Butchart Gardens and Victoria - BC
Wednesday, July 25: We were both up early this morning because we were catching the ferry to Vancouver Island at 815A. Needless to say, we had to be there long before that. We had already decided not to take the car because I had found out that there was Gray Line bus transportation available.
Anyway, we went about getting ready and were done by 630A. I really wanted to wear shorts, but I knew that I would be freezing if I wanted to take picture on the bow of the ferry. So I relented and changed into my jeans, but I took the shorts and a shirt with me.
As we left a little before 7A, a fog bank across the bay had moved over here and was beginning to engulf Anacortes. At the ferry terminal, the fog had engulfed the ferries as well. We parked as close to the dock as possible and then found our way to the waiting room for the walk-on passengers.
At 8A, we heard the call to board the ferry, swiped our tickets, and walked up the ramp to the ferry, the MV Chelan. We went directly to the front of the ferry, where we found low fog all around us. Before we knew it, we were moving away from the dock, right at 815A. I wanted to take some pictures from up front, but the wind was just too biting cold from the slow movement of the ferry.
Our foggy departure MV Chelan
For two hours, we just watched the islands go by from various places on the ferry. As we approached the Sidney ferry dock, we moved to the front, down on the car deck, where I took some pictures. As we were docking, Ron spotted the Gray Line bus waiting just outside the Customs office. Once we docked, right on time, all the walk-ons were guided to Customs and were processed quickly. We then went immediately to the Gray Line office next door and purchased our tickets to Butchart Gardens with the transportation. A short while later, we were on our way.
Sidney ferry dock
The drive there was over narrow, two-lane roads and through a couple of small towns. The road into Butchart Gardens was actually made 100 years ago from the cement that was manufactured by the Butchart family. It’s amazing to me that all these tour buses can travel over such a narrow road without having any accidents!!!!
At the entrance to the gardens, the bus driver obtained our tickets and distributed them. After giving us a map and a Flower & Plant Guide, he then dropped us off near the entrance turnstiles. As we approached them, I could not believe what I was seeing……the brilliant colors of every species of flora known to man!!!! Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
As expected, there were lots and lots of people on the paths through the gardens, sometimes making it difficult to take pictures of the flowers, but I did the best I could. There were hanging fuchsias, begonias, roses, asters, and lilies, along with many others, the names of which I cannot even remember. We did manage to identify some of them with the Guide. I just hope that my pictures do them all justice!!!! Needless to say, I took lots and lots of them. Here are some of them, along with a picture of beautiful Ross Fountain:
Fuchsias Begonia
A bunch of roses Hydrangea
Tiger Flower False Spiraea
St. John's Wort Ross Fountain
Part way through our tour of the gardens, Ron got very tired, so we rested for a while. Actually, we sat down on benches a number of times to rest. We didn’t go on every path of the gardens, but we surely saw just about every type of flower that exists. After over an hour and a half, we were hungry, so we tried to get a table at The Dining Room Restaurant. But, since there was an hour’s wait, we decided to catch the bus into Victoria instead.
Outside the park, we checked the bus schedule and found that we had to wait 40 minutes for the bus. We had been told that they run every 15 or 20 minutes. But, we were also told about an alternative, to ask one of the tour bus drivers parked behind the bus stop. We talked to one, and he said that he was leaving at 130P. Well, that was a bit better than 140P!!!!
Once his passengers returned, we headed into Victoria, complete with a commentary from the driver. He dropped us in front of The Empress, after pointing out the bus station behind it. Since we were still hungry, and we couldn’t really afford to eat in this huge, expensive hotel, we crossed over to the waterfront to find a small restaurant.
We spotted a signboard with a map that indicated some restaurants. As we were walking toward one of them, I spotted another one down by the water’s edge, so we went down to that one. We found a table on the deck in the sun. Looking around in front of the deck, there were two floatplane companies and a whale watching company that used a Scarab boat and huge inflatable boats. Across the harbor, the Port Angeles ferry docked shortly after we arrived. A double-masted schooner even went by. Last, but not least, a harbor seal spied on us!!! What a busy, busy place!!!!!
One of many seaplanes A scarab for whale watching
Double-masted schooner And a harbor seal "spy"!!!
We ordered our drinks, a beer for Ron and a glass of Pinot Blanc for me. Ron ordered a Smoked Salmon and Brie Bagel, and I ordered Chipotle Prawns on Greens. Before our food arrived, we changed tables because of some noisy kids next us, but the change turned out to be the wrong move. A group of seven tourists pushed their way around the table next to us, a table set up for four people. The one guy behind me was practically in my lap!!!!
Despite the circumstances, the food was very good. We paid our bill and walked back across the street, where I took a few pictures of The Empress. With about half an hour until the bus back to the ferry, we then walked through the side garden to the bus station and waited. Once we boarded the bus, the trip took almost 45 minutes because of the afternoon traffic, arriving at the dock just before 5P. The first thing that we noticed was that the ferry hadn’t even arrived yet.
The Empress Hotel
We immediately made our way to the ticket booth, and just when were about to get our tickets, we were interrupted by someone in a car who needed their ticket right away. The reason wasn’t clear at all, but the clerk insisted. As soon as we did purchase our tickets, we proceeded to Customs, clearing through rather quickly. Before going to the waiting room, we stopped at the gift shop, finding it chock full and overflowing with all things Canada, but nothing that we couldn’t live without.
The ferry was supposed to arrive at 505P, but it was late, arriving at maybe 530P. All of us “walk-ons” waited patiently until all the vehicles had disembarked, and the gates were closed. We were then allowed to board the ferry. This time, we went directly to a window booth with a table where we debated whether we were going to take naps on the way back. Needless to say, by this time, we were both very, very tired. The ferry was supposed to depart at 6P, but it was 610P before it actually did because of some Customs problem.
On this trip, the ferry stopped at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. I went up the front of the ferry and took pictures of the harbor and the ferry dock. After the very short stop, the ferry backed out of the harbor and turned around in open waters, back to Anacortes. On this last leg of our trip, I spotted Mt. Baker in the distance and managed to get a few pictures, despite the distance and haziness.
A very populated Friday Harbor Ferry dock
Mt. Baker
We arrived in Anacortes at 845P, that same 10 minutes late, breezed through U.S. Customs, and made our way to the car, arriving back here at 915P. That was certainly a very long and tiring day!!!!!
