I earned a "buddy pass" through my SkyMiles account and when I started thinking of the places I wanted I immediately started thinking of all the places I love to go, Boston, NYC, California, etc., and then I realized that I need to start going to places that I have never been to and have always wanted to go to. Well, I didn't have time for a long trip and so I wanted to go somewhere where only a day or two there would be perfect and a new place to explore. I decided on Victoria Canada.
I asked my mom if she wanted to be my "buddy" for the trip and we split the price of the one ticket. We flew into Seattle and stayed at a hotel right by the airport. The next morning we got up at 4am to get ready for the day and drive the two hours up to Anacortes so that we could catch the 8am Ferry to Victoria. The ticket for the Ferry said that we should be there 60-90 minutes early. When we arrived at the Ferry the lady looked at us like we were crazy for being there so early and even asked if we would like to go into town and get some coffee before lining up. Well, we had already eaten breakfast (hence the 4am wake-up call) so we just lined up and waited to board. Trying to figure out the ferry system wasn't the easiest but we finally went through Washington State Ferries. The views along the way were so beautiful.
When we first arrived on the island we ate lunch in Sidney (about 30 minutes north of Victoria) at a place called Fish on 5th. It was little hipster/ hippie sea food restaurant. Afterwards we walked around the cute little town before making our way down to Victoria.
In Victoria we went right to the Inner Harbor and found a great parking spot behind the parliament building. We spent the afternoon walking around the Inner Harbor hitting highlights like the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Building. There is also a travel information building right at the harbor where the people were super helpful, kind and informative. By the Inner Harbor is also an IMAX theater at the Royal British Columbia Museum. Both nights in Victoria my mom and I went to movies there (mostly because we knew how to find it and so it was easier than taking the time to find other movie theaters).
Our second day in Victoria we visited the famous Butchart Gardens and words can't really describe how beautiful and breathtaking these gardens were. My favorite garden was the "Sunken Garden," but really every garden was amazing. We lucked out and the weather wasn't rainy but it wasn't too hot either and so we were able to really enjoy the gardens.
That afternoon we decided to rent scooters to drive along the coast of the island. Best decision ever. It took us awhile to get used to the scooters and honestly I'm shocked the rental shop let us leave on them because we were so terrible during our "test" but away we went. We first went to a near by park and drove the loop about 7 times and then, still a little nervous, we decided to bite the bullet and we went out to drive on the road along the coast of the southern part of the island.
For dinner that night we ate at a food truck that my brother and his wife had eaten at and highly recommended we go to, Red Fish Blue Fish. It was delicious and just one fish stick was bigger than my face. Travel Tip: Most places in Victoria accepted US Dollars but Red Fish Blue Fish did not so be ready to use a credit card or get Canadian currency.
The next day we took a ferry about 10 minutes north of Sidney and went over to Vancouver. We missed the first ferry because it filled up and so we had to wait about 2 hours for the second one which cut into our day a little bit. When we got to Vancouver we meant to take a freeway that went around the city to Stanley Park but we on accident took one that went into the city and then the next thing we knew, I was driving in big city with crazy traffic... we're talking "mini NYC." It was a little nerve wrecking but a little fun too. We didn't have time to stay at Stanley Park but we at least drove through it and it reminded me of Central Park; it was a beautiful park.
Our big adventure for that day was Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, just 15 minutes past Stanley Park. Talk about a place where adults can let their inner child feel adventurous as you walk across bridges and climb stairs to tree houses and more.
That night we wanted to at least cross the boarded back into the U.S. so that we didn't get held up the next day when we were flying home. Crossing the boarded was easy and the man who questioned my mom and I thought it was so adorable that we were traveling together; he could not get over it and kept bringing it up.
