Victoria, BC, to Ucluelet and back

Waiting for the ferry to BC; the
blue bike carried us for miles. The
guy behind it is another rider.

M/V Coho arriving in Port Angeles.

After months of sunshine, during the last week of August and part of the first week in September 2015 the heavens decided to open up and answer all the wishes for rain that people have been putting forth all summer... and so there was a deluge over most of the NW... high winds, intense rain, falling trees, power outages, etc.

We both discussed whether or not the weather was going to cooperate, but I think in the end, since the adventure was mostly about the motorcycle ride, Beloved really wanted to take it, and just deal with what we got.

Vacation was set for August 30, and fortunately that day did dawn sunny and bright, not too much wind, so the crossing over to British Columbia and Victoria on the M/V Coho from Port Angeles was easy. I had never been on my motorcycle on a ferry, so that was a new aspect of adventure for me.

Leaving the U.S. and Port Angeles.

Nice view of the Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, WA.

Arriving in BC, passing the
cruise ship docks.

Clearing customs, the officer looked at my passport with all the visas and pointedly asked me, "Are you planning to stay long?" I replied, from the back of the Harley, "Nope, just a week."

We must have made a curious couple to him since Beloved's passport was devoid of any stamps at all. So he stamped them both.

Tudor Printing... a relative?

We had days of sunshine and days of rain and days with both. But what we had the most of was lots of walking - over five miles each day! - and a very easy time together. Given that we have been on a couple of motorcycle trips and spent some time together, we still had not had uninterrupted time, day and night. Even the best of friends can get a little stressed being together 24/7, so it was a delightful surprise that there was practically no disruption.

Victoria has so much to see and explore and this time the Royal British Columbia Museum was featuring a display of gold from the Museo del Oro in Bogota, Colombia. There were pieces there that I was sure I had seen in Bogota. And the history of the gold rush in BC was fascinating.

The famed Empress Hotel overlooks the waterfront. I had tea
here once, but neither of us cared to go there this time.

The museum should be very proud of itself because the standing displays have a lot of details, making it a place to return to.

We had lunch in Chinatown one day. That was an odd experience because neither of us could recall where we had eaten when there previously, so we ended up in a Dim Sum place that was clean and quick, but Beloved declared one of the dishes looked like something that had been pulled out from under a vehicle's oil change and tasted about like that, too. Not being inclined to waste food, he bravely consumed it all.

A lot of Victorian-era homes have been restored here. Some
are B&B's, but many are still residences. Pretty.

Another day in Victoria we stopped to speak to a local commercial metro bus driver. When he learned that my traveling partner was a commercial driver from Port Angeles he drolly said, "Oh, you have busses over there?" Great hilarity that.

Finally after a couple of days of rain, there was a break and we rode the motorcycle out to the Harley-Davidson shop to buy some t-shirts and I got some leather treatment for my chaps that were still pretty newish.

That day there was a lot of construction and it was stop and go for two-thirds of the way there, so it took us almost an hour.  Two days later when we made that same drive up toward Nanaimo to Ucluelet, it took us less than 20 minutes to get past that shop.

My favorite shot... love the clouds, the reflections over the
harbour in Victoria, BC. The little structures are on the
Fisherman's Wharf... very colorful during daylight hours.

The time share had an incredible view of the harbor and the sunsets, when they were visible, were amazing. It was also close to Fisherman's Wharf where we could get a take-out dinner or just go for an after-dinner stroll. One morning we had espresso coffee in a lovely place near there, but there wasn't much of a view since it was so far back from the wharf itself.

Victoria's Fisherman's Wharf lit up with early morning sunshine.

There are two airlines that fly in and out of the harbor, only during daylight hours, so it was great fun to watch them taking off and landing. Later when we caught the little bug-like water taxis that criss-cross the harbor we learned that they are not allowed to cross the 'runway' in case a plane needs to come in for a landing.

Huge cruise ships make stops in Victoria regularly and one day we counted five of them at the docks. Fortunately we were not competing with those travelers for the geegaws, souvenirs or special trips.

Approaching Lake Kennedy, about 40 minutes from Ucluelet.

Mid-week we were finally able to head north and the weather was off and on rain, mostly light but occasionally steady.

It was a lot of concentration for Beloved to watch the road, the oncoming cars and keep our two wheels under us.

When I later showed him the pictures I had taken along the way up there, he was surprised to see moments of sunshine captured. "It was a drive requiring a lot of my attention," he said. I replied, "I know. And you did a fantastic job of it, too."

A little spot of sun as we passed Lake Kennedy on the way in.

We stopped briefly for directions in Parksville, north of Nanaimo. Then it was on to Port Alberni, which was large enough to support a Walmart, and other big box stores and because it was close to 3 p.m., we decided not to make another stop and push on since there was still more rain ahead.

Good choice, because once you leave the outskirts of the city, the road narrows down and the frost heaves from previous years are still there to remind you of what a winter might be like up here.

That made the drive just a little more challenging, as if it needed more.

Lake Kennedy is an enormous inland lake. The photo I took as we were heading westward doesn't do it justice as it was a bit squally.

Canadian Princess permanently docked in Ucluelet, BC.

I have another shot taken as we were returning to Victoria that is considerably nicer.

Just as we pulled into Ucluelet the sun came shining through all the clouds and stayed with us the rest of that day and the next!

A couple of couples... 

We had a delicious 'lunch' that really turned out to be supper on the deck of the Canadian Princess.

It was delightful to sit in the sunshine and warm up.

The one shot we got on our walk at a spot where there was a
bench, but the walk down to the water looked a little bit
challenging, so we didn't take that path.

Afterwards we walked around the village, but it is small and since it was at the end of the tourist season, not much was going on.

In fact, there weren't very many local people out and around, either.

We had to put a notice on our hotel door that we weren't interested in being awakened to go fishing at 5 a.m., and if there were folks going off to do that, we never heard them.

Breakfast the next day on board the ship was every bit as good as the earlier meal. And we had great service, too.

There was no real easy ocean access that we could find. As we were leaving the next day, we took the bike and tried to find a road to a beach, but there was nothing he dared to transit with only two wheels.

Lake Kennedy on the return trip; a really, really pretty place.

Road repairs near Lake Kennedy.

We didn't rush to head back, waiting for the sun to dry up any of the night's dew or frost... even so, it was pretty cool going through the mountains.

I imagine that going up and over those mountains
much later in the season that having frosty or icy roads is a real likelihood.

Traveling at 60 m.p.h. when the temperature is around 50 degrees is a chilling experience. I wore my chaps, but Tough Guy did not.

Even so, the sunshine rushing past my helmet, the smells of the fields and fallen leaves, the wonderful rush of being in the open will stay with me for a long while. It was a great ride!!

No surprise that he was pretty glad to get back to the heat of the city. And since we did not stop once on the return trip, except for gas, it was considerably shorter in time than it took the day before.

Coming back into Port Alberni; part of the deep water inlet
that made this city possible to be a true port of call.

Approaching the outskirts of Victoria, BC.

This was the weekend for the "Classic Boat Show" and a
pretty significant collection was available to walk through.

We had one more night and a morning in Victoria before we had to catch the ferry.

After a walk around the city for the last time on Friday, we opted for Greek takeout and caught one of the water-bug taxis back to 'home.'

We both agreed it had been a really good vacation, with only one scary time on some gravel... as a former motorcycle rider, I'd had a pretty disastrous dropping of my bike on gravel, so I am sure my own tension was conveyed when Beloved had to deal with it.

But it all ended very well... in some ways I wish we might have explored more farther north, but the weather didn't allow for that.

Last night in Victoria, BC. "Red skies at night, sailor's delight."

The big guy in the leather jacket is my traveling companion.
He was admiring a Chihuahua as he has two of his own. The
ferry ride back was cooler than our arrival, but the sun was
still much appreciated.

ZZ Top Adventure

Leaving the Olympic Peninsula behind for Canada...

Arriving in Victoria, BC, about 10 a.m.

Awhile ago, about the time the tickets came on sale, a friend asked me if I would like to go and hear the hard rock and blues band, ZZ Top, in concert in Victoria, B.C.

This 70's band was never on my top-must-see lists, but I thought if I'm ever going to see them live, this is probably the time to go. (Amazingly, the original band is still just the same three guys, lead vocalist Billy Gibbons, co-lead vocalist Dusty Hill, and drummer, Frank Beard, 40 years later!)

The plan was to leave early on Friday morning, take the Black Ball ferry to Victoria, spend the day roaming about, find some good restaurants, enjoy the concert and then come back on Saturday morning.

M/V Coho, in operation since 1958, is the passenger auto and freight transport ferry, taking folks and goods back and forth four times a day. It's 341 feet long and you'll doubtless be as impressed as I was in the way the captain(s) maneuver in and out of ports. If you are planning a trip, it's an hour and a half either way; be on time because they leave on schedule. Reservations suggested during peak times.

We started out from Port Angeles under cloudy skies, but by the time we arrived in Canada, the sunshine was waiting for us, and we had an absolutely divine day of walking all over the city.

Victoria is clean, safe (using common sense, of course) and for walkers has only moderate hills. It's also very bike-friendly, so the next time I go, I am taking my bike to experience it that way.

The Chinese population is significant, so you can easily find a small or large eatery to meet your needs, close to the Gates of Harmonious Interest (Chinatown). The myriad ethnic shops have enormous varieties of gifts, trinkets, household materials and furniture.

Gates of Harmonious Interest, Victoria, BC.

I found a little metaphysical shop off an alley in this district where I bought a pendulum. My adventuring partner found an Eddie Bauer brown leather jacket which was a perfect fit, practically new, for $30 at a thrift shop.

What I liked about having a friend to share this with was that we talked to people along the way, commented and observed the world and enjoyed the sunshine. It was richer for sharing it with someone.

My traveling companion and I each took some time alone mid-afternoon to read, meditate or nap, as a re-charge of our batteries after a lot of walking and shopping and eating.

Just as it was beginning to get dark we started walking toward the arena, and found ourselves in the midst of many others doing the same thing… so we had to wait in line.

There was a copper at the door asking me if I'd packed in any tobacco products and matches, and I replied "No," quite simply.

As the sun was setting and we were standing in line to go in
to the concert, this guy and his dog were just hanging about.
I wonder if he was hoping for a ticket or handout?

I think the blue streak in my hair, left over from the Seahawks championship game, stirred further inquiry and he asked me again if I was quite sure I didn't have any tobacco products. I again said "No, I don't have any tobacco products," and this time was firmer about it.

I also didn't have any herbs for smoking, although it seems plenty of other folks did. To me, that was what the real question should have been, "Do you have any kind of dried materials for igniting and breathing into your lungs?"

All around us were people puffing whacky tobacky, drinking beer, and standing up so I couldn't see.

Fortunately the fellow who asked me to accompany him is about 6'4" tall, so he was able to take a few photos to memorialize this adventure. I took some, too, but I don't know who took what. We were at least 150 feet from the stage and if the seating was for hockey, we would have been near the goalie. So I'm impressed with my little camera capturing this much.

Z Z Top, that little band from Texas, playing the NW.

They sang a few songs I remembered and enjoyed all those many years ago, and the audience, surprisingly, was not just people from the early era of this group. I would guess that better than a third of the Canadians there were just over 21 to about 35, a whole new audience to court.

I really did enjoy much of the concert, and was truly grateful for the $1 ear plugs since I'd like to preserve my hearing to last as long as I do.

After the performance, barely an hour in length, we adjourned to a favorite watering hole of the Victoria crowd, Big Bad John's. (You can read about it on the link.) It's a bar in close proximity to the fabled Fairmont Empress Hotel on Government St., a beer and peanuts-on-the-floor kind of place, where everyone around you is quickly becoming a pal. It was a nice way to let down from the artificial and nearly literal high of the concert.

It was clean, affordable and the staff were helpful. I just
cannot think I'd want to repeat this economy again.

Then we walked back up to the Ocean Island Inn, a popular hostel, stay-over place on Pandora Street.  (I am giving you the Booking.com link so you can reserve a space if you want… they were all booked up until June when we got our bunks.) Since this was definitely not a romantic date of any sort, I kind of thought having a dormitory room would be an affordable solution to staying in the city.

I ended up on a third floor unit (walk-up, folks) on an upper bunk, with a rubberized pad that would not keep the sheets in place and a rock-hard pillow in a room with five snoring folks. Can't wait to climb into my therapeutic bed tonight!!!

So, the good things from this adventure were having a fabulous Dim Sum lunch at the Chinese sector's Golden City on Fisgard St., with a stir-fried sticky rice with peanuts that was delicious and a spring roll that melted in the mouth. Then we had another amazing traditional evening meal at Ithaka, a family-owned Greek restaurant on Yates that deserves all of its five stars; service, food, and service! We were told that Mama makes the baklava… sigh… can she come and visit me?

Magnolia blossoms and all variety of annuals
were blooming on the sunny streets.

We ended the dining portion of this adventure with a breakfast on Saturday morning, before catching the ferry, at John's Place (I don't think it's the same John who owns the bar, but I could be wrong.) a couple of blocks away from the hostel.

We each enjoyed a huge breakfast that was served by an extraordinarily cheery lady who didn't offend when she called us "Honey," because it felt real. Massive strips of bacon, crispy 'taters, real butter for the breads, and great water for the tea (it didn't turn muddy when added to the bag) and affordable.

M/V Coho waits for its passengers going to the U.S.

The Olympics loom ahead near Port Angeles, WA. This was
taken about 40 minutes from arrival in the U.S.

Friday was the day to be in Victoria, it turns out. Once home again, I heard from a neighbor that it had been chilly and even on the verge of snowing again in Sequim. He said he had been up on a roof and could see over the Straits of Juan de Fuca that the sun was shining where we were.

It was a nice break, a tiny voyage, with some sun, great foods and experiences… I needed that.