Beautiful BC: Vancouver

Even on a somewhat cloudy day, we enjoyed our day trip to Vancouver.

It was a short drive from our campground in Ferndale.  The border crossing to Canada was only 12 miles away.

We stopped in at the Visitor's Center, then drove through downtown Vancouver.

Vancouver is a nice city, with plenty of beautiful sky scrapers and a bustling downtown area.

We drove around for a while and then went over to Stanley Park.  It was the highlight of the city for us.
First we parked and went over to the Totem Poles.

They were on display at Brockton Point near one of the first stops on the tour around the park.  The ones on display are replicas of the original First Nations work that is being preserved.  This work was commissioned between 1986 and 1992.

The park was opened in 1888 and spans 1000 acres adjacent to downtown Vancouver.  It has a lot of great things to do including biking, hiking,  a nice beach and outdoor sports.

We had a picnic lunch and strolled around the area near the Tea House Restaurant at Stanley Point.

It was a nice day and we were not the only ones taking it all in.

We left the park in the early afternoon, went back through town

and returned to Ferndale.

That was our day in Vancouver!  Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Until next time...

Beautiful BC - Victoria

After Oregon, we decided to find an RV campground up near the Canadian border for a trip into Vancouver.  Ferndale is (A) on the map below:

We made a good choice with Cedars RV resort.  It was well maintained, had friendly staff and good sized RV spaces.  It cost us $38/night with full hookups.

We knew we weren't too far from Victoria BC, so we plotted a course to go there for our first day trip.  We had to drive down to Anacortes (B on the map), catch the ferry to Sidney BC (D) and then drive into Victoria (E).  It has been a while since we have been on a ferry and was a fun little adventure.

We got up early and left about 6:15 AM and drove the 45 miles to Anacortes.  Once at the ferry terminal, we got in the queue.

We were a little early and some folks got their morning coffee

In this region of the country (Washington, Oregon) there are a lot of coffee kiosks, many of them little drive throughs.

After about 30 minutes, we boarded the ferry and got underway.

Inside the ferry, it looked like most other ferry's:  good seats, plenty of windows, and an expensive cafeteria.

Outside it was pretty foggy, so visibility was down.  But it was still beautiful.

About halfway into our 2 1/2 hour trip, we stopped at Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, to pick up more passengers.

Then before we knew it, we landed at Sidney (D). We left the dock area, found our signs for Victoria and immediately felt like we were in a country with European influences.  The small town of Sidney was very well manicured and the speed limit signs were in km.

Another thing I love in this part of the world is the beautiful flowers.  Some were near manicured shrubs made to look like dolphins.

More flowers behind the mime on the street

They provide a perfect backdrop for tourists…

We went downtown to the harbor and a lot was going on.  By then the sun had come out and it was a very nice day.

We had to stop by the historic Empress Hotel.  It is a landmark and a beautiful place.  

A friend suggested we do 'high tea at the Empress' but we decided not to this time.

We took some time and walked along the water and took in all the sights.

Victoria has one of the largest Chinatown's along the Pacific coast and we wanted to go there for lunch.

We walked around some more and then took a leisurely drive before we went back to Sidney.

 We arrived back at the ferry and the trip back was a nice evening cruise.

Our day was a long one ~ we got back to the RV about 1030 PM but it was a great day.  I highly recommend Victoria.  It is a beautiful city!  

Vancouver is next on the itinerary.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Hope you are having a wonderful summer weekend!  Until next time...