Harbour Ferry cruise of the Gorge, June 15, 2011

Let's get this blog entry out of the way before the game....

Our regular driver, John is in Spain, so we had a replacement - John.  Thanks for volunteering today, John.

We arrived at the Empress dock in time to see our ferry arriving.

Our full ferry headed off to the Gorge tour in the capable hands of our skipper who provided an excellent commentary throughout the cruise covering history and points of interest.  He didn't once run aground despite the very low tide in the waterway.

Some kayak-ers were getting ready  for more strenuous exercise than just riding in a ferry.  Also, we saw dragon boat crews further up the Gorge.

As you know, the first part of the cruise is interesting because of the boat building and other marine-industrial aspects. Even the industrial part manages to be really scenic!

We learned (or, at least, I did) that the Gorge is really a fjord with the water rising and falling with the tide and no river at the head. This point can be a three feet high drop at low tide.  As it was, this water rush was quite dramatic and marked our turnaround point.

We had sunny skies for the trip back to Fisherman's Wharf, fish and chips, and a bit of a walk.

John took us on an excellent scenic tour of Dallas Road on the way back to the centre. There were a few spots of rain as we left Fisherman's Wharf after lunch, but but it was sunny again on the way back to the centre. This was a great trip, and we'll have to book the harbour cruise next summer.

Now let's hope those Canucks do well.....

Salt Spring Island, June 8, 2011

Ticket sales and the waiting list showed that this was a popular destination, so we have planned another trip to Salt Spring Island for September 14.

After a pleasant browse of the outdoor market (and hat purchase) at Swartz Bay, and ferry crossing  to Fulford Harbour, we arrived at Salt Spring Vineyards in time for a wander through the property and a tasting of four of their wines with accompanying snack items. The wines were good - overall a good wine tasting experience, and there was time for relaxing, making friends with the cat and taking some "art" photos. My lying down to take the daisy picture caused some concern - particularly after such a small amount of wine - but I maintain that the results more than justify the effort!!

Healthy looking vines in full production..

A beautiful setting for tasting wine...

The fountain blurry...

The fountain sharply defined...looks a lot more energetic

The friendly vineyard cat...

"Art" photos of the flowers...

After a very pleasant sojourn at the vineyard, it was off to Ganges for lunch - alfresco or in one of the many restaurants...

We had one and a half hours to have lunch and explore... we kept seeing soap bubbles floating around....strange...

Who got a new hat, then....

Wind driven public art...

Interestingly etched rock..

We finally located where the soap bubbles were coming from...a nice touch!

Time for an ice cream and then off to Vesuvius for the ferry back to Crofton

And then a pleasant drive back to the centre.We decided it was one of the bestest Let's Do It Day Trips ever!!

Butterfly Gardens June 1

 Our full bus of Let's Do It Day Trippers arrived at the Victoria Butterfly Gardens just after 10:30 following a scenic ride avoiding the reported traffic problems.

We had a reduced group rate at the gardens and filed in to see the video and meet our guide for the tour.



You should be able to see the video by clicking above. The rules were explained. 1. Don't touch or step on the butterflies, although they can land on you, 2.Don't run (no problem there), and Don't let the guide walk backwards into the lake, and 3. Have fun! We decided we could live with the rules!

The gardens provided excellent photo opportunities. viz - this "art" shot of the emerging butterflies..

..a butterfly...

..a Peruvian ibis that ran around biting shoes, painlessly (for it)

..a caterpillar..

.. a huge moth..

.. onlookers...who never cracked a smile the whole time we were there!..

..another butterfly...

..huge, enormous caterpillars

..a green bird..

..a blue poison arrow frog  (no-one saw the chameleon)..

.. a five year-old tortoise that is set to live for about 150 years and grow to 250 lbs...

..two flamingos - well fed on shrimp, obviously...

.. and another butterfly.. ( I should have picked up the identification chart!!!)

After our delightful visit to the hot house, we hit the gift shop and boarded the bus for the trip (across the street) to Smitty's.Smitty's gave us a 10% discount, a $5 off our next visit coupon, and membership of their Better than 60's Club, that offers 10% discount, a free meal and birthday cake on your birthday, and a free meal for couples on their wedding anniversary! We called in at Red Barn on the way back to the centre for essential healthy supplies, and some of us even had an ice cream (with chocolate and peanut butter in some cases). A scenic drive on Prospect Lake Road rounded off the afternoon.

Overall a great, good value trip. Thanks to everyone who joined us, and we look forward to your company on another trip soon.

Let's Do It!

Chris and Tom

Cowichan Bay extra trip

Our almost full magic bus rolled out of the centre just after 10:00 am on the way to Cowichan Bay.  Our driver, John, took us on the by-roads to reach the scenic bay community in time for a browse of the many interesting shops and boutiques. Some of us took a walk to view the marina from the north side.

Although it was cloudy, the views were excellent.

An example of the artisan ware available in Cowichan Bay, this pottery was both elegant and functional.

It was great to be able to celebrate Frank's birthday during lunch at the Rock Cod Cafe. Many Happy Returns of the day, Frank. We had time for a short postprandial stroll to work off some of the lunchtime calories.

A scenic drive back to the centre via Shawnigan Lake rounded off a very pleasant Let's Do It Day Trip.

Oak Bay and Galleries Browse

We started out at The Avenue Gallery.  Everything in here was beautiful - some great paintings, ceramics, and some brilliant and very fine fabric collages that had to be examined with a magnifying glass to tell that the images were made from tiny pieces of fabric!

Next was the Eclectic Gallery. This was eclectic in nature as well as name, including interesting pieces made from perforated and moulded metal sheets, back-lit to display the perforations. Also on display were crystals and fossils as well as jewelery, sculpture, ceramics, wood turnings, and gemstones.

Lunch at the Penny Farthing was very good. The pizza and a pint of beer for $9.99 proved a popular choice for some reason!

Then we visited Side Street Studio,  with its wide range of art, crafts, jewelery, and gifts.  At least one of us took advantage of the 10% discount offered to our group!

We had time for some independent browsing of the Oak Bay shops and other scenic locations before it was time to head back on a really good circuitous drive to the centre.

Thanks to everyone who joined us on this enjoyable and excellent value Let's Do It Day Trip.

There is no trip next week.  We had to cancel the Chemainus trip to Steel Magnolias due to lack of ticket sales. See you at the Cowichan Bay trip on May 25th!!

Let's Do It!!