We long-term parked our car at Vancouver International and officially began the cruise portion of this trip with three nights in Vancouver. Today was a marvelous day with an all-day excursion to Vancouver Island – to Victoria and the Butchart Gardens. If you’re like me, you will love all the pretty flowers that we were blessed with all day long.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit The Trip of Our Lives 2023.

A Break from Driving

We booked a three-night pre-cruise in Vancouver and our one-way flight from Fairbanks back to Vancouver at the end of our cruise tour through Princess. In doing so, from here on out someone else will be doing the driving – making sure Jim and I (and our luggage) get where we need to be when we need to be there. It is going to be great to take a break from all that responsibility for a while.

We were given a taxi voucher for the half-hour ride from YVR to the Westin Bayshore Vancouver in Coal Harbour. The Westin was a fantastic hotel, right on the water and walking distance to some great stuff. Since our room wouldn’t be ready till 4pm, we had a little lunch at the H Tasting Lounge at the hotel, then wandered a bit to check out our new digs.

“Coal Harbour is a downtown area known for its marina, mountain views, and mix of casual and upscale waterside eateries. Seaplanes take off in the shadow of gleaming condo towers near the modern, grass-roofed Vancouver Convention Centre. The paved Seawall walking and cycling path follows the shore to forested Stanley Park.”

Victoria & Butchart Gardens

Our first excursion was a long one, with five total hours of commute time. Our bus driver picked us up at our hotel and we knew right away that this was going to be a fun day. He was funny and knew a lot about Vancouver since he has lived here most of his life.

During our fifty-minute commute to the ferry terminal, our driver was determined to arrive ahead of schedule. If we did, there would be room for us on an earlier ferry which would extend our stay on Vancouver Island. He mentioned that his buddy was driving another bus, but that we would surely beat him to the terminal since he was not privy to our driver’s shortcuts.

The Early Bird Gets the Early Ferry

As it turned out, we were able to get an earlier departure, but as our bus pulled onto the ferry, our driver noticed his buddy had gotten there just before us. That’s too bad, but traffic in Vancouver is ridiculous and I’m not sure how anyone gets anywhere on time – let alone early!

When we had safely left the shore at Tsawwassen terminal, we were instructed to take note of our location on this huge, seven-level ferry. Once we had yellow (level) and turtle (elevator) engrained in our brains, we could mill around on any deck during the ninety-minute journey and find our way back to our bus. We settled in for the ride across the Salish Sea, and grabbed a snack at the concession stand once the crowds had subsided.

Victoria, BC

We arrived at the terminal in Schwartz Bay and drove off the ferry and into the city of Victoria. There we had to decide between exploring the city or visiting the shops, restaurants, and bars of the vibrant waterfront area of Fisherman’s Wharf Park – walking a path which ambled along the harbor back to our meeting point. Fisherman’s Wharf it was, and we had a lovely visit!

Time for a Break

We grabbed a beer and a bar stool near the water and had a great time watching the brightly-colored water taxis putt-putting to pick up their next customers.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

As we worked our way back along the path, benches offered a place to stop, relax, and enjoy the waterfowl and the floatplanes that took off and landed in the harbor. Along the way, lovely gardens dressed up VERY lovely waterfront condos that I wouldn’t mind living in.

Back to the Hustle and Bustle

Once we arrived back close to our meeting point, we still had plenty of time to take in the sights and get a snack at a nearby ice cream truck. The Fairmont Empress is a gorgeous hotel located right on the Inner Harbour. Although we did get a little closer, unfortunately we didn’t have time to snoop around on the inside.

The Knowledge Totem standing near the British Columbia Parliament Buildings was carved by Cicero August and his sons for the 1994 Commonwealth Games. Click on his link to see lots more of his awesome totem poles. Free tours are available at the government buildings, so you can check that link for more information on when those are happening.

Big Tree and a Bear Pole

Over 100 feet tall, the Sequoia tree below was planted in the late 1800s. Also called a Coastal Redwood, it is the official provincial Christmas tree. Each December the parliament buildings and this fabulous Sequoia tree are decorated with thousands of Christmas lights.

“Kwakiutl Bear Pole in Victoria, Canada. There are several First Nations totem poles around central Victoria. This one facing the harbor is the Kwakiutl Bear Pole. It was carved from a 13 foot piece of red cedar in 1966 by Henry Hunt. He was a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw community. These Indigenous people live primarily on Vancouver Island. A sizable collection of totem poles can be admired at Thunderbird Park adjacent to the Royal British Columbia Museum.” ~ READ MORE

Butchart Gardens

As you probably already know, gardens are a favorite attraction for us – and Butchart Gardens is world-renowned. This place has been on my bucket list ever since I started loving gardens – which was a LONG time ago – and one of the biggest reasons we decided on a longer stay in Vancouver. I’m not going to write much from here on out, so here’s some music so you can just relax and look at the pretty flowers. Click on the first one of a section to scroll through and get a closer look.

“The Butchart Gardens is a 119-year-old internationally-renowned 55-acre display garden located in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia. Created by Jennie Butchart, and still privately owned and operated by the family, The Gardens was designated a National Historic Site of Canada, in 2004 for its one hundredth birthday.” ~ READ MORE

Just a Few More!

A Long, But Wonderful Day

Since we needed a break and we were tired of flowers (ha ha, just kidding), we grabbed a quick dinner at the restaurant onsite. We were almost falling asleep during the 90-minute return on the ferry, and even more so during the 50-minute ride back to our hotel. Needless to say, there were no adult beverages in the bar at our hotel, because we could hardly wait to crawl into bed!

Up Next: Best of Vancouver and Bridge

Happy trails,
Barb