Since we didn’t get to go to Butchart Gardens on the way to
Alaska, because of my broken leg we decided to book a day trip from Vancouver
there. The bus picked us up from the campground
at 7:00 a.m. and off we went for a wonderful day of adventures. Our first adventure was our “pickup driver”
trying to find out tour guide and his bus.
There was some kind of marathon going on in the city and so many of the
roads were closed. We wondered if we
were ever going to start the tour. We
finally met up with Jeff (our guide) and a First Nation man and boy was he proud
to be the only First Nation tour guide in Vancouver. What a gem.
He never stopped talking all the way to the ferry giving us a multitude
of information. When we gathered again
on Vancouver Island he took us on back roads, past different First Nation
communities and even to the school that he was so proud they were able to build
for their children.
First Nation school
When we got to Butchart Gardens I was in my glory. I love this place and could have spent all
day there. Unfortunately we only had 2
/12 hours to see everything, so we had to be selective. We both love the sunken garden and the
Italian garden, so we spent most of our time there with a brief visit to the
Japanese Garden. I would love to be
there when the Cherry blossoms are blooming.
The last thing I did was rub the boar’s nose, so that I will be
guaranteed a trip back.
Me with the dragon
The atrium
From the gardens we headed into Victoria. What a fabulous city to visit and everyone
was enjoying the beautiful weather. We
first headed for the harbor and were surprised to see that Dragon boat races were
going on. John’s best friend, Chris and his wife Kathy
are dragon boat paddlers and we were lucky enough to see them paddle several
times when they came to Long Beach for the races held there annually. After we watched a race and the float planes
landing and pleasure boats trying to stay out of the way of the race, we headed
for the Empress Hotel. What a gorgeous
place. One of these days I want to stay
there. We walked up and down the
streets of Victoria and then decided to stop in a pub for a wine and a beer and
to watch the people. Super fun.
Victoria harbo
Before we knew it, it was time to meet the group and head
for the ferry back to Vancouver. All in
all it was a very enjoyable but a super long day for us since we didn’t get back
to the motor home until 10:00 p.m. - late for us old folks. Glad we decided to spend an extra night so
that we could sleep in.
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