Day Five – Flower Power – Monkeybutt Chronicles

We took our second ferry ride to Vancouver Island today. We arrived at the terminal too early so we went for a ride on a new road that did not dead end. It was lined with beautiful, high-end homes that hugged the shore.

The ferry system stages all the motorcycles in the front of the line – first on, first off. While Tom was purchasing our tickets, another FJR pulled up next to us. Operating it was a great couple who were long distance tourers too. When Tom arrived, the two men talked motorcycles until it was time to board and then another twenty minutes after we parked on the ferry. They were a wealth of information, having been to Vancouver multiple times. They gave us some advice on where to ride on the island and corrected us on what we previously identified as Mt. Rainier, was actually Mt. Baker. They also got us thinking of a new FJR! Here’s Tom with his new BFF…

The ferry ride was beautiful.

We arrived in Sidney, went through Customs and the headed south to Victoria.

We checked into our inn (thank you Nick and Lin) and then headed to the wharf for lunch. We found a spot that allowed us to watch sea planes take off and land.

Then we headed back up to Butchart Gardens – one of the places on Cathy’s bucket list. We were not disappointed. We walked the entire grounds and Cathy was in search of the spot where her grandmother had been photographed over fifty years ago. Tom took her photo in the possible spot and although grandma was in a beautiful dress and Cathy was in her riding suit, it was not exactly a replication but Cathy felt a connection to her grandparents.

This place is simply stunning so the pictures will do the talking.

We braved the heavy traffic back into Victoria and settled into our room. After a rest, we walked up Government Street to seek out dinner and to take in the sights of Victoria. The town has a carnival-type atmosphere with street performers and tourists from all over the world. We had the best meal so far at Earl’s Kitchen and Bar: great wine, poke, swordfish tacos, and toffee chocolate pudding cake.