Westcoast Adventures

We have had a wonderful year so far. DR was a great place to hang our hat for 2 months; Phoenix - our home away from home and great place to visit with friends and family. Now that the Stampede parade is over and July is into full swing it is time to hit the road again.

Bags were packed, Roxy loaded, with Betty in the front seat we headed west to start our next adventures. First stop was in Vancouver - Langley, to visit with Joel, Amy, Tanya and Jerry...and not to forget.. Saddie. A trip to Langley is not complete without a visit on the way into town at Krause Berry Farms - a working Destination

farm. Enjoy family friendly u-pick fields, Market, Bakery, Porch Restaurant, fresh hot berry waffles at the KB Corral & Cookies Kitchen Menu. A trip to Krause Berry Farms is not complete without a mile high berry pie to bring home for dinner.

Our next day we ventured out to the Public Market at Grandville Island for a little market shopping and coffee on the waterfront. It is always so peaceful sitting back and sipping coffee at the Blue Parrot Cafe. Coffee's in hand and lovely chocolate croissants in snack bags, we wandered around the market place taking in all of the sites.

On Saturday Rick, Joel and Jerry all headed out for a bike ride into the historical Fort Langley town centre. On the way they saw a black bear and a coyote along the trail. Betty, Amy and I loaded into the truck and headed down to the Blacksmith Bakery to meet the gang after their bike ride. Joel works at the Bakery throughout the year. They have a wonderful assortment of homemade baked goodies and now offering lunch and breakfast options. A wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning.

During our time in Vancouver we also took a trip to Steveston. It is a quaint little fishing village in the City of Richmond. Steveston village is a historic salmon canning centre at the mouth of the South Arm of the Fraser River, on the southwest tip of Lulu Island in Richmond, British Columbia. Since 1945, it has hosted an annual Steveston Salmon Festival on July 1, Canada Day. The quaint little village is a great place to spend half a day; strolling through the marina and the shops around. Stopping off at Pajo's for fish and chips is the by far the best in the Delta.

On to the next stop... Victoria.
We headed out early Monday morning to Tswassen to meet with Glen

for an early morning coffee before we boarded the ferry to Victoria. Once we boarded we headed up to the "Whisper Lounge" on the front of the ferry. What a great place to sit for the sailing. Coffee, snacks and magazines to enjoy while you watch the wilderness sail by. It was Roxy's first ferry ride; she was not sure what to think when she felt the motion under her feet. We were parked on the upper car deck to allow for the ability to go to your vehicle during the sailing. They have a "pet" room where you can go with your dog during the sailing. It has metal kennels, a water hose, drinking bowls and bench seats to sit on. A bit industrial but nice to have incase you need it. Roxy is so well travelled that when you are not in the vehicle she just lies down and goes to sleep.

As Roxy and I were walking around on deck 4 we found a nice quiet area at the front of the ferry to watch the action of going through active pass. The front of the deck has a roped off area that you can stand at and see everything as you come upon it - true tranquility. You can hear the wind, feel the warmth of the sun and watch the aquatic wildlife in the quiet little space at the front of the ferry.

As we got into Victoria we headed straight to the inner harbour for a wander around and lunch at our favourite lunch spot - Red Fish Blue Fish. The three of us shared a 4 piece Cod and Chips meal.. with Roxy sampling a few bites as well. After a stroll around the harbour we headed over to drop Betty off for a visit with a long time friend. As she had a visit we headed over to the AirBnB to get settled in a bit.

The AirBnB is located on Dallas Road, directly across from the breakwater. We had a 2 bedroom basement suite apartment. With the large windows, dug out patio and large patio doors it had an airy feel about the space. The best part was the upper deck that overlooked the ocean. We spent the afternoon/evening just hanging out on the deck watching the world go by. The front yard was simply spectacular with all the perennial gardens; creating little garden oasis.
That afternoon we were fortunate to watch a Princess Cruise line pull into the terminal. Sitting across from the breakwater you can watch the boat traffic, people out fishing and everyone enjoying the wonderful weather.

A trip to to Victoria is not complete without a trip to Buchart Gardens and time for afternoon tea. With a former quarry for her backyard, Jennie Butchart envisioned a grandiose garden in its place, transforming the property for her family—and visitors—for generations to come. In 1912 as cement production exhausted the limestone deposits, Jennie envisioned a grand garden in its place and began transferring top soil by horse and cart. Little by little, the quarry blossomed into today’s Sunken Garden. Between 1906 and 1929, the Butcharts expanded The Gardens, designing the Japanese Garden on the seaside, the Italian Garden on their former tennis court and the fragrant, overflowing Rose Garden. In 1939, her grandson Ian Ross was gifted the gardens and transformed them into the world-renowned attraction we know today, adding outdoor concerts and night lighting in the summers, and the Magic of Christmas in the winters. Today, The Butchart Gardens is a National Historic Site of

Canada. You’ll find remnants of the original cement plant and over a million bedding plants in over 900 varieties awaiting you as you wander The Gardens.

Our last day in Victoria we headed out to Hatley to visit the resting Stanger, Williams and Froom family members. It is a beautifully tree lined property that is well taken care of. A stroll through the countryside brought us to our favourite lunch spot in the area - MyChosin Cafe. Our afternoon adventures were searching for pottery in the area. We headed over to Chosin Pottery to take a look for old times sake.

’Chosin Pottery is owned and operated by award-winning, internationally known ceramic artists Robin Hopper and Judi Dyelle. It is the exclusive destination for purchasing or ordering their work. Located on the Southern end of Vancouver Island, just 30 minutes from downtown Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Nestled on six acres in Metchosin, it houses two studios, a gallery and a showroom. The studios are set in the beautiful, much publicized, two and a half acre, Japanese-inspired garden. The Gallery and showroom are part of a renovated heritage house dating from the turn of the century. The grounds contain one of the finest stands of first-growth Douglas fir in the Victoria area. The huge fir trees are underplanted with many large rhododendrons, shrubs, perennials and bulbs, both indigenous and exotic. The Gallery, which overlooks the water garden, features

a continually changing variety of work. They also feature exquisite sterling silver jewellery made by Judi’s daughter, Morgan Saddington.

We found many beautiful pieces of pottery, but nothing that can compare in sentimental value to the coffee cups that Betty and Doug bought many years ago from Chosin Pottery. However, we did come across another potter in the area and found a wonderful serving bowl to add to our collection.

As our our trip in Victoria came to a close we dropped Betty off at the airport early enough for us to board the 8 am ferry to Vancouver. This sailing we decided to skip the lounge and have breakfast in the cafe instead. This also gave us some more time to spend on the lower deck with Roxy.

Once we landed we programmed the GPS and headed to Vernon and Lake Kalalmalka to visit with Kelli, Bryan, Cayden, Tayla and Riley. We stopped along the way to a couple of our favourite vineyards to stock up our wine shelf at home. Kelli and Bryan have such a wonderful family place out there; where the kids run back and forth

between friends and neighbours drop by for a glass of wine on the dock on the lake. A wonderful couple of evenings were spent visiting the gang.

We got up early and started our trip back to Calgary, trying to miss all of the construction traffic along the way. We are home again for only 10 days before we head out on our next adventure... Europe.
We hope that you will continue to follow along as we hop, skip and jump our way through Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland.