Patrice Gibson, runs the B&B and is also a very talented artist with her painting nicely decorating the hall ways. She has it decorated so that it feels like someones home and not a sterile hotel room. The other attraction that the B&B has is that it does not allow animals nor children so you can really relax and enjoy the peace and tranquility, which we did.

The B&B only has four rooms which makes it a very cozy. Our room had a queen size bed with all the amenities of a four star hotel. It had a hot tub in our room that we unfortunately did have the time to enjoy because of our busy schedule. We did find time to take a nap or two during the days that we were there.

Here in the sunroom we had breakfast with the other guest of the hotel. We met this couple who were from Virginia that were staying here for four nights. We had a great time visiting with them at breakfast and sharing our adventures of the island. Patrice worked very hard to make us all a special gourmet three course breakfast every morning. She really out-did herself with her hospitality and the delicious meals that she prepared for us. We were feeling so comfortable that we invited Patrice to join us one evening for a glass of wine in the sunroom where she told us more about the history of the island.

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The Butchart Gardens lie half-way between Victoria and Sidney on the south eastern portion of Vancouver Island and was only a half hour drive from our B&B in Victoria. Linda had purchased tickets online a few days prior as we did not know how busy it was going to be. We arrived promptly at 9:30am, when the gates open, and were surprised to see several dozen cars already parked. As a side note, the license plates revealed there were visitors from far away places such as Virginia, South Carolina and Florida (about as far away from Vancouver Island as you can get!). Obviously, the place has a wide ranging reputation!

We were not disappointed! The gardens were beautiful! While we had missed the tulips and other bulbs (a few were still there, but clearly passed their peak), but the Rhododendrons, Azaleas and many others were in full bloom.

The Gardens are divided into multiple sections, a sunken garden, a Japanese Garden, an Italian Garden, etc. Each has a distinct “feel”to it, adding great interest to the whole experience.

We were particularly delighted by the Japanese Garden, there is something superbly elegant about it. We found out that the Japanese Garden was designed by 65-year-old garden designer Isaburo Kishida of Yokohama in 1902. He had come to Victoria, at the request of his son, to build a tea garden that became wildly popular and a place to be seen. Several prominent citizens, Jennie Butchart among them, commissioned Japanese gardens from Kishida for their estates.

Robert Butchart had made his fortune manufacturing Portland cement in the 1880s and 1890s and he and his wife Jennie Butchart established their home on Vancouver Island in 1904.

Ownership of The Gardens remains within the Butchart family, even today. The current owner and managing director is the Butcharts’ great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada and receive close to a million visitors each year.

This year, we were two of them.

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Vancouver Island had been on the “bucket list” for quite a while so when we arrived in the Seattle area, we decided to elebrate our wedding anniversary and Linda’s birthday (which fall within 2 days of each other in the middle of May) in Victoria, which lies in the South East corner of Vancouver Island.

This is of course Canadian territory and is part of the province of British Columbia. In other words . . passports were required!

To get there from the US requires a ferry ride from either Port Angeles at the top of the Olympic Peninsula, or from Anacortes, just west of Seattle. We picked the ferry ride from Anacortes as that route passes through lots of islands and we figured it would make for a more intesting trip.

Any Size Vehicle

While the ferry is large enough to accommodate our 42ft motorhome, we decided to leave it at the RV Park in Anacortes and make the trip with our tow vehicle. Linda had found a romantic B&B in Victoria so we headed off with great excitement for a 3 day “getaway” on the island.

We pre-booked a spot on the ferry as we did not know how busy (or how large) these ferries were. The service is managed by the Washington State Department of Transportation and they run a website with timetables and booking options.

Checking in was a breeze, all they needed was our name to find the reservation, then they needed to see our passports as we were heading to a different country The ferry was HUGE. I’m guessing it could easily take some 200 vehicles – of any size! We saw trucks, 5th wheels and motorhomes of all sizes drive on board. The center of the ferry is huge and could easily accommodate the height of trucks and RVs with lots of room to spare! For smaller cars, they have seperate 2-lane “corridors” which is where we were located.

These ferries are so-called “Double Ended” as they have ramps on both ends. That way, they never have to turn around to let cars on/off you simply drive on and drive off.

On board

Once on board and parked, you have the option to stay in the car or get off and go upstairs where you can hang out in any of the many sitting areas or go outside onto several observation decks to enjoy the views as the boat makes its way first to the San Juan Islands for the first stop and then to Sidney, BC on Vancouver Island. The whole trip was super enjoyable and relaxing. There is a cafe on board and you are free to walk about from deck-to-deck and even go downstairs to your car. The views are of course spectacular. Interestingly enough, you still had cell phone coverage and we followed our progress using the “maps” app on our iPhones. Very cool, but when you enter into Canadian waters, we received the message that data roaming needed to be turned on to continue. As this can be VERY expensive, we declined, opting to limit our cellphone use to calls and texts while in Canada.

Boarding the ferry.

The ferry ride

The whole trip took about 3 hours and that included a stop at the San Juan Islands to let some cars off and others to come on. We have arrived on Vancouver Island.

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Victoria is the capitol of British Columbia and located on the Southern tip of Vancouver Island and you can only get there by plane or by ferry. We found Victoria to be a perfect getaway for a few days. Linda had done some research and had booked us into a romantic B&B on the West Bay. We had originally thought we’d drive into town from there, but we found out the B&B was a stone’s throw away from the water taxis terminal. What a fun way to get into town!

With such a beautiful harbor (or, using the British spelling, “Harbour”), it is no surprise that a lot goes on in and around the water. There is constant activity with sea planes landing and taking off, all shapes and sizes of boats going back and forth and we even saw some kayakers and paddle boarders out there. A truly happening place.

The H2OTaxi

We started the day by taking the water taxi to Fisherman’s Wharf. The Victoria water taxies are quaint little vessels that hold about 12 people and are a fun and inexpensive way to travel around the harbour. Some of the stations are manned by super-friendly attendants who are happy to give you advice and tips on what to do and what to go see. Their network is quite extensive and well organized and we never had to wait more than about 10 minutes befor a taxi showed up. The trip from our B&B to Fisherman’s Wharf took about 20 minutes and cost $6 Canadian a person. Quite a deal considering you’ll easily pay $10-$15 for a parking spot in town. Besides, in the water taxi you get to see the harbour from the water, a perspective not possible otherwise.

We only used the water taxi between the West Bay, Fisherman’s Wharf and the Causeway Marina, but you can take an entire tour of the harbour which will take you past about a dozen or so stops. You can pay on-board and get on and off when and where you want, but if you plan on doing that, purchase a ticket for the whole trip. That is cheaper than puchasing each leg of the trip separately.

Fisherman’s Wharf

Fisherman’s Wharf is a delight! It’s a fun and colorful place to visit. The wharf is full of “house boats”, all floating and moored at the piers. Each house is painted a bright and cheery color and many of them are decorated by their occupants with nick-nacks and fishing paraphernalia.Fisherman’s Whatf is also a great place to have some Fish and Chips or a Seafood Chowder. It is a real experience to stand on a boardwalk while picking up your food from a floating restaurant.

From Fisherman’s Wharf we followed the David Foster Harbour Pathway to the city.

It is only about a mile and a half walk, but it took us almost two hours simply because we stopped, to admire the views, do some photography and just to sit and soak up the atmosphere. The Pathway follows the water’s edge and offers beautiful views of the harbour and really gets you up close and personal to all the activity on the water. Check out this little video which will give you an impression of that activity.

Causeway Marina and downtown Victoria

The Causeway Marina is somewhat of a gateway to the city center. From there is is a short walk to some fabulous restaurants and shops. We had some fantastic meals there, most notably Bangers and Mash at an Irish Pub and an amazing “Tapas for Two” platter at a tapas restaurant.

We also visited the famous Murchies Tea and Coffee, located downtown. We had devonshire tea there. Sitting in their tea room sipping Orange Pekoe tea and finishing off a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam seemed the perfect way to spend a romantic afternoon with the one you love. We did it twice!

Walking around this area is a lot of fun. It is home to the famous Empress hotel and the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. The whole place oozes history and character. We have fallen in love with this beautiful city and can see why it is so popular. We know we will be back one day . . .

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