Victoria, British Columbia - 2 June 2016

We crossed into Canada by taking a car ferry from Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, British Columbia.  Security certainly wasn't what it is going through an airport. We had to show our passport to a ship staff member while we sat in our truck. We were given a small card where we wrote our names and when we went ashore in Victoria, we passed through U.S. Customs.  That was it. Not sure how I feel about that.

Finding our way to our hotel was not complicated; it was across the street from the terminal. The location is ideal for exploring the city on foot. We got into the hotel by middle afternoon, so we went out to explore the city. Victoria is the capital for British Columbia, so it has the legislative buildings (built in 1897.) There are a number of Edwardian business buildings and homes. The city is actually much older; it started as a Hudson Bay Trading Company fort in the early 1800s. But there are no buildings from that era, they had all disappeared by the 1860s.Their Chinatown is the second largest in Northern America, next to San Francisco.

The city is very walkable. There is an attractive path along the harbor where lots of pubs provide watering holes for the tourists and locals. Turns out the path goes quite a way in both directions from the city center with several parks, beaches and attractions to enjoy. Exploring the city during the next few days will be fun.  We have been told that the weather will be improving with warm, clear days. Perfect walking weather.

Russ is excited to be driving our truck onto the car ferry, M.V. Coho

The pilot had very obviously done this before.  He approached the side of the pier pretty quickly, yet never bumped into it.



Get out of the way - here they come!



Russ is ready to drive aboard.

Here he comes! He is the one with the orange cone.

I was able to board as a foot passenger and watched Russ drive the truck on.

Like Portland and Seattle, Victoria has boat houses.



These little water taxis are adorable.  On summer weekends, they put on water ballet performances in the harbor.



Some pretty large vehicles were on the ferry, including this truck.

Many of the Edwardian buildings have been beautifully restored.  They now hold restaurants, shops and professional offices.

Victoria's people are proud of their gardens. This is an amazing topiary on the street corner.

Several sculptures were on display on the main streets.  This one is of Emily Carr, a much loved author and artist.

I suspect that we will see a lot of these during the next several days.

The parliament buildings.



Another totem pole on the grounds of the legislative buildings.




Our hotel. It is fairly modern but its architecture is well integrated with the older buildings.



The lobby of our hotel.