Cross Country Tour – Day 30

27 September 2016

I have mixed feelings about Victoria.  It’s a pretty, clean, historic town but the people leave me cold.  Maybe it’s because the climate is so consistent, but there seems to be no emotion to them.  The nicest people I have met so far are the gardeners at Butchart Gardens (I’ve been spelling it wrong all this time) and the cook at the Mexican restaurant down the street from the guest house.

I woke up Florida time, 5:30 am here, and had coffee, checked out who everyone thought won the debate, then showered and shaved for breakfast.

That’s another thing.  Breakfast started at 8:15 am, not 8:00.  Everything in this guest house is very precise.  There’s a note on the door that it locks automatically, a note with glasses there is ice in the dining room, a note in the bathroom not to use the “good” towels to remove make up or you’ll be charged.  I get the feeling that one of the owners is a little bit of a control freak.  Those are just some of the notes in the room.  They are all over the place.

Breakfast was a pleasant surprise (perhaps because the owners subcontract it out).  I had soft scrambled eggs which really were soft scrambled, bacon, toast, fruit, fruit juice, and a complimentary fruit tart along with coffee.

I left after breakfast for Butchart Gardens.  It’s several miles out of town on some back roads and when I drove into the place, I was a little worried about the commercial atmosphere and the ordinariness of the initial view.

My first wow moment was the sunken gardens, produced on the site of an original cement quarry.  It was pretty stunning.

The next part that I really liked was the Japanese garden. I’ve seen many Japanese gardens: San Antonio, San Francisco, Morikami, etc., but this has to be the best and best maintained.

I was pleases to see my birth flower, the Chrysamthemum, in bloom.

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When I used to work in Montana years ago, I was introduced to Fuchsia and they had two types blooming all over the place.

I drove back to town (decided not to do lunch or tea at the garden) and drove downtown to see the Empress Hotel.  I walked through the lobby to the sound of the fire alarm which everyone was ignoring and then walked through the dining room and tea room.

After that, I took a quick walk around the block and headed back towards the guest house.

Before I pulled in, I decided to follow Dallas St. For a ways to see the shoreline.  It’s classified as a scenic way, but I confess the view of the mainland leaves me a little cold.  It looks a little plain and a little rundown.  Perhaps I just don’t like cities.

I returned once more to the guest house and then walked a half mile down Cook Street to have lunch at a Mexican restaurant.  It was some of the best Mexican I’ve had in a while.  Most Florida restaurants can’t decide whether they are Mexican or Cuban and try to do both – poorly.

I have to be at the ferry terminal tomorrow by 9 am, so no breakfast for me.  I’ll spend the night in Olympic National Park at the Sol duc Hot Springs Resort.  I can’t wait to see the rainforest!