We did some official touring today, via a double-decker London bus. It was pretty authentic, right down to being right hand drive. We all boarded the bus in front of the Empress Hotel for the hour and a half city tour. It wasn't a full house by any means, and all the passengers chose to ride up top. We each had our own seat for added comfort.
We started out by heading out along Government Street and into the old town area where we'd done some walking the day before. The driver gave a fairly continuous monologue of the various attractions, and even of some things that probably weren't necessarily attractions as well. We heard some additional history as we rode through Chinatown, and also marveled at how the driver was able to maneuver that bus around some of the traffic.
The really fun part of the ride started as we headed out of town into some more rural areas. The bus probably had no suspension at all – it seemed as though the axles were just bolted directly to the frame as we jostled along. We went down tree-lined streets and laughed as the branches crashed into the top of the bus, which was about a foot or two higher than just about anything else we saw on the road. Sometimes even overhead wires would drag across the roof as we bounced along. We went through an upscale neighborhood called The Uplands, where by covenant no two homes can look alike, and all plans and remodels must be approved by some sort of board. The homes and grounds were outstanding in their appearance.
We skirted along the shore of Cadboro Bay, the anchorage where we had taken refuge in the windstorm that prevented us from continuing on to Victoria last Sunday. We got a view of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club from the other side and heard a bit of its history. The halfway point of our tour, and a 15 minute stop for refreshments, was at the Oak Bay Marina, where they had no room for us on that same Sunday. The bay looked even smaller than it did when we tried to find a good anchorage location, as the tide was low and it was more obvious where not to go (with a boat).
Continuing on, we drove along the shoreline and had a great view of the Discovery Islands. Although we had cruised between them last Monday on the way here, we never saw them through the fog. We're hoping for a better view on our return trip once we depart here.
The bus ride was enjoyable in every respect, and it also gave Trav and his "bad wheel" a chance to get out and about and see the town as well.
It seemed like a good day for touring, so soon after our return we took one of the little harbor ferries on the Gorge Tour, traveling deep into the harbor away from the city. Once past the Johnson Street Bridge, we were in a more industrial area, where at one time there were up to five shipyards. There's just one active now, but there were some moorages for barges, tugboats, fishing boats and the like. We continued further into the gorge, where there were homes along the shore, and a few B&B's as well. One of the homes was built in the 1880's by or for a sea captain. At the point where the tour boat turned around, there was another bridge and passageway, but the flood tide was running through quite strong and into shallows and rocks. The tour boat operator got his little boat right up close and sideways for a good look, then jockeyed out, passing just feet from the rocks on one side. We learned that all the tour and water taxi boats are powered by 12 horsepower Kubota engines. The speed limit within the inner harbor is 5 knots, and these boats probably won't go much faster than that.
For dinner we had "planned overs" on the Bar-T-Na – the remains of last night's stroganoff dinner. We started another domino game, but took a break at dusk so we could go take photographs of the Parliament building when all the lights came on. I'll post some more photos of today's and probably tomorrow's activities during the next reliable connection.
Tomorrow is the parade down Government Street featuring 70 antique fire engines, after which they go on static display. Sunday evening's highlight will be a symphony performance on a barge right in front of the marina. From what we hear, we'll be seeing the backside of the orchestra, as they'll be facing the Parliament building. In years past (they've been doing this for 8 years) upwards of 40,000 to 50,000 people turn out on the Parliament lawn and around the harbor to listen. We'll have our own private floating box seats.
Since Monday is a holiday here and more festivities are planned, we've extended our stay by another day, with departure now planned for Tuesday. Stay tuned for more details.
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