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.

San Juan Islands

Anacortes nested into the harbour on Fidalgo Island

Sept 4 - 11 Weather has warmed up again 75`s and sunny every day, cool at night 50`s.  No rain in the forecast for the next week.  We are so lucky!

Ferries running across the straits - highways in the water

The San Juan Islands  are scattered in the Straits of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound in Washington, it is about as far West as you can go in the USA mainland.   There are hundreds of islands, over 300 and only about 170 are inhabited. They have a laid back atmosphere, not too much hustle and bustle and lovely old buildings and quaint little harbour towns.

Period style old wooden church

To get onto Fidalgo Island you can take Hwy 20 over the bridge, after that you have to take ferries everywhere to explore.  The Washington Ferry system which we ride with the motorcycle is a great transportation system; they can handle most any type of vehicle including large motorhomes.  Our camp site is in a gorgeous setting at  Pioneer Trails RV Resort in Anacortes; amongst some of the super tall cedars.  From here you could ride somewhere everyday, it is a great base camp for a week.

road into our campground is a forest of super tall cedar trees

Motorcycles boarding

The ferries are quite reasonable in fares, timing is very frequent for the short passages, they are so smooth you don`t even tie your motorcycle down and these ferries are much bigger than you would think;  most of them are 2 levels of cars.     We were sitting in line with the cars when a Harley guy waved at us to follow him to the bike lane!!!  So glad he showed us that motorcycles don`t wait.  In the week we took 3 different ferries that were about 30 minutes for each passage (bike + 2 adults only $9.15).   What a bargain and you get wonderful views along the way.

View from the ferry