COOMBS & QUALICUM BEACH, BC, CANADA

After enjoying an omelet for breakfast we took off to check out the little towns we are near.  The sun was shining and a little breeze blowing that made a perfect day for driving and walking around.  Our first stop was in Coombs, a fun-filled village of boutiques, antique stores, art galleries and restaurants. The center of this small village has huge statues, looking like sand formations, in the shapes of Buddhas, dogs, giraffes, owls, etc.  Their market, Coombs Old Country Market offers international foods, imported gifts, in-store baked goods, a restaurant, and ice-cream.  They are famous for the “Goats on the Roof”, and we saw a few goats on one of the grassed roofs.

From there we headed to Qualicum Beach, a quaint little town with many gift shops, boutiques, and a grocery store where we picked up a few items.  The last stop we made was at a beach where we sat watching the ripples of waves with mountains across the water, some snow-capped, some not.  Very pretty! Then back to the trailer to relax!  Isn’t that what retirement is all about!

DUNCAN, CHEMAINUS, & LADYSMITH, BC, CANADA

We stopped at Duncan, which is home to one of the world’s most unique outdoor museums.  Totem poles stand proudly beside the roads, businesses, and parks in celebration of an ancient art, and as testament to today’s thriving First Nations culture.  There are over 80 totem poles within the city and surrounding area.  Yellow footprints are painted on the sidewalks so you can discover the totems.

We visited the town of Chemainus, known as ‘the little town that did’.  This community managed to turn a serious economic downturn into success.  In the early 1980s this small seaside town was a single-industry mill town, and when the mill closed, it had to fight for its very survival.  The combination of some provincial seed money, visionary community leaders, and many supportive residents, enabled the town to re-invent itself as the thriving artistic and cultural destination it is.  They have outdoor murals to showcase local history, and in the process attract free-spending tourists.  We walked on main street and strolled through Old Chemainus viewing many of the murals.  This was made easier since they had yellow painted footsteps on the sidewalks, a really clever idea.  We really liked this friendly little town.

Our next destination was Ladysmith which in the early 1900s was born out of the coal boom.  Later it became a logging center, but today tourism plays a very large role in paying the bills.  The streets here are steep which present wonderful vistas over the bays and islands.  We wandered their main street by foot and also took a trolley ride to see the waterfront.  Some of the buildings were brightly painted.  When we returned from the waterfront we took a small hike on the Holland Creek Trail.

We have found in most of these small towns are many gift shops, clothing boutiques, restaurants and also many thrift/consignment stores.  The reason for the latter we do not know!

VICTORIA, BC, CANADA

Well here we are in Victoria, BC, Canada. The ferry trip was uneventful, but the sun was shining. After ‘de-boating’ we had a short drive to Weir’s Beach RV Resort which is a nice campground with our site being on a pond that has many ducks and two swans that have three little babies. The adult swans are protective of their little ones and chase the ducks out of the water. The ducks walk on our site since our next door neighbor feeds them. Since the sun was shining Mike was able to bbq steaks for dinner. After dinner we walked around and picked up a few pieces of driftwood on the campground’s private beach.

Saturday was a full day that started with a visit to The Butchart Gardens, which is a national historic site of Canada and has been over 100 years in bloom. The area covers more than 55 acres of a 130 acre estate. It began from an idea Jennie Butchart had to beautify the worked-out limestone quarry which had supplied her husband Robert’s nearby Portland cement plant. The Gardens, through the skillful mixture of rare and exotic shrubs, trees and flowers, often collected by the Butcharts during their extensive world travels, continually expanded over the years to become the world famous Sunken, Japanese, Rose, Italian and Mediterranean gardens we saw today. It is still owned and operated by the family and is visited by close to a million visitors annually.

We then drove to China Town where we walked around a little bit and then enjoyed lunch and walked some more.

Our next stop was Craigdarroch Castle which was built between 1887-1890 for Robert Dunsmuir, a Scottish immigrant who made his fortune from Vancouver Island coal. This Victorian mansion, built on a hill overlooking the City of Victoria (Craigdarroch means ‘rocky, oak place’ in Gaelic) announced to the world that Robert Dunsmuir was the richest and most important man in Western Canada. Unfortunately, Robert died just before construction of the Castle was completed, so he never had the chance to live in it. The castle has one of North America’s finest collections of Victorian residential stained and leaded glass windows, with intricate woodwork throughout. This four floor home with a dance hall, sat on a twenty-eight acre estate but now there are only about 1.75 acres. This home is 25,572 square feet, including the basement. There are 17 fireplaces and 7 chimney stacks. It had gas lighting, as well as electric lighting; hot and cold running water for indoor plumbing; central heating; telephones; and a burglar alarm system. When we returned to the campground we took a short walk on the beach. The wind has really picked up so we’ll spend the rest of the evening relaxing in the trailer after a busy, long, fun day! The sun was shining again today!

Sunday began with a leisurely breakfast that Judy cooked and then off again to downtown Victoria. With jackets on and cameras ready, we walked to The Fairmont Empress Hotel which is larger than life, shaped by marvelous architecture. The Empress is one of Canada’s most beloved hotels. There were many people having afternoon tea in the hotel, being served the secret tea blend of the hotel on fine Royal Doulton china. With the tea they enjoy freshly baked raisin scones served with Devon-style double clotted cream and strawberry preserves and finger sandwiches. We enjoyed our cold water from the very best plastic bottles money can buy.

We then walked across to the Parliament building.

The rest of our time was spent walking along the harbor, watching street performers, and just strolling around downtown.

                             

Our next stop was to have a Father’s Day meal at the 17th Mile Pub that was recommended by Dave, the manager of the campground. We enjoyed their fish chowder and their fish and chips. Then back to the campground for a quiet evening.

Remember : The pictures enlarge when you click on them.

PORT ANGELES, WA

We’ve spent three days in Port Angeles, WA exploring the Northern portion of Olympia National Park. The drive here was only 54 miles. The campground is a County Park that reminded us of many Canadian Provincial Parks. It was beautiful, large quiet sites by the water. From our site we can see Victoria across the Straights of Juan de Fuca. As we left for town we spotted a deer walking through the campground. That’s always exciting!

During the day Judy received birthday wishes from all the kids. It’s always nice talking with them and finding out all is well. Mike had decided where we were going to celebrate Judy’s birthday dinner. It was a beautiful setting right on the water at a marina in Sequin, WA and we were very disappointed when reading the sign on the door that said they were closed on Tuesdays!!!!

We then went to Michael’s Seafood and Steakhouse in Port Angeles which Mike had read about on the internet. We both ordered garlic shrimp on fettuccine that was excellent. Since it was Judy’s birthday the waitress ‘bought’ Judy her choice of dessert which was tiramisu. Yum, yum! The entire meal was fabulous.

The next day we drove the crème de la crème of Olympia National Park – the 17 mile road called “Hurricane Ridge.” The ridge was named for the hurricane-force winds that blow across these high-mountain slopes in winter. Thirty to thirty-five feet of snow falls annually and lingers into summer. It was a clear day and the sun was shining! The hillsides had purple lupine and some yellow flowers scattered around. The views were spectacular, seeing the snow-capped mountains all around us. We saw many black-tailed deer at the visitor’s center, probably hoping for hand-outs from the visitors. Before we left for the day Judy prepared a slow cooker dinner. When we returned to the trailer we were greeted by an enticing aroma when we opened the door. It tasted as good as it smelled.