One of the places I wanted to see. Is it really a long stretch of “pier” with a small lighthouse at the end? Kinda, but it is more than that!
There are stones on one side you can walk along. Additionally, there are First Nation murals along the walls.
Victoria BC was having gorgeous summer weather when we arrived and it was cool to just take a walk along for a bit.
If you are lucky, you will see a cruise ship dock and wave to the people onboard!
I first came upon this by random and thought it was pretty cool. I don’t know much about Niles Canyon, but it was a railway (still operates today too) from years ago.
The sculpture is next to the main road and located near housing. I was there the other day when I decided to take pictures of it.
I heard about Toy Traders from my friend Victor W. He took pictures when he visited and since I had some time on my hands, I decided to go check it out.
Got my wife and kids, and my nephew to go check it out.
Now I’ve seen Japanese toy stores similar to this display wise.. but the Toy Traders is unique!
As a toy person, it was awesome. As a nostalgic toy person, it was awesome. As someone into “toy art” freaking blown away!!!
Above and on all sides of the store were some toy art.. like epic battle scenes… It was pretty intense.
I’ll let the pictures don the talking.
You always hear how beautiful this place is and how many people who have been there recommend it. Well, I need to reinforce that! I never really cared about going because I wasn’t into seeing flowers when I was younger, so I didn’t appreciate this place.
Obviously when I matured, I realized I missed out on seeing a Canadian National treasure, if not an American (North America) gem that was in my backyard (when I lived in Seattle).
My wife has been planning to see this and we wanted to do it as a whole family (with her sister and brother). After planning a weekend trip, we went there via BC Ferries (the only way I think).
Summer in the Butchart Gardens is probably the best time. But they do have some months in autumn too.
Parking was plentiful (at least when we arrived) and there were umbrellas available (if it was raining) to use.
We walked to the entrance and paid the fees:
The Sunken Garden was my favorite. Just the history in it and the layout.
The Japanese garden was pretty cool because there were Torii Gates around and within a ton of trees, so it kept the area cool and shaded. Small bridges and stone walkways on water.
I can’t recommended this place enough. If you are in Victoria, this is the main attraction.
So we were planning to go to Victoria, BC. I’ve never been to Victoria BC, but I do know you have to take a ferry.
I kept hearing it takes 3-4 hours one way and that is not true. It is almost 2 hours ONE WAY.
In all honesty, it goes by fast.
We booked online the times and days were going to Victoria and leaving.
https://www.bcferries.com/travel_planning/
The terminal we were using was TSAWWASSEN – SWARTZ BAY
Fares were :
We crammed into two vehicles and headed out.
The drive from Burnaby to Tsawwassen was maybe 30 minutes. I have to admit, I never been out this way and it was quite peaceful.
We got to the terminal and since we were early, they staff asked if we wanted to get on the 7am instead o the 8am ferry, we said yes.
Again, I’ve never been on this ferry, so didn’t know what to expect. But we pulled it, parked and everyone was told to go up to the higher decks.
The ferry took off. Again, in all honesty, I couldn’t believe how smooth and quick the ferry moved. It was pretty nimble.
Upon docking, there was announcement telling people that they will be docking in 10 minutes, so this gave people to get down to their cars and wait. It seems liked a few minutes extra just waiting to get out and finally we were let out!
Quick notes:
Kalayaan SF celebrates Philippine Independence every June. This event was held in downtown San Francisco’s shopping district at Union Square. This is a very busy spot on all levels (parking, people and traffic).
I had some spare time, so I decided to go check it out and was impressed. I love culture in general and to see Filipino culture displayed proudly, is inspiring. I saw good artwork, clothing, food and talent.
I would check out local museums when they had “free admission”. Many museums double as a “night club” in the evenings.
I was glad to see that de Young was gonna do this with the event of a drag queen runway show. LOL.
I didn’t even know until I arrived. I tried to get some free soda.
After a few minutes, I went straight to the exhibitions as I had a couple hours to do so. I couldn’t go into the special or exclusive exhibits, but I did check out the regular collections and I definitely enjoyed it.
I took many pictures, my phone died…
The reservoir is pretty big with many places to start the hike. We always go to this one with some pretty steep hills. I think that short intensity is great and the view is amazing after.
Definitely always a good place to visit and hike. There is also a rock sculpture and small beach access. This trail can go all the way to Seacliff neighborhood and to Golden Gate Bridge.
We didn’t fully explore this last time the Culase family – Robert (my in-laws), so this would be a good thing to do with the kids and everyone.
For Lucas’ birthday, we went to Disneyland. It is the first time my in laws have been in the original Disneyland (they have been to the one in Paris!).
We did some rides and stayed til 11pm.
Surprised that Lucas wanted to go on the Big Thunder mountain roller coaster! I told him if he got scared, just scream. While there was not sudden drops, it was fast and throw you sideways. My lil guy handled it pretty good!
