Victoria is the sleepy capital of British Columbia. Many visitors to the province seeking the city experience opt instead to visit the shiny metropolis, Vancouver, and if you’re a fan of Vancouver Island’s wilderness, you’re probably not terribly interested in visiting cities to begin with. So Victoria’s tourists tend to be of the cruise ship variety as many of the Pacific coast cruise ships heading to or returning from Alaska dock here. That said, the small city deserves a visit regardless of its sleepy reputation.
For my partner and me, Victoria and Vancouver Island were the main reason we undertook this road trip in the first place. My partner’s mom passed away last year and she wanted her ashes spread on Vancouver Island, her favourite place. Also, Victoria is home to two of my partner’s aunts and they hadn’t seen their beloved nephew in 6 years. So this was going to be a very special family moment.
On this trip we were fortunate to experience spring time in the US southwest deserts and to see all the wildflowers that one normally wouldn’t find in such a hostile environment. We arrived in California to find fresh produce everywhere and riots of flowers lining the streets. None of that compared with what was waiting for us on Vancouver Island and Victoria in particular. We’re here at peak time for Rhododendron blossoms as well as other flowering trees like Dogwood and Hawthorn. It’s stunning.
We spent two nights in Victoria and benefited from the creature comforts of a proper bed and home cooked meals. We visited the Lieutenant Governor’s residence to see the gardens and enjoyed the city’s laidback atmosphere. Most of all we enjoyed the company of my partner’s lovely aunties, two English ladies with a gift of storytelling and an encyclopedic knowledge of botany and all things of the garden variety.
On the third day we left late morning with my partner’s aunts to visit Cowichan Bay. We hiked a short trail to an area where my partner’s mom loved to walk, had a quiet moment of reflection and spread her ashes. The song birds seemed to know what we were there for and provided a lovely backdrop to the somber moment.
Later we had lunch, bade each other a teary farewell and got on the road again to continue our journey north on the island.
sedativegunk 