Circling the U.S. Chapter 41: Victoria

Sunday, September 22, 2019
After leaving the Butchart Gardens we set off for Victoria. We stayed two nights at a Quality Inn downtown, giving us the full day on Sunday to explore the city. We did a lot of walking, first to the Craigdarroch Castle, then a big loop to the waterfront and back into the city. It wasn't a rest day.

When I first saw this monument, I was perplexed because I thought, we still have troops in Afghanistan, don't we? Then I remembered, this is Canada.

The history of Craigdarroch Castle included turning it into a rehabilitation hospital for WWI soldiers. All the pictures and stories reminded me of Downton Abbey. Then it was used by a local college and later, a music school. Other than that, it was really just another example of a rich person's artfully done conspicuous consumption.

The walk along the waterfront was stunning, as the clouds were quite dramatic, even as they kept the view of Mt. Baker a secret. We've been told it's there, but just like Denali for those who make the trek to see it, some are lucky and some are not. We were content that the rain kept its distance.

Rain threatened, but it never came.

The Trans-Canadian Highway begins in Victoria. Or ends here if you start in St. John's, Newfoundland, like Terry Fox and Stephen Fonyo did.

I got choked up when we saw this. Running has been a large part of Rob's and my life together. But besides that, I've always been inspired by people who don't let disabilities get in the way of their dreams.

Terry Fox was unable to complete his run so Stephen Fonyos did it for him.

The waterfront in downtown Victoria. There were many tourist booths offering cruises to see wildlife, particularly whales. I wasn't interested.

Here's a story I've promised one of my readers.

Why I Never Go On Whale Watches

It was 1989 and Rob and I were bicycling around Nova Scotia. We took a day off before tackling the steep and winding Cabot Trail in Cape Breton and decided to splurge for a whale watch. Neither of us had ever seen a whale before. After an hour or so spent cruising around in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the captain said, "It doesn't look like we can find any whales today so we'll take you over to a dead whale on the beach." Which he did. So now, whenever there's a whale watch available, Rob says, "Do you want to see a dead whale?" 

Here's a trivia fact for you. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia. This is the Parliament building. 

Our time in Victoria was quite pleasant and we enjoyed a couple very good dinners. Monday morning we woke to rain and boarded the ferry to Port Angeles hoping that the rain would stop by the time we landed. It didn't.

Circling the U.S. Chapter 40: The Butchart Gardens

Friday & Saturday, September 20-21, 2019

We took the ferry from San Juan Island to Sydney, British Columbia, then bicycled 10 miles to the Butchart Gardens. My online search had yielded a small private campground just a mile from the garden, called Gardenside Acres Campground, that advertised itself as "tent and breakfast." It sounded much more luxurious than it was. The running water was from a hose; the toilet was a portajohn, and the shower was a tent with a garden hose and spray nozzle rigged up. This was all next to a private home. For $40 we could pitch our tent on a lawn next to a small picnic table. Breakfast was extra. We were clearly paying for the convenient location.

After setting up our tent we walked to the Butchart Gardens and had a couple hours to wander around before they closed for the day.

The sunken garden was the first place we came to and it quite literally took my breath away. I wished I could absorb the beauty of the place without having to share it with dozens of other tourists, all talking and getting in the way with their cameras.

I said to Rob, "I want to just tell everyone to go home." I reminded him of a story about our son Tim, back when he was two-year-old Timmy.

I had taken Timmy to a gymnastics program for toddlers. There was an enormous trampoline where all these little kids were jumping up and down, Timmy included. Did he know that all the random jumping made the trampoline not so bouncy? At one point he yelled, "Everybody off!" And all the other toddlers scurried to the side. Timmy started jumping and had it all to himself.

If only adult life were that easy. I couldn't tell everyone to go home, but we could return around opening time on Saturday morning when tourists are still waking up, drinking their coffee, and planning their day. We went back to the sunken garden first thing and had it mostly to ourselves.

In all, we spent about two hours at the garden on Friday afternoon and another two hours Saturday morning. Following are pictures from both visits.

The sunken garden was built in the exhausted limestone quarry owned by the Butcharts.

On Saturday morning we talked with a middle-aged couple sitting on a bench in the sunken garden. They seemed to know quite a bit about the garden, so I asked, "Do you come here often?"

"Every week."

Then the gentleman told us that he is a musician and performs in a band that plays concerts in the garden. He said that summer is a great time to visit because there are concerts every night and fireworks every Saturday night. I asked about what it is like when decorated for the Christmas holiday and they said that it is really beautiful then, definitely worth coming back for.

These pictures are from the walkway in the sunken garden. In the background is a large rock that was left behind when the quarry closed. It has been covered with plants and a staircase.

Just past the sunken garden was what I thought of as a dancing fountain. It changed every minute or so.

There was an entire garden devoted to dahlias. We talked to a staff member who was putting labels next to the flowers. (Except in the rose garden, nothing is labeled.) She said they were getting ready to dig up the dahlias and they would keep them in a greenhouse through the winter. The only time the garden is really dormant is in January and February, but it stays open with indoor gardens. She said April is the best time to come to see the spring flowers blooming. I told Rob we'll have to come back sometime in December, April, and the summer. 

I took a lot of pictures of the dahlias. I didn't know there were so many varieties.

Throughout the garden I was impressed with how many different textures and shades of green could be put together to create so much beauty. Having tried - and failed - to put together a garden myself, I can only imagine the amount of plant knowledge a professional landscape designer needs to have to figure out what plants will grow under certain conditions and what plants will look good together.  

This is the private garden for the Butchart family.

The Italian Garden was filled with mums.

Rob thought these bonsai in the Japanese Garden looked like giant brocolli. 

From the Japanese Garden you could peek out to the harbor where they offer boat tours of the surrounding coves and shoreline.

Even the opening courtyard had beautiful floral arrangements.