British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada.
Thought I'd share some cool information I've learned to start this post off. Just skip it if you know all this to get straight to the pictures about our latest activities!
I knew there was a city called Vancouver and that it was above Washington state along the coast. What I didn't previously understand was there is also a place called Vancouver Island and this is a completely separate unrelated place (I know it's a little confusing since they both share part of the same name). Vancouver Island is just that....an island about 60 miles west (across the water) from Vancouver City. The only way to get here is by air or on a boat (most commonly the ferry) since there are no bridges to the mainland. It's the largest island on the Pacific Coast of North America (averaging 50 miles wide and extending 285 miles). The island is the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Coast Salish peoples (often referred to here as the First people of Canada). It's heavily forested, has mountains in the interior, miles of gorgeous accessible coastline, known for it's wildlife and is basically an outdoor adventurist's dream!
Victoria, where we have based ourselves for the month, is the capital of B.C. It has the mildest winter climate of any Canadian city and is the largest urban area on Vancouver Island. Our rental is near Beacon Hill Park so when we look south out our front windows the mountains with the snow on them are in Olympic National Park.
Here's some fun things, in the city, we've been doing lately:
Fisherman's Warf - Definitely touristy and packed but still cool to see. It's right on the water and includes various places to eat, a kayak tour company, the most adorable water taxis, views of the downtown and 33 berths designated for private residences! It's fun to walk past the rows of them and see how people have turned these floating tiny houses into their homes. Then there are rows of commercial fishing boats. We had fun wandering, eating some yummy fish and enjoying the colors.
Parks & viewpoints - One day we decided to drive along the coast near our place and stop in various spots. There were all sorts of views (including gorgeous Mt Baker in the distance and a very old Chinese cemetery) and people walking, kayaking, running, cycling and just hanging out. It was great to spend a few hours just exploring hidden places.
Dinner & wildlife - We enjoyed a really yummy outside dinner at Boom & Batten which is located across from the inner harbor and where there are enormous expensive yachts.
It was interesting to see those and watch the seaplanes going off and then these guys decided to make a quick appearance as they helped their little one up on the dock!
Across the street from us there is always steady activity with lots of people enjoying the walkway and bike path that runs by. Another neat thing we've seen regularly are these guys. It's pretty amazing to watch them take off and land right in the grass across the street and always swoop around while up in the air.
One day Jordan mentioned he had seen something really amazing, out the front window, and I was bummed I had missed it. I had a hard time believing what he described - a guy on a motorcycle with a side car which had a dog wearing goggles in it riding happily along together! Then we were coming home one evening and realized they were ahead of us so we followed them down the street, where they parked, and we were able to meet Flying Joe and his fun owner. They even demonstrated his singing to the harmonica! I guess they try to get out once a day like this to make people smile. It worked for us.
Of course there's always flowers & food...
August 2022
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