Victoria, Canada

As I am waiting in line for the ferry from Anacortes, I struck up a conversation with a couple from Portland. They were meeting friends and sailing around the island, which I have seen described as "one big island". We talked all the way through the San Juan Islands and then off to our separate adventures. I got off in Sidney and immediately went to the I, information place. The volunteer told me so many places and things to do, I got totally confused, but knew Butchart Gardens was on my list and close by. So after visiting the quaint touristy town of Sidney, getting lunch and exchanging money, a necessity, off I went to the gardens. I haven't been in 40 years and it was even more beautiful. There were SO many people from so many different countries and I ended up sort of walking with this couple from Mexico so we kept taking photos of each other. The temperature was in the 90s, or should I say 30s in Celsius and I was dripping. I told people I had brought it from CA. I thought I would visit Victoria and bike on of their famous bike trails, but as I headed into town I got completely lost and using my feminine ways, ended up asking this nice man walking his dog and he got me out of town. I decided not to stay in the local provicial park, but go out to the Sooke region along the SW section of the island to a beautiful park, French Beach. The Canadians really know how to do it with ammenities and nature just adds to the feeling that you are in the perfect place on earth.
When I woke this AM, I knew I was another hour away from Port Renfrew along a windy road through the forest and wondered if it was worth it. Well, Spirit and I took off at 10 AM and it is almost 3 PM and I am still here. It is an old logging community at the most remote part of the SW part of the island and absolutely charming. I am emailing from Coastal Kitchen after eating fresh halibut and chips and enjoying the darling Canadians with their great accents. Of course, I have an accent to them. I finished hiking to Botany Bay and Botanical Gardens, where there are tidepools galore teeming with aquatic life. I am off this afternoon back to civilization, Victoria and being a tourist for a bit in the big city. Then I will head up toward Nainaimo, Port Alberni and eventually Tofino and Uclulet on the most W part of the island. I met some people today who found CA gray whales swimming by, so I am sure I will see them and the orcas.

As I drove out of Port Renfrew, meandering along the windy highway, what should I see out of the bushes, NO, not another huge black truck tire, but a huge black juvenille bear lumbering across the highway into the bushes on the other side. Boy, was that a treat. Unfortunately no time to get out the camera. I talked to one of the workers who were repaving the roads at the time and she said they had spotted several during the week and a mother bear and her two babies playing back and forth across the road. About an hour later I saw and mother deer and two spotted baby fawns scamper across. For some reason they just seemed different looking than ours.
As I travel I see these A for artisan signs and I went to the house and met Basil, from New Zealand and his llamas he breeds. Of course, his wife does pottery and I had to buy something. I had planned to find a park in Victoria and had two choices; a provincial park and a private one. I opted for the p.p. because they are so beautiful and the other one made me feel I was in a trashy trailer park. Now I know.
The next morning I was up bright and early to "do" the city. Now big cities don't thrill me, but I had traveled this far, I couldn't just pass it by. So I ended up parking at a beautiful park on the hill and biking to the many tourist places around the inner harbor. I went to the Empress Hotel, c hecked out the government buildings and a beautiful Catholic church, where I met a couple from Sebastopol up on the Princess Cruise out of SF. What a small world!!
In the afternoon I crawled out the city, Friday PM traffic, in 90 degree temperatures and made it to the sweet town on Chemanis. In my pictures you will see some murals and a stature of two young boys. It was such a sweet town and I managed to exchange some more money. Things are expensive on the island and gas is about $4.25 per gallon, but once you are here, just enjoy without thinking about the $.
I wanted to stay at Parksville, a beach town with real sand. I guess that is unusual for this area. They are having a sand sculpture festival and contest next weekend. I managed to find another beautiful park on the way to Tofino, called Englishman Falls Park. Check out the pictures of the falls. Everything here is done is such an amazing way.
I woke this morning bright and early ready to head out my last 2 hours of a 5-6 hour drive from Victoria, to Uclulet and Tofino. I spoke to some lovely people in the campground and they said it might be tight to get a site. As I drove to the "I", they sent me to a private campground with a view of the harbor and showers (a plus) for a mere $40 a night. Once in town, I arranged for the whale watching and hot springs trip on Monday for the whole day on a Zodiak boat. I had to promise I had a good back and wasn't a wimp! I got the last seat of 12, so I am looking forward to that. I walked around a beautiful loop along the coast this afternoon and at last, here I am at a coffee shop, which just closed. I managed to get a cup of coffee and the securtiy key and here I sit overlooking the harbor with ravens cawing at me. More in a couple of days. I am trying to decide whether to head across to BC and then down back 97 to Hood River again and back to visit Fred OR to go down the coast of WA along the Olympic Peninsula and then to Portland and across to Hood River. What do you think?