O Canada ~ West Coast RV Adventure 2023 ~ Day 25 & 26

We woke up to beautiful warm sunshine and a glassy lake. In fact, the Lake was so still, that you could barely tell where the lake started and stopped because of the perfect reflection. So pretty! Sadly, we are leaving this little slice of heaven today. So I just soaked up as much sunshine as I could. 

Leaving Lake Crescent, Mom took a bunch of pictures from the LHOW window because, this time, we knew we wouldn’t be back anytime soon. 

 

We headed back to Port Angeles, for the second time in a couple of day, but this time we really were going to take the ferry to Victoria. Port Angeles was a cute little town. Mom would have liked to have shopped more, but we had to grabbed some breakfast before getting on the boat. They did have really odd looking “people” on the streets. 

 

I was pretty excited for my first boat ride. And this boat was pretty darned BIG!  First they had Mom and Dad answer a bunch of questions, and then Dad drove the LHOW into the belly of the ferry along with other cars and trucks. That was really weird! After Dad parked, we got to go upstairs. I’m really glad we didn’t have to stay in the belly of the boat for the whole trip! We walked around the boat, of course lots of people stopped to talk to me and even take my picture. Then mom and I settled down for a nice afternoon nap. When we woke up, we were entering James Bay in Victoria. We had a great view of a fancy hotel called the Hotel Empress. Mom and Dad are having tea there in a couple of days. Dad’s not really sure what that’s all about. 

 

In Victoria, we had to go back into the belly of the ship, and Dad drove the LHOW off the ferry. Then Mom and Dad had to answer even more questions from this lady in a little ticket booth. She wanted to know about fruit, firewood, tobacco, alcohol, guns and even my health! She was really nosey! I’m not sure we answered all the questions correctly, but we got to go into Victoria. Yay! 

 

After renting a car, we found our campsite and got situated. We always take a walk around the campground once we get “plugged in.” This one was really nice. It had a lot RVs that were really settled in…like people lived there all the time. They didn’t just come in for the night like we do. Some had outside rooms, TVs, sheds, gardens and funny signs. The RV park was close to the Saanichton Bay and had a big marsh with some interesting wildlife. We saw a great blue heron and the BIGGEST bald eagle any of us have ever seen. Mom and Dad kept me close when they saw that big guy flying around! 

 

We had a quiet night and enjoyed a pretty sunset. Can you believe that we’ve been on the road for three and a half weeks?! And that we’re in Canada?!! 

 

We woke up to beautiful sunshine the next morning on Day 26. Mom and Dad weren’t in any hurry to go anywhere, so they put my bed outside in the sun. It was glorious! Dad was busy doing something, and suddenly I started smelling a really wonderful, familiar smell….bacon!! Dad was cooking bacon on the stove outside! Have you ever smelled bacon cooking outside? It smelled so good. So yep, our morning activity today was BREAKFAST! Bacon. Eggs. Sourdough toast. Greek yoghurt and blueberries. Coffee.

>

 

Mom and Dad both gave me little bits of bacon. It tasted even better than it smelled. While they were cleaning up, I found a container of really good smelling stuff. I’m not sure how it happened and there weren’t any witnesses or it probably wouldn’t have happened. But I ended up with bacon grease on me. But no one knew yet. Mom was inside doing dishes and Dad was taking the trash to the trash bin. When I came inside, Mom saw it. So I just walked back into the bathroom and sat on the rug waiting for my bath. It was inevitable. 

 

Luckily, Mom and Dad had plans for the afternoon, which delayed the inevitable a while anyways. I got to stay in my house in the LHOW while they went to Butschart Gardens. So everything I’m going to tell you came from Mom. If you know anything at all about Victoria, British Columbia, you know that visiting Butschart Gardens is a must. It was so beautiful, especially on a sunny, warm day. 

 

Here’s some history. Jennie Butschart’s husband was a big deal in the cement industry. He mined an area behind their home for limestone to supply his cement factory. . After taking from the land for years, only a gutted, ugly quarry was left. But Jennie loved gardening and she had a vision. She decided to make the quarry more attractive. And she had some chutzpah! She made some of the cement factory workers hoist her in a suspended chair along the wall of the quarry while she planted ivy!! Can you imagine?!! She started this in 1904, so she had on those crazy long dresses while she was having these guys move her along the quarry walls. Mom thinks she would have liked her! I think I would have too. After she got the walls planted, she just kept planting more and more plants. And today there is a beautiful Sunken Garden where the exhausted limestone quarry used to be! To address the leftover water in the bottom, she had a pond with a fountain installed. 

>

 

With that little project complete, she went on to develop a gorgeous rose garden with 250 kinds of roses. They were all labeled, and it was fun to see all the varieties and to smell them also. 

 

She wasn’t done though, and continued with a Japanese and Italian Formal garden. Jennie landscaped the area that led to their family harbor too. The attention to detail and horticulture precision was evident in the greenhouse, the hanging baskets and even the trash cans!! 

 

It sounded as if Mom and Dad had a great a time. When I asked what their favorites were Mom said the beautiful peonies grouped with irises and other flowers. Dad said it was the ice cream! 

>

 

Once they got back to the campsite, Dad grilled chicken for dinner. And then you know that bath that Dad was threatening back in Lake Crescent and that I completely solidified needing this morning…  Well, I finally got it. 

 

#HopeTravels

#MakingMayoMemories

#WestCoastRVAdventure2023