Week 100 - Vancouver Island BC - 07-13-2008

Canada Bound Greetings,

Like a good TV show, we are celebrating our 100th anniversary email. We are hoping we are not canceled any time soon. We spent this week on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Canadians we met in Hemet, CA recommended we stay at the West Bay Marine and RV Park in the City of Victoria. It was not available until August so we stayed 20 miles away at Weir Beach. Our site faced the beach, and rates as one of the top 10 (10-2008) beautiful RV sites that we have stayed at. We spent the week with our (home and away) neighbors, Ben and Sid.

1) Pete and Ben wait to load the MoHo onto the ferry. It costs $185 (07-2008) to go from Port Angeles to Victoria. That seemed expensive until we got to Canada and saw the prices of everything else. 2) The CoHo Ferry arrives. We loaded from the rear but exited the little door on the side. Full length semi-trailers take the ship also.

1) The border patrol pooch was sniffing all the incoming vehicles. They did chase down one car but we don't know the reason. 2) Last view of Port Angeles as we ventured into a foreign land.

The view of Victoria as the ferry approached. The harbor was flush with activity; ferries, yachts, cruise ships, sailboats, cabin cruisers and tour boats; sea planes a plenty and a rescue helicopter practicing a rescue.

Scooters are very popular in Victoria as are hanging plants. The city has 1,600 hanging flower pots that get watered every night!

The historic Empress Hotel on one side of Government Street and the harbor on the other side. Victoria is the Provincial Capital of British Columbia. The Parliament building is in the background of the harbor shot.

1) Victoria's Bastion Square and 2) St. Andrew's Church

1) The meeting hall in the Parliament Building. 2) The dome taken from the first floor.

1) The dome from the second floor revealing a spiral staircase that leads to the top of the dome. 2) Second floor stained glass window.

You can see amazing things when you get lost. This is one of the smallest streets we took our motorhome on.
1) Taylor Lane on our way to Weir Beach. 2) and a pirate ship!

Sunset Magazine had a story about the 10 Best Secret Beaches in the world (2008). Sandcut Beach on Vancouver Island was one of them. 1) Here is the trail entrance from the beach end and 2) Ben and Sid making the trek. The four of us decided it was best to keep this beach a secret. When we got to the beach it was all beach pebbles, no sand; nothing spectacular. However, as Pete read later online, we missed the waterfall and tide pools where Sandcut Creek ran into the ocean. Oops! We should have kept walking.

Our site at the Weir Beach RV Resort was gorgeous. 1) The ocean view out our front window 2) The lagoon view out the back.

Sunrise photos at Weir Beach.

No trip to Vancouver Island is complete without a trip to 55 acre Butchart Gardens. The gardens had a simple beginning in 1904 at the dormant limestone quarry that Robert Butchart had used to supply his cement plant. Jennie Butchart began to plant flowers to beautify the pit which is now the world famous Sunken Garden. Over the years the Japanese, Italian and Rose Gardens were added.

Of course Ben and Sidney had to visit Sidney BC. A cute little seaport where you can take the ferry to Anacortes, WA.

Getting up at dawn rewarded Ellen with this breathtaking photo from our RV site at Weir Beach.

"Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard." Isaiah 58:8

We hope you enjoyed our side trip to Canada. Feel free to email us again as next week it is back in the good ole USA, where there are no cell phone or Internet roaming fees and fuel is only $5/gallon (07-2008).

Love, Pete and Ellen

Photos from Jul 2008