Trip To Victoria

Chris and I are home from our trip to Victoria, BC. On Tuesday evening, we dropped Owen off at Chris' parents' house and Logan at my dad's. Wednesday morning (way too early) we caught the train in Puyallup and made our way to King Street in Seattle. From there we took a bus to Pier 69 where the Victoria Clipper was docked. Got checked in, boarded, and made the 2.5 hour journey to the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The strait was a little rough but otherwise the ride was fine.

We arrived in Victoria and headed over to the Empress to check in. One word: breathtaking. I've seen it from the outside but have never gone in. The gentleman at the front desk gave us a choice: king bed with a boring view or queen bed with a great view. We went for the view and it was indeed beautiful. We could see the harbor and Parliament building from our two windows. They have remodeled the hotel a couple of times; our room used to actually be two, because we had two full bathrooms. The hotel is old but cared for, and it's flaws just add to the charm. And the top floor (where we were staying) is supposedly haunted by a maid, but we didn't see her.

We had lunch at the Old Time Cafe and spent a few hours wandering. We aren't into the shopping and touristy crap, so we got off the beaten path and meandered through some residential areas until we found ourselves at places such as Beacon Hill park, St. Ann's Academy, and Craigdarroch Castle. We'd rest when Chris' knee required it. We found an amazing restaurant for dinner (the Rooftop Surf Club which is part of the Strathcona Hotel). Lively, exciting, and loud, complete with sandy volleyball courts on the roof. We ended the evening with gelato and settled into our comfy hotel room for the night.

Thursday was more wandering (and resting when Chris' knee called for it). We checked out the Undersea Garden and Parliament building. I took a couple hundred pictures as usual, mostly of the architecture and flowers. We had lunch at the Broughton Street Cafe where many of the locals eat. Lunch was followed by gelato (again) and we watched a great street performer. Look for him if you go... Shamon McKenzie. He's very entertaining and humorous.

Day/night pictures of the Parliament building.
We caught the Clipper at 5:30 and made our way home. We had a great time together and are thinking about heading back at Christmas to see the lights at Butchart Gardens. I'd also like to go back next summer with our bikes. The Clipper was a great way to go and I definitely recommend it (and if you're a military/police/fire/EMT family, call and ask for the discount).