US Canada Relations

Enjoying the sun outside my parents' building

My blog post title has a double meaning. There is currently a trade war happening between the USA and Canada. Also, we live in the US but have relations (relatives) in Canada.

Jonathan and I left home on Monday April 21st. We had no wait or problem at the border. We caught the 11 am ferry to Victoria.

I was able to help my parents with various tasks such as changing my mom's clothes from winter to summer and researching further care for them. 

We stayed at Marketa's for two nights. That was all I was able to get. Rooms book up fast there. Monday night we had dinner at Village Taverna (Greek food) in Cook Village. I had dinner there in January with my boys. I remember seeing the same waitress.

On Tuesday morning, J and I did some tourist things. We had never been to Victoria's Chinatown before.

I had heard of Fan Tan alley for years but I've never been.  It is the narrowest commercial street in North America. It is 3 feet wide at the narrowest point. The name Fan Tan comes from a Chinese gambling game. 

Even Alexander was impressed with this photo.

There are various shops in the alley. Most weren't open yet since we got there quite early.

We found a bakery run by Filipino Christians called Friends and Family Bakery. Jonathan loves shaking cherry trees to get the petals to fall. I played along and he took a photo of me under the "snow."

remember to click on the photo to enlarge

We saw a little girl playing with the petals that accumulated on the ground in a different spot.

Our next stop was Fisherman's Wharf. We hadn't spent time there before either. We got lunch from the famous Barb's Fish and Chips. We ate outside. 

We got chatting to a couple nearby and they were also staying at Marketa's. They took our photo and we took theirs.

I spotted this sign at a donut shop.

We enjoyed seeing the variety of house boats.

We could wander among the houseboats but there was a sign asking for quiet. This looks like an actual house on top of a boat.

J spotted a houseboat bed and breakfast. Wondering about staying there some time.

In the afternoon we took my mom for a drive along Dallas Road. Stopped for ice cream at Beacon Drive In. 

We had dinner that night at the Penny Farthing. We ate outside again! I had meatloaf and I was impressed at how they made it look so appealing.

On Wednesday morning J and I walked along Dallas Road and went down to the shore.

We had lunch on Wednesday at an old favourite - The Village Restaurant in Estevan Village. We ate outside, again! 

On the way to Oak Bay hotel, we saw this view of Mt. Baker.

We stayed Wednesday night at the Oak Bay Beach hotel. We went into the hot tub and pool in the late afternoon.  We had dinner at the Snug Pub. There were lots of sailing boats going by which was nice.

We took some family photos and said goodbye.

In the evening we went down to the pool area but didn't go in again. I enjoyed seeing the stars. We can't see stars very well where we live so I appreciate that about Victoria. 

On Thursday morning we took another view at the gorgeous view,

checked out, then grabbed a quick breakfast from Starbucks. We were able to catch the 10 am ferry even though the website wouldn't let us reserve that time and we had booked the 11 am sailing.

We were on a 60 + year old ferry.

We stopped for lunch at Tsawwassen Mills mall. We were surprised at the size of this mall and wondered how it will keep so many stores open. We had a 20 minute wait at the border. No problems there. 

One interesting thought I had once we returned home: significant events seem to happen when I visit Victoria. In September 2022, I got the news of the Queen's death while driving north. Last time I visited in January, Justin Trudeau announced his retirement. Most recently, the Pope died on the day we were travelling to Victoria.

Pin It