Victoria, part of Bear's B. C. Page.

Author's note:
All material on this website is covered by copyrite. `8/7

(Victoria, B. C. - Fish eye of the Crystal Gardens.)
CRYSTAL GARDENS

VICTORIA, B. C. CANADA

Story and Photos by

LEE A. WOOD

For years I have been wanting to show my wife Vancouver Island. She always says, “Waste of Money”.

So this year, I told her I wanted her to take me to Victoria for my birthday.

Saturday morning we left home, behind schedule. We got to the Park `N' Ride just as the last bus for the 9 AM sailing was going out the gate.

While deriding her for not hurrying when I told her to, we drove around Tsawwassen and put in a quarter of a tank of fuel, which cost me $50.

Why the government thinks that people are going to give up their big spacious vehicles and spend $20 G on some stupid little piss pot that won't hold two people and groceries is beyond me.

However, to force us into doing so they have added a Carbon Tax to the price of our already overpriced fuel.

Ok, So we do have a choice, we don't have to ride in a car, we could take a bus. But what about big trucks? Their carbon tax is three times what it is for a car, and they don't have a choice. Can you put a new refrigerator into the back of a Smart Car. Without trucks nothing in this country, or any other, moves anywhere. There are no `more fuel efficient' options. A truck is a truck.

Yet our brain dead government expects us to believe that the Carbon Tax is a good thing.

Yeah, just like there is a shortage of oil!

Politicians may be dumb enough to believe that rhetoric but any person born and raised in Northern Canada knows there is enough oil in Northern B.C. to supply all of North America for the next hundred years. And that is a small field compared to Alberta and / or Saskatchewan.

Any way, enough of my griping.

(Victoria, B. C. - Large brick building.)
DALTON HOTEL AND SUITES
759 Yates St. Ph.(250) 384-4136

By the time I had the wife convinced that I was thoroughly p..d at her for missing the ferry and we were heading home, I pulled into the parking lot in time to catch the shuttle bus for the 10:00 ferry.

See I am conserving, I didn't plug the ferry or the streets in Victoria. I used the Park `N' Ride and took the city bus from Schwartz Bay to Victoria.

(Only $8 for 24 hours at the Park `N' Ride, and only $2.25 for the bus from the ferry to downtown.)

Getting off in down town we walked around until we found a cheap hotel. Actually I recognized the building from the last time I had stayed in Vic.

The name had been changed, from, `The Dominion', to, `The Dalton', and it had a new coat of paint but it still had the same shape and style.

Not the same prices though. A small corner room, without A/C cost us $120 for one night.

After a short siesta we wandered down the streets, through the down town to the Seawall.

(Victoria, B. C. - Entrance to Miniature World door in brick wall with marquee.)
649 HUMBOLDT St.

About then it started to rain so we went into the `Miniature World'. (No, that's not us.)

Most displays have buttons on the wall beneath the display., If you push the button something will happen.

Sometimes you really have to look close to see what is happening.

(Victoria, B. C. - Lawn, planes, house.)
A WORLD WAR I AIRDROME
If you push the button, propellers will turn
(Victoria, B. C. - Many planes of war with blue sky.)
ONE OF THE FIRST DISPLAYS IS A LARGE GLOBE IN A DARKENED HALLWAY
Button 1 will cause propellers to turn.
Button 2 will let you see the guns in the wings, firing.

One of my favourite displays, I've been here many times, is the CPR.

The Canadian Pacific Railway, one of the two longest railways in the world, begins/or ends in Coal Harbour, British Columbia and runs for many feet through all the provinces to start/or end in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In real life a distance of, nearly, 9,000 Kilometers.

The display varies in illumination from dark to light to represent day and night as the train takes several days, (just a few minutes in Miniature World) to complete its journey.

(Victoria, B. C. - Houses, train, wharf, ships, water.)
COAL HARBOUR, THE ORIGINAL VANCOUVER
The button makes the train go.
(Victoria, B. C. - Tracks, gandy dancers, rock cliffs.)
CRAIGELLACHIE JUST EAST OF SICAMOUS
(Victoria, B. C. - Train, Grain elevators, field of wheat.)
IN THE PRAIRIES, ELEVATORS SUPPLY THE MAIN FREIGHT FOR THE TRAINS
(Victoria, B. C. - River, sailing ships, bridge, houses, cliffs.)
IN QUEBEC THE TRAINS CONNECT WITH SHIPS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER
(Victoria, B. C. - Train, houses on rocky hill, trees.)
(Victoria, B. C. - sign, house, stores, cattle, church.)
IF YOU CAN'T READ THE SIGN YOU WILL PROBABLY RECOGNIZE BARKERVILLE BY THE CHURCH
(Victoria, B. C. - Gate, trees, lawn, cars, mansion.)
SHOW `N' SHINE
One button will open the gate
Another will move a car, another will open the hood of a car
There are more buttons, look under the trees to see what they do.
(Victoria, B. C. - Water, wharf, mill, church.)
(Victoria, B. C. - People, cars, busses, large tent with hole in roof, inside tent 3 circus rings with performers.)
PART OF THE LAST DISPLAY, A LARGE ONE, IS THE` BIG TOP'
(Victoria, B. C. - People and carnival rides, tilt-a-whirl, Gravitron, etc..)
I ENJOY THIS ONE AS I WORKED ON MOST OF THESE RIDES WHEN I WAS A CARNEY

When we came out of the Miniature World the rain had quit and the sky was clear so we walked down to the Legislature buildings, which our infallible Premier insists on calling , the Parliament Buildings, I guess he has dreams of being the Prime Minster some day. (A nightmare for the rest of us.)

On the way, we stopped in the royal museum but the price of the entrance fee, $15. @, turned her off. She saw the picture of the `Woolly Mammoth' and she said she didn't want to pay to see an elephant.

I couldn't convince her, over 2 days, that there was a lot more to see than a hairy elephant.

In the lobby, Serena took pictures of two bird displays.

(Victoria, B. C. - Stairs, large building)
MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE ROYAL B. C. MUSEUM
(Victoria, B. C. - Glass case with stuffed bird.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Glass case with stuffed birds.)

While Serena wandered along the water front I waited, and waited, and waited, for the sun to sink low enough in the North so it would light up the front face of the building, but I finally gave up.

(Victoria, B. C. - Building looks like a castle.)
EMPRESS HOTEL
(Victoria, B. C. - Two white horses pulling a large wagon full of people, down the street.)
Tally Ho Horse Drawn Tours
(Victoria, B. C. - Dark brown horse pulling an empty carriage, with a fringe on top, down the street.)
BLACK BEAUTY LINE VICTORIAN CARRIAGE TOURS LTD.
(Victoria, B. C. - Light brown horse pulling an open carriage with people, Legislative Bldgs. in the background.)
VICTORIA CARRIAGE TOURS

(Victoria, B. C. - Huge castle like bldg. with a man made of gold on the top of the steeple.)
B. C. PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE BUILDINGS

(Victoria, B. C. - Concrete platform, fountain coats of arms on back wall.)
CENTENNIAL PARK
(Owned by the Province of B. C.)
A COMMEMORATIVE OF THE PROVINCE'S CENTENNIAL

(Victoria, B. C. - Water fountain, with Serena standing in front.)

Then we wandered along the seawall past all the vendors to the lift bridge and up into Chinatown where we had supper.

(Victoria, B. C. - Water, boats, Empress hotel.)
VICTORIA'S INNER HARBOUR
(Victoria, B. C. - Water, seawall people.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Large tilt bridge with large counter weight hanging in the air.)
JOHNSON STREET BRIDGE

Chinatown in Victoria, 1 block long, is pretty small compared to Vancouver, several blocks in each direction.

Yet it is pretty big compared to Chinatown in Cozumel, only 2 buildings.

After supper, coming out of the restaurant and crossing the street, we saw an attempted mugging.

I was watching a middle aged couple, standing on the street corner, when a black blur cut across my vision and bumped into the lady, mumbled some apologies, and then took off down the street.

The lady then complained about a sore neck.

Slowly the visions reenacted in my mind.

(Victoria, B. C. - Street up the middle, cars and buildings on both sides.)
CHINATOWN

A tall male, dressed in black, careened into the back of the lady. His left hand on her shoulder his right hand was wrapped around the shoulder strap of her bag.

The bag, however, was tucked under her right arm and the strap over her left shoulder. When the thief finally realized the strap wouldn't break and the bag couldn't come over the lady's arm, he let go and took off, saying, “Oh, Sorry. Sorry!” as if it were an accident.

It all happened so fast that, even had I been much younger, I didn't have time to react.

(Victoria, B. C. - Chinese archway over street.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Trimmed trees line the street.)
FISGARD AND DOUGLAS STREET INTERSECTION

After wandering down the street and through some late night stores, we finally returned to our room. In all that time I never saw a police car, or a phone booth, so that I could report the incident.

On Saturday we slept in, had the continental breakfast which included waffles, and checked out.

Unable to convince the wife to spend the money to tour the Royal Museum, I really wanted to get some nice pictures for my website, we used their coat check facilities to park our bags and then went for a walk about in Beacon Hill Park.

Serena, a tiger by Chinese belief, and I, a dog, under the Chinese horoscope, are totally opposites yet very compatible.

I enjoy life by spending money. She isn't happy unless I am making money.

She gets quite upset if I have unexplainable days off from work, which happens quite often.

So, Beacon Hill Park was just her thing, free.

BEACON HILL PARK

(Victoria, B. C. - Carved log entrance sign.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Lawn, pond, trees.)
(Victoria, B. C. - large brass pig.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Ducks, pond, fountain, trees, apartment building.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Close up of flower blossoms.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Close up of flower blossoms.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Rock bordered floral arrangement, paved path, trees.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Rock bordered floral arrangement, paved path, trees.)

(Victoria, B. C. - Tall, twin trunk tree, bar trunk with leaves at the ends of the branches.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Tall, big, cedar tree.)

(Victoria, B. C. - Concrete platform, Panorama of hillside and ocean.)
VIEW FROM BEACON HILL
Looking across the waters of the `Juan De Fuca Straight', we see the snow capped mountains of the US state of Washington.

(Victoria, B. C. - Rock block path through floral arrangements and trees.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Pond, fountain, trees, apartment building.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Pond, fountain, trees.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Pond, ducks, stone bridge, trees.)

After picking up our bags from the museum we walked across the street to the bus depot, and across Douglas street from the bus depot and were about 3 minutes early for a bus to the ferry, in front of the Crystal Gardens. We managed to get a front seat in the upper level and I got quite a few good pictures.

(Victoria, B. C. - Street, buildings.)
DOUGLAS ST.
(Victoria, B. C. - Street, buildings, bus turning corner.)
SIMILAR TO THE ONE I AM ON
(Victoria, B. C. - Street, buildings.)
DOUGLAS ST.
(Victoria, B. C. - Street, trees on both sides and in middle.)
BLANCHARD ST.

Leaving the city of Victoria we go North on the Saanich Peninsula, through Central Saanich, Sidney, and North Saanich to the Schwartz Bay ferry terminal.

When we came in we caught an express bus but being as we are leaving on a Sunday there is no express bus so we get a tour of the lovely side streets, villages, and farms.

(Victoria, B. C. - Water, trees.)
ELK LAKE
(Victoria, B. C. - Tall grass, roof top, green fields.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Green fields, farms.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Narrow road, lots of trees.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Lawn, trees, park bench, arbor.)
SAANICHTON GREEN
(Victoria, B. C. - Trees, road, curving, purple tree leans over road.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Pasture, horses, barn.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Trees, road, curving, golden tree leans over road.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Sign says Sidney by the sea, old fishing boat, trees.)
ENTERING SIDNEY
(Victoria, B. C. - Log sign says Sidney by the sea, old fishing boat, stores.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Main street, leading to water.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Street lined with trees and houses.)

At the Ferry we had three quarters of an hour to wait so I was able to visit the market and found the leather shop where I had bought a really nice belt, several years ago.

(Victoria, B. C. - Man under tent working on leather.)
DAVID LINDQUIST LEATHER
(Victoria, B. C. - Large ferry.)
SPIRIT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
The ferry we will ride on arrives art Schwartz Bay
(Victoria, B. C. - Small ferry between islands.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Large ferry between islands.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Small sailboat on open water.)
(Victoria, B. C. -Small yacht on open water)
(Victoria, B. C. - Large, long, curving wake left by our ferry.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Water, pleasant little cove on an island.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Fore deck, water, land on both sides big ferry approaching.)
ENTERING ACTIVE PASS
(Victoria, B. C. - Fore deck, water, land on both sides big ferry closer.)
two large ferries always meet in active pass
(Victoria, B. C. - Large ferry, land.)
SPIRIT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND
(Victoria, B. C. - Narrow water, land on both sides, open water beyond.)
LEAVING ACTIVE PASS
(Victoria, B. C. - Water, small, older, yacht passing little cove, houses.)
(Victoria, B. C. - Water, closer to, small, older, yacht passing little cove, houses.)

END

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