Journey to Victoria

What a day! I took the early ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.


It took about 90 minutes and the weather was perfect! As I was standing on the top deck, I admit I got a bit emotional as I was looking out over the hazy water. I am so fortunate to be able to do something like this. I've been on the road for a little over 5 weeks and have driver over 8,000 miles. I have seen so much beauty and have met so many friendly and interesting people. It all hit me while I was standing there. I have worked hard to get here but, wow, I am not only crossing many things off of my bucket list, I'm living a dream.















 I stood out on the deck the entire ride taking in the air and horizon. No killer whales sighted but it didn't matter. I enjoyed every moment.

 Once we landed in Nanaimo, I decided to take a drive up the coast to up to Qualicum Beach and the area around there.

 The beach and water were in front of me and the snow covered mountain was behind me. Crazy!!!


 Yup, I'm in Canada!



Once I walked the beach and soaked in the salt air, I turned around and drove about 2 hours south to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. I love that the capital sits on the southern end of an island. I'm staying in the lovely airbnb (look at this charming room) in a neighborhood just outside of downtown. I dropped off my bag, changed and began a 45 minute walk along the water to see the sights.


I walked through this lovely neighborhood until I got to The Gorge. I basically walked the entire length until I got to the draw bridge and the inner harbor.







 I walked around the downtown area and took a few photos of the historic buildings.











 I kept walking down Government Street until I got to British Columbia Parliament Building (green dome) that sits beside the harbor.



 Every green space is lush and filled with color!


 This is the Fairmont Empress Hotel.









After strolling around and checking out the area, I headed back to the Empress hotel because I had a reservation for the British Afternoon Tea. Although way more money than it deserves to be, it's one of those things I've wanted to do for a long time. I've had afternoon tea in England but I've read about this one several times so I went for it. The funny thing is, I was considering canceling my reservation yesterday because I was not thrilled about paying around $100 Canadian (with taxes and tip) for something so frivolous. As I was hiking around the Capilano Suspension Bridge area, I saw a piece of paper on the ground. I went over to pick it up to bring to a trash can and it was actually a $100 Canadian bill. I looked around but didn't see anyone and I knew I was the first person in the park that day so I took it as a sign to go for it. So I did.





 It still isn't worth the money but I enjoyed every sip and morsel.









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