Gardens. Everyone had told us it was beautiful, and I was looking forward to seeing some flowers, but I didn't have high expectations. Butchart is a lovely, expansive garden that is a huge tourist attraction. The Butchart family started the gardens in their quarry, that was once part of their Seattle cement business. Jenny Butchart started with a gifted rose bush and a few seeds. She turned them into a glorious Sunken Garden, expansive rose garden (catalogued, with dozens of varieties), lovely Italian garden and serene Japanese garden, to name a few areas.
We stepped into the gardens and our stomachs led us to their lovely restaurant, where Philip had lunch and I had afternoon tea, with all its wonderful snacks. With the beauty of the gardens behind us, the buzzing of a bee and the wonderful food and tea, we sat back and relaxed (ok, well, having a bee buzzing around wasn't so relaxing).
We could have stayed all day in the Japanese garden. It was so beautiful and relaxing. And there was a path to Heard Cove from there, a lovely little cove with a few historic boats anchored, and the entrypoint for visitors coming by sea plane. You can bet Philip was looking around for sea planes!
We left Butchart Gardens and drove due south to the capital city of Victoria. A this point we were hoping to find an inexpensive B&B to stay on the island for the night, so that we could see Tofino the following day. But by the time we reached Victoria, it was clear that, being the peak of the season, very few rooms were available and none were inexpensive.
It was a bit disappointing, but we decided to enjoy Victoria and make the most of our time there.
Victoria is a beautiful city, the capital of British Columbia, and also a college town. The downtown area was very touristy, obviously shaped by the cruise ships that stop there. At least there are no high rises, so the city still looks quaint. And overlooking the beautiful bay is a huge hotel that looked just like the Frontenac, and onle that looked quite like the Fairmount Royal York.
We strolled the streets for a while, pausing to admire the Spirit Bear statues, chat with the tourists and check out a few shops. We especially loved an outdoor store full of climbing equipment. But pretty soon it wsw time to head back to Schwartz Bay, to the ferry back.
We arrived at the ferry terminal just in time to make the 8 pm sailing. The sunset from the boat was beautiful. Back in the hotel room around 10, we quickly collapsed.
The terminal was packed with touristy little shops and food concessions, as well as many interesting people. It was prime people-watching territory. We also found a cool spirit bear at the doorway, as well as several friendly dogs.
The voyage itself was wonderful -- definitely not just a means to an end. We watched a hydrofoil, several float planes and many island as we glided from point to point. Philip and I took seats outside on the starboard side to enjoy the view.
Upon reaching Vancouver Island, we headed to Butchart Gardens. Everyone had told us it was beautiful, and I was looking forward to seeing some flowers, but I didn't have high expectations. Butchart is a lovely, expansive garden that is a huge tourist attraction. The Butchart family started the gardens in their quarry, that was once part of their Seattle cement business. Jenny Butchart started with a gifted rose bush and a few seeds. She turned them into a glorious Sunken Garden, expansive rose garden (catalogued, with dozens of varieties), lovely Italian garden and serene Japanese garden, to name a few areas.
We stepped into the gardens and our stomachs led us to their lovely restaurant, where Philip had lunch and I had afternoon tea, with all its wonderful snacks. With the beauty of the gardens behind us, the buzzing of a bee and the wonderful food and tea, we sat back and relaxed (ok, well, having a bee buzzing around wasn't so relaxing).
We could have stayed all day in the Japanese garden. It was so beautiful and relaxing. And there was a path to Heard Cove from there, a lovely little cove with a few historic boats anchored, and the entrypoint for visitors coming by sea plane. You can bet Philip was looking around for sea planes!
We left Butchart Gardens and drove due south to the capital city of Victoria. A this point we were hoping to find an inexpensive B&B to stay on the island for the night, so that we could see Tofino the following day. But by the time we reached Victoria, it was clear that, being the peak of the season, very few rooms were available and none were inexpensive.
It was a bit disappointing, but we decided to enjoy Victoria and make the most of our time there.
Victoria is a beautiful city, the capital of British Columbia, and also a college town. The downtown area was very touristy, obviously shaped by the cruise ships that stop there. At least there are no high rises, so the city still looks quaint. And overlooking the beautiful bay is a huge hotel that looked just like the Frontenac, and onle that looked quite like the Fairmount Royal York.
We strolled the streets for a while, pausing to admire the Spirit Bear statues, chat with the tourists and check out a few shops. We especially loved an outdoor store full of climbing equipment. But pretty soon it wsw time to head back to Schwartz Bay, to the ferry back.
We arrived at the ferry terminal just in time to make the 8 pm sailing. The sunset from the boat was beautiful. Back in the hotel room around 10, we quickly collapsed.
posted by Dev Holan at
10:46 PM
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