Victoria
Canada has been one of my favorite places to travel over the last six years and Vancouver Island has been my favorite place so far in this country. It is crazy to think of all the times I have been on this island, that I have not once visited the Butchart Gardens. When I was younger I remember passing the billboard on I5 on the way to Eugene and thought to myself that I would one day go there.
As I get on the ferry to cross over to Victoria, I notice that it is very cloudy and wonder if I chose a bad day. But I was already here and I would just have to stick it out. I got off the ferry and started to drive to my destination and I see that the clouds have started to burn off and the sun had started to play peek a boo with the remaining ones. It only took me about ten minutes to get to the gardens. The sun had finally come out of hiding and the entrance to the gardens was beautiful. I knew this would be an amazing day!
I figure I would spend a couples hours at the garden and then go venture around Victoria. Well I was wrong with that assumption. I walked into Butchart Gardens and realize the enormity of the place and soon realized that one person could spend many hours in this garden.
The sights and smells were absolutely breathtaking. I never thought of myself spending more than a few seconds looking at a single flower, but here I was looking for a few minutes at one flower, smelling, gently touching, and snapping pictures to put on the web. Another thing I kind of obsessed with was all the bees around the area. Of course where there are flowers there are bees. Cute little honey bees and fuzzy bumble bees were all over the gardens. I was able to get a few snap shots of the little guys, but they don’t make for very cooperative models. I can honestly say I’ve never been this close to a bee without getting stung, which to me was amazing. I was able to get many amazing shots of flowers, bees, and landscapes. I also realize that couple hours I was going to spend here ended up being five. Where did all the time go?
I decided that it was time for me to go. So much for venturing around Victoria, oh well there will be other days. As I started to make my way back to the ferry, I made a wrong turn and ended up in a delightful little place called Victoria Butterfly Garden. So I decided to make the stop and check it out. Inside was humid little butterfly paradise, with a huge variety of the beautiful winged insects. I was lucky enough to see one emerge from its chrysalis and watched it start to slowly dry its wings. Of course I had my camera but I wasn't quite smart enough to take a video of it. Oh well next time right?
After spending an hour at the butterfly gardens, I decided to make my way back to the ferry and then the states. What a great way to spend my day and I realize I travel more than most but I still feel like I don’t travel enough. While on the ferry I think of other places I could easily drive to on just two days off and think I could very well make this a habit. What will be my next random adventure? And when will it be?
