We took the ferry boat to Victoria, Vancouver Island, to see the great capitol city of our majestic province. We stayed on the Fisherman’s Wharf in the historic Swans Hotel on the waterfront. The hotel was a little dated, but I wanted something with a kitchen and separate bedroom for the adults after the littles passed out. The guest house was centrally located so we could walk everywhere and The Swans Pub and Brewery was located downstairs. Sold.
We walked so incredibly much on this trip. Our first trek was to Beacon Hill Park to meander the footpaths through the Garry oak tree’s gnarled branches, golden grasses and stunning floral gardens. Actually, our first trek was to the beer store, but that should go without saying. Then we stopped at one of the two playgrounds. Katie found some ducks to harass at the pretty pond in the center of the grounds. I sipped my wine. The Beacon Hill Children’s Farm was on our agenda to study the barnyard critters and peacocks. Matt was crouched down to let a little billy goat bite his beard and another beast hopped fearlessly onto his shoulders. I stumbled over to the commotion in one of the stalls to watch a poor mama goat shrieking in agony while she was in full blown labour. The staff were unapologetic and didn’t offer her any drugs or an epidural. I sipped my wine and witnessed the miracle of birth that lovely, sunny, afternoon. After the show we headed home along the boardwalk so we could check out the parliament buildings and historic Empress hotel.
Brentwood Bay was our destination the next day for the famous Butchart Gardens. I was happy to push the stroller through the lush landscape and immaculate blooms for hours. Flowers are kind of my jam. The kids had fun running around the secret passages and bridges. When they started complaining we took them to the hand carved Rose Carousel. Rides were only $2 so we did a couple rounds throughout the day as bribes for good behaviour. Jett loved getting lost in the mysterious hedge maze. There’s nothing like some fresh air early in the morning to curb your hangover.
A few minutes down the road is the Victoria Butterfly Gardens. It’s an indoor tropical jungle with gazillions of butterflies and other birds and creatures roaming around. Some species are happy to land on your head. I was terrified the children would accidently murder an innocent insect, but they were well behaved. The pink flamingos and carnivorous plants were my favourite. All this exploring had us hungry so we went across the street to Sassy’s Family Restaurant for a late lunch. It was a greasy diner with a toy box for kids and well priced comfort food.
That afternoon the kids ran through the Royal BC Museum while paying very little attention to any of the history or academic exhibits. We watched the IMAX film about spirit bears. There were a few things the rugrats could climb on and play with but overall, I would recommend this for older adolescents.
After all the walking from the first few days I thought it would be a great idea to saunter the forty minutes to Craigdarroch Castle pushing the double stroller. The hill at the end was especially great. Some coal baron dude named Robert Dunsmuir built the phenomenal stronghold in the 1890s. Matt and I love old architecture and this place was meticulously restored. Matt owns a renovation company, so I imagine he was being inspired by his refurbishing peers while touring this majestic fortresses. The kids weren’t super impressed but they were happy to be out of the stroller and allowed to scamper around full tilt again. To top it all off we got to walk forty minutes back to the waterfront again!!
I think I was the only one who thought Miniature World was super cool. After we got back into the city, I filled up my coffee cup with vodka water and got that second wind I desperately needed. The kids were happy to be released from their stroller restraint and sprinted through the wonderful world of smallness. Matt browsed the tiny dioramas thoughtfully. I loved the worlds largest dollhouses, circuses and European cities. I admired the artistic patience these displays must have taken.
The kids saw a pamphlet for the Victoria Bug Zoo and had been pestering me to go. I was back on the hooch so I surrendered and we walked over. It’s a smaller museum with live tropical bugs from around the world. Matt was the bravest and held the tarantula. It was similar to what we had seen at the Butterfly Garden so I was a little bored. I refilled my “coffee cup”. That helped.
I could have spent a week eating and bouncing around the restaurant scene in Victoria. We walked past so many trendy and classic eateries that smelled sublimely smashing. The Swans Pub in our hotel was delish. Romeo’s (Italian) was yum and had pizza for the youngsters. I tend to avoid chains but we had a GC for the Keg so we hit the one on the Waterfront and it was so-so. We ate dessert at BeaverTails and it was super sweet but scrumptious. I kept some basics in the hotel kitchen for more cost effective snacks and breakfasts.
Between the ferry, all the admissions (even though the kids were free for the majority) and eating out with my party of 4, this local trip was not as cheap as I predicted. We did do a lot of kick ass touristy stuff though. It’s all about the memories, right?? Well Jett can still remember it, but I think Katie is lying and just reading our cues to come up with her own stories.
Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC
April, 2019
Kids Ages: 2 and 4
paRty of 4 