Victoria's Butchart Gardens and Aunt Judy

Sunday, 19 January 2014.  Believe this will be the last blog entry for our Alaskan cruise.  The last blog entry had us sailing from Skagway to Victoria British Columbia, spending most of the 12th and 13th of July 2013 at sea.  We also "lost" another hour on the clock, so we didn't enter the shipping channels (which slowed down our speed) in the Juan de Fuca Strait until about 1pm.  But by 7pm we were finally docked at our berth in Victoria and the gangways rigged for passengers to disembark the cruise ship for their evening activities in this enchanting Canadian city.  

Lynette and her folks had previously been to Victoria, but this was my first visit.  Founded in 1843 by the Hudson Bay Company, Victoria exudes that old-world charm one expects from such a long and rich history. Although it's a port city, Victoria is not as industrially oriented as the other large city in British Columbia, Vancouver.  The city's Inner Harbor is dotted with pleasure craft, ferries, and a variety of floatplanes. The city is especially known for its fragrant, colorful flowers and beautiful gardens.  And none are more renown and well-known -- nor as beautiful -- as Butchart Gardens.  Lynette and her parents had previously visited the Gardens, but I really wanted to take the tour offered by our cruise ship.  So, while Glenn & Glenna opted to stay on-board for the evening, Lynette & I headed out for a short motorcoach tour of downtown Victoria followed by the rest of the evening at Butchart Gardens.  As an added bonus, since our visit took place on a Saturday night, we were treated to some spectacular fireworks when night finally fell on the Gardens.  We both wished we'd had more time after the fireworks to walk thru some of the various themed gardens that were gently lit throughout by well-orchestrated lighting.  From what we could see as we made our way back to our motorcoach, they were, indeed, quite beautiful.

As Victoria's best known attraction, the 55-acres that make up Butchart Gardens offer a floral wonderland of themed botanical gardens, meandering pathways, beautiful cascading fountains, exquisite, rare foliage and magnificent bronze statues -- all flowing together like some well-crafted outdoor artistry.  Our tour of the Gardens was self-guided and offered us plenty of time to view -- and photograph -- the various themed-gardens, such as the Sunken, Japanese, Rose, and Italian gardens, all linked by spacious lawns, streams, and/or lily ponds.  I really enjoyed the Japanese Garden and took a number of pics while we walked around this absolutely beautifully landscaped area of flora, fauna, lawns, shrubs, hedges, and Oriental-themed statues.  I've never experienced anything quite like this.  Hope the pics do it justice.

Before posting the pics I took while at Butchart Gardens I must note that the Gardens receive over a million visitors each year. In 2004 -- and in bloom for 100 years -- the Gardens were designated a National Historic Site for Canada.  One last note.  This blog entry contains several close-up shots of individual flowers.  I've opted NOT to try and identify each flower -- sorry about that.  Hopefully, our blog readers will still enjoy the colorful flowers in the following photos.  I know we sure did!

The obligatory "Welcome" sign to the Gardens.

A view taken from one of the major pathways with hanging flowers baskets on each side of the path.

Another view along the same path, as we made our way toward the Sunken Gardens.

Our first view of the magnificent Sunken Gardens.  Quite stunning, actually, as the following pics will show.

Such a wide variety of flora, fauna, and flowers throughout the Sunken Gardens -- really stretched your senses of smell and sight to take it all in.  I was hard-pressed to come up with my photo-ops.

Here's a couple shots of the lily ponds that abound in the Sunken Gardens.  Pics don't do them justice.

The following three pics show the famous Ross Fountain that was designed and added in 1964.  The waters of the fountain shoot up 70-ft into the air in various patterns, providing a magnificent display by day or night.

Here's another batch of pics taken in the Sunken Gardens.  Guess I came away pretty impressed.

 A type of Japanese maple -- one of my favorite tree types.

 Another type of Japanese maple.

This feminine statue stood well over 5-ft amidst all the foliage.

 A view of the Concert Stage and lawn area -- believe a jazz band was playing at the time.

 Another view of the Concert Lawn area; lots of people taking advantage of just sitting out on the lawn and listening to the music -- all surrounded by the beauty of Butchart Gardens.

 Lynette posing at the entrance to the Rose Garden.

One of the many hanging baskets in the Rose Garden.

Now the next two pics are of flowers I do know: Roses.  The Rose Garden abounded with a variety of roses.  The smell -- which I love -- became quite intoxicating.

This is a view of the restaurant at the Gardens; located right next to the Rose and Italian Gardens.

 One of the many Oriental stone lanterns we found throughout the Japanese Gardens.  These Gardens were beautifully landscaped -- we came away very impressed.  And I know this shot is slightly out-of-focus, but the day's light was going fast when I took this shot w/o a flash.   In hindsight, should have had the aperture on a different setting -- one more in line with fading light.

 A telefoto lens shot of Butchart Cove, at the upper end of the Gardens.  With the sun going down, made for a good photo-op.  Wish there had been just a wee bit more sunlight.  Still, a nice pic.

These couple shots were taken in the Italian Gardens and show the various hanging window baskets that abounded around the Gardens' restaurant.  Simply gorgeous. 

As I said earlier in this blog entry, our evening at Butchart Gardens ended with a wonderful fireworks display, mostly ground fireworks, but quite stunning nevertheless.  Our motorcoach took us back to our cruise ship via downtown Victoria, which was lit up quite spectacularly.  Lynette & I both said we'd like to come back to Victoria sometime and stay for a few days.  Very beautiful, with lots of old-world charm.

Our motorcoach got us back to the ship at ~11:30pm, and a harbormaster gently moved us away from our berth right at midnight.  Our cruise ship captain deftly maneuvered the Golden Princess through the various ship traffic schemes in the Juan de Fuca Strait and into Puget Sound.  By 6:30am we were dockside in Seattle and by 10am we were off the ship. Our 7-day roundtrip cruise out of Seattle and into Alaska's Inside Passage was officially over -- but not forgotten.  In addition to celebrating the 65th wedding anniversary of Lynette's parents, Glenn & Glenna, I believe we all had a thrilling experience both on and off the ship.

Sunday, 14 July 2013.  Before we departed on our cruise, we'd made plans to visit Glenna's younger sister, Judy, and her husband, Mick, who live in Indianola, WA.  Indianola sits on the Kitsap Peninsula that juts out into Puget Sound and northwest of Seattle.  July & Mick have a cottage on the shoreline, complete with stunning views of Puget Sound, Seattle, and Mt. Rainier in the distance. Glenna & Glenn had not been to their place in Indianola (Lynette & I dropped in for a day visit when we were in the Seattle area in 2012), so this was a chance to do just that.  After picking our car up from the carpark at the docks, we headed north on I-5 to Edmonds where we caught a ferry that took us across the Sound to Kingston, on the Kitsap Peninsula.  Judy met us at the ferry docks in Kingston and in a few short minutes we were at their place in Indianola.  We spent the better part of the afternoon visiting and enjoying the spectacular scenery and views from their backyard (as you'll see in the following pics).  Judy & Mick are also crabbers and have a license for two crab pots that they keep a few hundred yards into the Sound off their backyard.  Mick & I took their small skiff out a short distance and that's when Mick put me to work.  Both in pulling the oars to get us away from the shallow waters (as you'll see in the pics, one could wade quite a ways out into the Sound at low tide) and pulling up the crab pots.  One pot was a complete bust -- all we got was one HUGE starfish.  The other pot, however, gave us a good half dozen or so (can't remember how many exactly) legal crabs.  Coupled with some crabs Mick & Judy had previously caught, we were set for one great crab feast on their lower patio overlooking Puget Sound and the rest of the stunning scenery from their backyard.  Thanks ever so much, Judy & Mick -- terrific hosts!  Can't wait to do it again.  One last note: I'm also posting a couple shots of me "hacking" the crabs in half with a shovel, so if you're squeamish, just skip those shots!

 View of Puget Sound from Judy & Mick's backyard in Indianola, looking across the Sound toward Seattle with Mt. Rainier in the distant Cascade Mountains.  Taken at low tide, and yes, that's a young lady riding her horse in the mud flats.  That's the skiff Mick & I used to bring up their crab pots, anchored just beyond the horse and rider.  As I said earlier, one can wade out quite a ways at low tide.

 A wide view from their backyard.

 Mick & I getting ready to head out in their skiff. The red umbrella sits on their lower deck, where we ate lunch.  There's a set of stairs that lead down to the shoreline.

 We're ready to get some crab!

 Mick & I admiring our catch.

 Caught some good-sized ones, too.

Okay, here's the two pics I warned about: me chopping the crabs in half in preparation for cleaning.

 Crab ready for eating -- man, we had so much crab.  I just ate and ate and ate.....

 Looking over the feast and making sure the wine was chilled!

Our lunch group at Indianola: L-R, Lynette's Mom, Glenna; Lynette; Mick (in the sunshine); Lynette's Dad, Glenn; and our terrific hostess for the day, Lynette's Aunt Judy.  Oh yes, this we BEFORE we started eating!  You can tell since the plates are clean!