Tag: victoria

Downtown Victoria, BC

Monday I drove into downtown Victoria and parked in a multi-story Parkade deck about three blocks from the Inner Harbour. My plan was to walk to see many of the various attractions I had noted on my “things to do” list. I was a little concerned that the city and the attractions might be too crowded because large cruise ships dock near Victoria and discharge many of their passengers into town. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared it might be. Here are some of the things I saw as I walked around the city:

An “on the sidewalk” toilet:

A store selling some pretty amusing t-shirts:

Later in the day I saw two different people wearing the raven t-shirt. I believe what I saw out by the water was a crow, not a raven. Ravens have noticeably curved beaks while crows do not.

Some words of wisdom from the late Jimmy Dean (who died in 2010, yet still promotes his products in radio and tv ads):

A very hungry seagull which, surprisingly, I didn’t see all that many of as I walked around by the harbour.

City Hall:

Signs near Chinatown, including special street name signs:

I had to wait in order to walk out into the middle of the street for that one.

Some amusing signs:

Some nice tilework in an entryway to a courtyard in the open space between buildings:

But the thing that impressed me the most were all the baskets of pretty flowers hanging on the lamp posts around town:

They were everywhere. I think that always adds a nice look to a city street. I also walked around many residential streets near the harbour and they, too, were well adorned with pretty flower beds. The only place that overdid it a bit, IMHO, was the Empress Hotel, a swanky hotel near the harbour. Their display was quite gaudy and could have been cut way back without sacrificing anything.

I could have gone in to the Empress for high tea and sipped the nectar with my pinky extended but I’m too cheap.

I saw this statue near the harbour as well:

“I will now make this bird disappear by passing it through this horseshoe”

About a block from the Empress Hotel was this large whale topiary:

And finally, outside the ferry terminal building, an example why you might not want to buy a dark blue car instead of a lime green one:

Welcome to Canada, JohnBoy !!

I crossed from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, BC, Canada on Sunday, July 27.

We sailed aboard the MV Coho ferry:

It took about an hour and a half to traverse the Salish Sea in the Strait of Juan de Fuca before arriving in Victoria, British Columbia. Victoria is located at the southeastern end of Vancouver Island, a huge island about the size of Kansas. Vancouver Island is the 8th largest island in the world.

Some of the deckhands prepping our ship for docking:

Some of the things we saw as we approached the harbour (I’m in Canada now and have to talk the talk):

A dichotomy of speed:

The Air Traffic Control tower (well, building) for managing approaching and departing seaplanes. One of the photos above shows a buoy with a sign reading “Water Airport”

Part of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet:

And once I got on land I treated myself to a reward, confirming that I was actually in Canada!

I have been on the road 2 days shy of 4 weeks. When I arrived at the ferry terminal in Port Angeles, immediately before leaving the United States, I had driven exactly 4,600 miles since leaving Durham, 759 miles over my projection (which was point-to-point mileage between the towns I would be staying in and didn’t include side trips).