Now I know how Royalty live!! Jacque and I took a four day trip up to Vancouver Island to see a bit of England. We drove onto the ferry boat up in Anacortes, WA and sailed for three hours through the beautiful San Juan Islands (which by the way was voted fourth best in the world by National Geographic) and landed in Sidney. We drove about twenty miles to the famous Butchart Gardens and spent several hours meandering through some of the most beautiful flowers and landscaping I have ever seen. The winters are so mild out here that grow some really gorgeous stuff!!! From there we went to the Butterfly House (similar to the one on Mackinac Island) and saw more beautiful tropical plants and butterflies all over.
We then drove a few more miles to downtown Victoria and checked in our hotel. We were only 10 blocks from the waterfront so we set out to find a fabulous dinner. We weren't disappointed when we found Barb's Fish right down on the wharf. Sat outside in the sunshine and had fish & chips with malt vinegar.
The next day we walked downtown again, this time to the century old Empress Hotel which has had guests like The Queen, Princess Di, Hemingway, Teddy Roosevelt, and on and on. What a grand place it is!!! The most beautiful interior hand carved wood! We had reservations for "High Tea" at noon and pointed our baby fingers when we drank from our English Bone China. Absolutely delightful and absurdly expensive, but now I know what it used to be like, and I think I'm glad I am in the 21st century!!
Spent the rest of that day and the next walking and checking out shop and after shop, many with English, Irish and Scottish goods. Like Vancouver, it is a very vibrant city alive with people and dogs walking or riding on every imaginable mode of transportation. Could live there in a minute but boy is it expensive....17% sales tax!
Very relaxing ride back home on the ferry.....I am so thankful I am getting to see so much while I am out here. The Pacific Northwest is definitely one of my favorite adventures. And then...................today I had the opportunity to take a tour to downtown Seattle to see the underground city. Now that was fascinating. Hard to explain but I'll try: Just before the gold rush, Seattle was in a lumber boom but had so many problems because the city was built right at sea level so there was always problems with the tide coming in. At that time, the hills were at a 47% incline and so traversing was difficult. They used water sloths to push all the dirt off the hill (after the timber was cleared) down to the waterfront where they built high walls of rock to hold the water out. All the buildings were built of wood and they had a fire as bad as the San Francisco one and the entire city burned to the ground. They put in pilings and huge support poles and built the city 30 feet off the ground. It was now law that buildings had to be of stone or brick, no more wood structures. A block at a time was built (up high don't forget) and the only way to get from one block to the next was to climb down a ladder to that original level, cross the street, then up a ladder to the next block of businesses. The next step was to build abutments across that ground level and put in streets and sidewalks! Today, eleven miles of underground city still remain with partial remnants of the old buildings. It was so cool!! Man I am getting so smart. Just wish I could remember all the history I have been learned since I came here!
Well, next step is 30 days in Michigan in July, then back here and off to Alaska. Will try and keep everyone posted! Love and miss you all..................GJ
Pictures: gardens, Empress Hotel, High Tea, Wind surfer down on the beach, House boats along the waterfront.
