Vancouver Island

I went to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada with Alexis and her son Damian.

We arrived in Victoria on the Black Ball Ferry.

The magnificent Empress Hotel faces the inner harbour (note that Canadians add a lot of "u"s to their words) and is one of the first things you notice when disembarking the ferry.

The Empress is famous for their Afternoon Tea.

The Sooke Region Museum on the southwest coast of the island shows the pioneering history of the island.

 Spirit Bear

Early 1900's fashions and artifacts.

Two handsome military men.

Butchart Gardens offers 50 acres of beauty. What started as a the Butchart family limestone quarry in the early 1900's has become a display garden visited by nearly 1 million people a year.

Hatley Castle is on the grounds of Hatley Park. It was built in 1908 by industrialist and politician James Dunsmuir to be the home of the couple and their twelve children. James is quoted as saying: "Money doesn't matter, just build what I want."

The grounds of Hatley Castle.

Rooms in the castle.

The Fisgard Lighthouse built in 1860 is still in operation. For the keeper's entertainment and to improve their minds, in 1865 the Light House Board spent $150 on books for a Fisgard Library.

The Victoria Government Parliament buildings front the inner harbour.

At night the skyline is lit up by 3,300 light bulbs.

I felt right at home at the Victoria Public Library.

You can see I barely register on this fish measure at the marina.

So I thought I would fit right in at Miniature World. But even I felt large next to the 80 displays in miniature.

We went on a whale watching adventure.

I made a new friend.

                                          Olympia