We Swear We Had That Trip Planned BEFORE The Election

Best Friends on an Adventure

My best friend and I planned a trip to Canada for her birthday.  She lives outside of Seattle, and after several visits to see her, we explored Seattle to death.  So, we ventured to Olympic National Park one year.  Last December we visited Vancouver Canada.  This year, the plan was Victoria, the capital of British Columbia.  When we planned it, we did not consciously make the decision to plan around the election, nor did we know how it was going to turn out... so imagine 2 vocal Hillary supporters now headed to Canada the weekend after the election.  It was comical.  It was sad.  And it was a good break for the craziness going on at home.




Honestly, I did not know much about Victoria before this trip.  I did not know it was the capital of British Columbia.  I did not know that it was heavily British influenced.  And I did not know that it was so small.  I was able to guess about its greenery and weather from our trip to Vancouver.  Locals swear it does not rain as much there as it does in Vancouver, but the weather report said it would be dreary.  We were also told to plan for a fancy city, that with its European influence, that we had to dress the part.  So, packing for this trip was a nightmare.  We looked like we were moving in!






My bestie did all of the planning this time around.  I can't tell you how amazing that felt - normally I am the planner. But she looked into everything and made all the arrangements.  I got to relax for the ride and just enjoy.  She is not just a planner but a serious regional blogger.  She runs a successful site - WhatsUpNW.com - that highlights things to do and see in the Pacific Northwest.  And with this, her first trip to Victoria, she reached out her feelers and got us incredible access to some fun things to do.  So, heading in, we had arrangements for museums and food.  Our whole trip will be reviewed on that site, in detail... seriously, check it out! 

Olympic Mountains from the
Straits of Juan de Luca



Harbor and Parliament



So our trip began with a 2 hour road trip to the land of Twilight fame - Port Angeles.  How can anyone plugged into pop culture not think of that series when in that region, yet alone a place that plays a specific part in the lore... so, I warned my friend to watch out for sparkly vampires and giant werewolves as we drove along the edges of Olympic National Park to get to our ferry.  Alas, the sun was never out to test strangers with a sparkle view, but we did pass several locations for the local Native American reservation along the way. [I should make a note that I am not a huge fan of this series but while on a road trip, stuck in bridge traffic, it passes the time.]   The town itself is a gateway area - filled with souvenir shops, restaurants, pubs, motels and other necessities around a ferry line and outside a park.  We didn't have much time to wander, but we found a quaint place for something warm to drink, and to buy another warm hat (it was freezing that day).  Once on the boat, it was smooth sailing on the Straits of Juan de Luca to Victoria.  The light drizzle and low hanging clouds made from some gorgeous scenery as we pulled away from the States. 

Fountain in front of Parliament

Once we docked in Victoria, our AirBNB host picked us up, drove us to her condo while giving us a quick overview of the city streets.  We stayed on the fringe of OldTown/Downtown in an adorable condo, that was perfect for our weekend. It allowed us to dump our bags and hit the streets.  We headed directly to the iconic harbor (yes, where we just came from). 



Veterans' Memorial



The City lights up the waterfront so that it looks like something out of a Disney Park.  It is simply stunning and obviously the heart of downtown.  The main tourist street - Government Street branches off from the harbor; harbor cruises and whale watching tours dock there, the major city sites are within a few blocks.  It is a hub.  And like a moth to a flame, we headed right to it, to stare at the pretty lights all around the area and explore the grounds.  We found Veteran's Memorial surrounded by flowers for Remembrance Day - both of us saps, we teared up at the beautiful words on the plaque  "To Our Glorious Dead - "They died the noblest death a man may die, fighting for god, and right and liberty, and such a death is immortality" listing the World Wars, Korea, and Afghanistan.  We took pictures by the Native Canadian totem pole and worked our way through the crowd staring into the lit fountain.  The whole area was packed with people trying to get that postcard worthy shot of iconic Victoria.