
One could literally spend a month or more in Victoria alone! The city, sights and history draw you in, imploring you to explore. Of course, a huge draw itself is the Inner Harbour, lorded over by the historic architecture of the Fairmont Empress Luxury Hotel and the British Columbia Parliament Buildings.


Happily the timeframe for our visit to Victoria coincided with our 220th** wedding anniversary, as well as that of Laura’s cousin, Trude and her husband Derrick, (separated only by a mere three weeks). Il Covo Trattoria’s setting and authentic Italian cuisine was perfect for our celebration. The phenomenal four course meal (…not ashamed to say we licked every plate clean…), the service, and great camaraderie was so joyously distracting that we forgot to ask the waiter to take our picture!! A redux is surely in the future!

**YES!! I did say 220 years! If the weather can have a barometer, so should marriage, and to us, adding a zero (or more??) to the number of years we’ve been married (…or together, as it may) describes it perfectly. Besides, it took you aback didn’t it?! You smirked and chuckled, which also plays into what it’s like in our partnership. Holding hands, smiling, laughing and joking together; tackling and accomplishing goals together, yet mostly, enjoying our passageway through life! So here’s to 220 more!
“Paradise is Just a Paddle Away”
-Author Unknown

The morning started out a little cloudy, yet it couldn’t keep us from setting out to the Oak Bay Marina for some ocean kayaking. Ocean River Sports’ Oak Bay Paddle Shack set us up with two tandem kayak rigs, gave us some quick instructions at the dock, and sent us on our buoyant way. The good news?! We remained buoyant the entire time and no one fell in the drink! Whew!!! Instead, we enjoyed three hours of a relaxing paddle, hugging the coastline up into Cadboro Bay. We glided past seabirds floating on kelp mats, ogled the expansive estates that lined the shore, and navigated around Mary Tod Island, trying to get as close as possible to the basking Harbor Seals without alarming them into retreat. Fortunately the sunshine and calm waters were enough to keep them moored on the beach.




Victoria is Known as Canada’s Garden City
Beacon Hill Park
While the city of Victoria seemingly had everything within walking distance, which of course meant access to beautiful ocean views, it also is home to 200 acres of the garden sanctuary of Beacon Hill Park, providing quick access to solitude in the city.

Walking paths wind their way around Goodacre Lake draped by enormous Weeping Willows, and we found that we could loose time watching the sun-basking turtles attempt to maintain their footholds on the floating logs; from all appearances, they seemed to have adopted this as one of their territorial challenges. Logrolling or birling anyone?



Along the path, yet somewhat hidden, we came across The Moss Lady. A truly impressive living sculpture no matter the season. The nearby babbling brooke lends itself to the scene and to the notion that the lady simply succumbed to the surrounding peace and beauty, sinking into a restful slumber. We, however, had to continue on our stroll. A nap later, maybe?
You would think that a nearly 128-foot pole would be easy to find, yet the infamous Beacon Hill Park Story Pole was like a needle-in-a-haystack as we wend our way through the park. Both the density of flora and the need to keep your head on a swivel, taking in the sights, can be a distraction. Luckily, we stumbled upon it in an open field overlooking the Juan de Fuca Straight (I think we owe it all to Sadie!…the dog).


At this juncture, the ocean view was calling, so our walk continued along Dallas Road, looking out over Spiral Beach and eventually leading us to the peninsula of Clover Point Park.
“Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter”
-Izaak Walton
Taking a break from the city, it was time for a drive around Shawnigan Lake to stop for a hike to the Kinsol Trestle (or Koksilah River Trestle). Now I say “hike”, but the large groomed path is actually where the previous railroad tracks were laid, meant to connect Victoria to Nootka Sound, so it’s more akin to taking an enjoyable walk. Yet once you arrive and walk across the trestle, you can amp it up, like we did, and take a fairly easy, yet steep, trail down to the river (just remember you have to come back up). And while the wooden framework is truly impressive viewed from the top, gazing upwards from the path below is humbling as you contemplate the manpower and effort it took to build what is considered to be the largest and most impressive trestles in the Commonwealth, and one of the tallest in the world.
Following the effort of the hike, it was time to jump back in the car and continue our journey into Cowichan Bay, a quaint community perched within the cove. While I only learned that the locality is North America’s first Cittaslow community after we’d visited, the slow pace vibe was definitely discernible! And this was exactly what we needed as we sat on the outside deck of the Cowichan Bay Pub, enjoying our appetizers, drinks, and the enthralling view.



“The reason it hurts so much to separate is because our souls are connected.”
-Nicholas Sparks
As with everything, we had to depart. Honestly we would’ve loved to have stayed longer. Yet, for now, we are on to our next expedition. Follow us as we continue our escapades…
Laura you have a way with words and should have been a writer. I enjoyed reading (and I am not a reader) all your descriptions of each place you went to. It’s to bad you didn’t get a chance to see Butchart Gardens, your mother really enjoyed it when we went there. Looking forward to keeping up and reading about your further adventures.
Thanks John! Writing has blossomed from my love of books, a pastime which both mom and dad nurtured. I’m forever grateful for this. We can only imagine how beautiful Butchart Gardens is after sampling the beauty and serenity of Beacon Hill Park. We have visions of future visits and will make it a priority.