Vancouver Island

Sept 8 and 9, 2014  Weather started out almost foggy and cloudy when we were catching the 8:25 am Washington ferry from Anacortes to Sidney on Vancouver Island, BC... but it cleared when we landed at 11:00 and we had 2 more days of  sun and 75`s.

Got our clean tshirt and toothbrush for overnight

Another ferry you say..... this time it is a 2 to 3 hour trip.   We thought we would just take the motorcycle and see Victoria and part of Vancouver Island for a couple of days.    For the bike and us it was $50 usf each way not bad considering you get a really scenic boat ride too.  After landing in Sidney we took the coast highway south to Victoria and roamed around the waterfront for a bit.  Billy had been here 30 years ago and actually stayed at the famous waterfront hotel (the Empress) so we had to see if it looked the same to him! 

Downtown Victoria

Empress Hotel in Victoria

Riding north we took the coastal highway which really isn`t that great since it is more of a 4 lane interstate road and moving along fairly quickly.  In Canada we just don`t seem to be able to make Scenic Byways.   Up the coast we stopped in Duncan a First Nations area to see the Totem Poles.   There are 80 of them scattered all over town.  And these are the real deal.  Each one has the carver and the story attached. 

Look way up Billy

 Moving on we ventured just a bit farther to Nanaimo for the night and stopped at a B&B Long Lake that sounded nice......   Well oh yes it was lovely on a little inland lake.  When I rang the doorbell and asked if they had a room I think he was wondering if he wanted Bikers....  But then they both agreed sure we have a Suite if you want to see it. 

Our B & B room - with a View :)

Well it was the kind of place you would never want to leave unless you were going to Butchart Gardens next .....

The Sunken Gardens in the  Butchart Gardens

We decided to catch another ferry across the inlet cutting out the need to go back down and around Victoria as our desire was to get to Butchart Gardens then catch the last ferry back to Anacortes at night.  We got this Ferry thing down pat,,,, ha ha.    If you don`t see anything else on Vancouver Island make sure you see the Gardens, they are magnificent.

The ferry ride was actually nicer on the way back, the sun was setting and the Harvest Moon came out before we landed. 

Cruising through the San Juan Islands

Harvest Moon

Tip :  Oh and there was no problem going back and forth with customs clearance - Must have your Passports -  even though we were Canadian coming from US then going back.  We just explained our Motorhome was sitting in Anacortes and that was ok.