Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Victoria – Getting there is Half the Fun
We love Victoria, our Canadian neighbor to the north, and getting there is half the fun! We set sail from Port Angeles on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula
and headed across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
We’d waited until we were promised sunshine after several stormy days earlier in the week, and it paid off.
After a pleasant 90-minute cruise we arrived in another world: Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, and were greeted by the Empress Hotel, and Parliament Building, both grand.
We went to the Royal BC Museum, for a look at the permanent exhibits on the Ice Age, and Old Town, and a special visiting exhibit from Ancient Egypt.
After lunch and a walk on the waterfront we were ready to return on the early sailing.
And lucky for us, we were accompanied by whales! We saw many puffs of steam and air through the blowholes of whales near the surface, Gray whales or Humpbacks, I don’t know for sure.
We pointed and oohed and aahed and I managed to capture this one briefly as he dove back down into the sea.
It made my day!
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
I to have sailed to Victoria from Port Angeles twice and from Seattle once
Isn’t it a fun trip? When I was a kid, we took the Princess Marguerite from Seattle to Victoria a few times, and more recently the shorter trip from Port Angeles.
I was last time I was in Washington was at the International Washington State Kite Festival in 1989
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I have been there twice from Port Angles and once from Seattle on Ferry❗in the 60’s& 70’s… I luved Bush gardens and Nanemo where I caught mt first Salmon 🐟
Great pics on a beautiful day. Happy travels!
Thank you! It was a perfect day!
What a lovely way to spend a day xx
It was perfect! Thanks, Jo. ☺️
I love Victoria!! What a great day you had. Now I’m a little homesick. Thanks for the lovely pictures. xo
I love it too! So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Darlene 😊
What a beautiful day you had and the whale sighting certainly was icing on the cake!
Thanks so much! It was a perfect day and it was thrilling seeing the whales!
Love that ferry crossing. I used to go over to Victoria to play music quite often. It’s a lovely crossing and you had an excellent day for it. Victoria is a cool place too. Lots of interest in the city and around it. Fun seeing the whales too.
It is such a fun crossing, and two different worlds on either side! And it was special seeing the whales. I wished we’d had more time, but we’ve been many times before, so kept this visit short. Were you a street musician, Or did you have gigs? Sounds fun! 🙂
Used to play marimba and mbira and some people on Vancouver Island used to teach and play with us. They put on a couple of festivals there too.
How fun! Sounds great! 🙂
Seeing the whales would make my day too 😀 But it looks a lovely day out overall – how nice to be able to visit so easily!
It really was a fun day! And the whales were the icing on the cake! Thanks, Sarah. 🙂
What a fabulous outing! And the whale sighting was a bonus. Lovely photos of Victoria. 💖 Thanks for the tour!
It was great! So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks! 🙂
Have a fantastic time. Victoria is a Canadian gem 🍃💚🤗
Yes, it is a gem! We had a great time, just a day trip. ☺️
It looks like a lovely place to visit, and you were right to wait for better weather. The whale sighting was the icing on the cake. (Do you have to go through Canadian customs when you disembark?)
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks, Pete. It makes a perfect day trip, and seeing the whales was thrilling. Customs was quick and easy, ‘where you going, how long will you be here?, have a nice day!’ 😊
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