Black Ball Ferry

First things first, and that was making sure the kiddos got up early enough for us to make the ferries. This was by far the most intricate weekend planning to date. We had to secure an Airbnb and also schedule the ferry (there were two of them). Plus we had to time the ferry departure times with the travel by car times. The first ferry at Edmonds was only 10 minutes away and left every 30 minutes. Then it was a 90 minute ride to the second ferry at Port Angeles. That one was much more intricate. There were only 4 departure times and they were all booked, leaving us the only option of first come first served. We needed to arrive at least 3 hours early in order to secure a spot. If we didn’t make it, we would have to wait until the next day. So we asked Francisco and Ariel to be ready for a 6:30am departure. Not good when their usual wake up time is 10am or later. Long story short, we managed to secure a spot on the ferries and made it to Victoria as scheduled.

We actually got across the border fairly easily and found our Airbnb for the next two nights. Ariel and David were exhausted, so while they took a nap, Francisco did some work and I watched a ballgame. Cards won! When the two were refreshed, we ventured into Chinatown and found a nice restaurant for dinner. Afterwards a stroll through Chinatown. It was around 8pm and everything was closed and the streets fairly empty. Kind of eerie since it was still daylight (It doesn’t get dark until 9:30pm or so).

That’s okay – we headed back to base and the three ended their evening with a little gaming.

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens is a botanical garden of 55 acres of unbelievable beauty. Still privately owned by the descendants of the Butchart family, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2004, on its 100th birthday.

I thought I would get bored spending an entire day at a garden (I mean, how many flowers can you ooh & ahh over?), but seriously, I never got bored. Every turn around the trail revealed so many interesting things…..

Ponds, fountains, gardens (Japanese, Italian, Mediterranean, rose, sunken), totems, bronze and botanical statues, a carousel, gift shops, tea room, and dining. We could have easily spent another day there.

Here are some of the highlights…

One thing I found fascinating were the totems we found in various places in Victoria. They were often vibrant, but even totems without color were boldly alive (impossible to ignore) with imagery drawn from the Pacific Northwest environs. I saw them as sculptural inspiration and was pleased to be in their presence, even for a short while.

The Totems of Victoria, BC
Seattle WA
By July 2022