Friday, July 31, 2009
Butchart Gardens
Next morning after breakfast we headed for the bus stop with the direct Bus 75 going to Butchart Gardens. On the way we enjoyed walking along the busy streets of Victoria, exploring shops, particularly looking for Canadian sweatshirts to buy for Ti and Bo, since they didn’t pack enough warm clothing for Canadian evenings.
Barely missing Bus 75 and hungry for lunch, we again were blessed to be recommended to a fish and chips restaurant voted “Best in Victoria” – Ole Fish and Chips! This time everyone ordered Pacific Halibut and onion rings. Delicious! Thankfully, again our children enjoyed “fish”!
Next stop Butchart Gardens! What is there to say about this historic 100 year old delightful landscape of sunken gardens, ponds, waterfalls, roses, and every conceivable flower the mind can dream?! We took what felt like unlimited pictures, amazed and in awe at every bend in the path. Tabitha’s love of flowers and instinct was soaking in all the colors and varieties imagining re-creating (ha, ha – basically only daylilies now) the flower designs in our own small yard. We lingered enjoying everything till the last bus left for the ferry, about 7:50 pm. We’ve seen gardens in France and England while visiting palaces, but none of them begin to rival Butchart Gardens. It is in a class all to itself, rivaled possibly only by what the mind can imagine.
After enjoying the evening ferry cruise and its night beauty while playing various card games, we arrived back at the Tsawwassen parking lot about 10:30 pm. Exhausted from our travels, we slept right there in the lot in our own RV till the wee hours of the morning! How long can one sleep with motor cars racing for the spaces, doors banging and excited people rushing for the ferry? 
