Wednesday, May 4, 2011 – Woke up early (6:00am). Another beautiful morning, sun is out, but a little chilly, just gorgeous. We had to get up early to catch the 8:20 ferry to Victoria, BC on Vancouver Island. While we were waiting to board, two geese flew over the ferry and landed in the water. It was fun watching them. Once on the ferry, we had to leave the car and go to the upper deck, that’s where the dogs had to stay. But, while we were up there, we met a really nice couple who also have a Sharpei. However, they didn’t bring her with them. They just loved Kula. After our 90 min. ferry ride, we arrived in Victoria and went over to the visitor center and got a map. It had been at least 15 years since I had been here and it all looked so different…a lot of high rise hotels, condos and businesses. We got a recommendation for breakfast at a Dutch Bakery, so we had breakfast there and picked up a few goodies. After breakfast we drove out to Butchart Gardens. It’s about a 45 min. drive from Victoria. The cost to get in is $27/pp, but Kula was free! Kenny thought that was a little steep just to look at flowers, but after he was in, I think he thought it was worth it. They are very dog friendly and everyone wanted to give Kula treats. They have water bowls out for the dogs at several locations.
If you’ve never been to Butchart Gardens, it is definitely a “must see.” As you walk through the gardens, especially the sunken gardens, you can smell the hyacinths in full bloom…so fresh smelling. There were thousands and thousands of tulips and other types of bulbs that were in full bloom. They had it all decorated and laid out so beautifully. The roses weren’t in bloom yet, that would still be a few more months away in the summer. The last time I was here, the roses were in bloom and it was amazing to see, as well.
It was a short day over there as we had to be in line to catch the ferry coming back to Port Angeles 90 min. before it departed at 4:00 to go through customs. You really need to spend at least two days here as there is a lot to see and do. But, even though it was a short day over there, we had a great time. We got off the ferry around 5:30, went to the market, had dinner and I worked on the blog for about three hours.
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| In line waiting to get on the ferry |
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| In the ferry parking lot |
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| Up on the upper deck of the ferry |
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| Leaving Port Angeles |
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| Butchart Gardens Sunken Garden |
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| Kenny and Kula walking through all of the gardens |
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| The story of how the gardens bagan |
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| Hyacinths |
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| Water Garden |
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| Kula getting treats from the nice ladies |
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| Empress Hotel, Victoria, BC |
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| Our campsite at Elwha Campground, Port Angeles, WA |
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