As we were planning our recent trip to visit family in Washington, one of the things I really, REALLY wanted to do was take a side trip to Victoria, BC. Not because I hadn’t been there before or because I just wanted to say I’d visited another country. I wanted to get to Victoria to meet Dar.
I’ve known Dar, aka Princess Scooterpie, for several years via her blog, and wanted to meet her in person. The last time I was in Victoria, I’d been traveling with three other people. We were on a tight schedule and I just didn’t feel right carving out time for myself. Of course, I’d regretted it, and I was determined not to make the same mistake twice. If you’d like to read about the meet-up with Dar and two other moto-blogger buddies (on a different day), you can do so here.
Victoria isn’t exactly in the same neighborhood, but it was close enough that I knew I could probably swing a visit, with proper planning and a little bit of luck. The planning part meant figuring out how to get from Auburn, where Amy and family live, to Victoria, which is sort of close on the map, but just happens to be on an island. And that meant the logistics — time and money — were a bit of a challenge. Luck came into play when there was a day with no grand kid sporting events, which meant I didn’t have to be in Washington for chauffeur service. I was free!
I had several choices, but finally settled on the Victoria Clipper passenger-only ferry from Seattle.
I only had to drive into Seattle for the ferry’s 8:30 a.m. sailing to Victoria, a 2.5-hour ride away. I love ferries. I especially love ferries that travel in and around Washington. It is such a beautiful place. And that day was absolutely gorgeous.
Oh, we saw Orcas en route, too. Not very well, but we did see their fins.
I was to meet Dar around 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. The ferry docked at about 11:00 a.m. That meant I had four or so hours to explore the lovely little city.
Supposedly, Victoria is Canada’s most-British city. I can’t say I know for sure as it’s the only city in Canada I have ever visited. Not counting a brief trip to Niagara Falls, which is not really a fair comparison.
British-like or not, it’s gorgeous. There are Victorian mansions and flowers galore, which I discovered as I ambled about, with no real plan beyond visiting the city park.
Here are some of the images I captured in Victoria that day.
I couldn’t decide which sunset image I liked best, so I decided to post three
I think #2 is my favorite. I like the colors.
As usual, I shared a ton of pics in this post. So many that I decided to share pictures captured in Beacon Hill Park in a separate post.
fwiw, I like sunset #2 best…..the wake of the ferry leads the eye….
Great that you were able to meet up with Dar…..Victoria seems very clean.
Thanks, Dom! Meeting Dar was the icing on the proverbial cake.
It looks like Victoria boasts a great variety of art and architecture: The totems and other native (native-inspired) art is cool; that colorful mansion is a beauty; I love the Art Deco clock tower (hellooo, Gotham!); and that brick pole is a crackup (I wonder if it’s meant to be funny?).
And I, too, am partial to Setting Sun #2, ToadMama: I like its more intense reflection.
Victoria is FULL of variety! 🙂
I don’t think the pole was supposed to be funny, and I didn’t see the humor in it, but did think it was cool.
And I agree on your comment about sunset #2. I also like the way the light is reflected in the water there. Pretty much perfect lighting conditions for that shot.
I still can’t believe the beautiful weather you had for your visit. Lovely photos. I love being reminded of how pretty the city was. It has been 2 years since we were there and met Dar.
Yep, it was freakishly warm! Overcast would have made for better flower pics, but I did enjoy the blue skies. I can’t believe it’s been two years already!
Beautiful blue skies in your pictures! It looks like you had a great time wandering through the city before meeting up with Dar. Was all of that within walking distance of the ferry terminal?
Yes, I lucked out on the weather. It was actually a bit too warm for my liking, around 80 F. To answer the distance question, it depends on what you mean by “walking distance.” LOL. I was just wandering, so have no idea how far I trekked. I do know I was hot and very tired at the end of the day, though. I’ll have to check the distance, now that you asked.
I loved meeting you too! If only I could have swung a day off! Oh now that would have been fun! I am going to have to make a point of getting out to your neck of the woods! I was especially pleased when ScooterBob came to visit too! I think sunset pic #2 is my fave. That mural with the coast guard boat is cool! I’ve lived her since 1991 and I have never seen that before! I think it is in a restricted area so unless you are on the water you don’t see it. Oh the cool things you’ve shown me and Iive her for gosh sakes!
Wonderful post and pics! I love Victoria, and hope to visit again one day.
So great you got to meet Dar, two lovely moto-blogging ladies in person! 🙂