Splash 2015 - Day 9 at Victoria

We got our exercise in for today! There is so much to see in Victoria that we decided to do two of the attractions today. We started out with the Craigdarroch Castle.  Following is a quote from the internet that I found describing the castle:

Craigdarroch Castle is a beautiful historic Victorian-era mansion, built in the 1890s by wealthy BC coal baron Robert Dunsmuir, the richest man in nineteenth century British Columbia. The Castle was designed by Portland, Oregon architect, Warren H. Williams. Williams died only four months after construction began on the Castle. The responsibility for building Craigdarroch Castle was given to and successfully completed by Williams’ associate, Arthur L. Smith in 1890. 

The story of the Dunsmuir family and their rise from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of wealth and power in western North America is complex and fascinating. Theirs is a story of profound courage and achievement, ultimately ending in tragedy. Robert Dunsmuir died in April 1889, more than a year before the Castle was completed. After his death, his sons, James and Alexander, assumed the melancholy task of finishing the Castle for their widowed mother, three sisters and two of her orphaned grandchildren. 10 months after Joan’s death in 1908, Craigdarroch was sold and the contents were auctioned off.

For sixty years, the Castle housed various public institutions. It was once a Military Hospital and was known as Victoria College for twenty-five years. The building is now owned and being restored by the Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society.

 

It was a beautiful building with incredible architecture. The woodwork was crafted in Colorado for a price of $45,000 in the 1890s. I love Downton Abbey on PBS and this castle took us right back in time to the same era. The second picture is the formal dining room where the family would eat dinner. The third picture shows the family bathroom. The tile on the wall is original but the fixtures are replicas of what they would have looked like in that era. The photo of the ceiling shows the paintings that were discovered under multiple coats of white paint during the restoration process. The last two pictures are of one of the daughter's bedroom and then a display of dance cards from the ballroom.

 

We returned to the boat for lunch and to rest a little then went to the Royal BC Museum:
 

The Royal BC Museum Corporation is one of Canada’s greatest cultural treasures. The museum was founded in 1886; the Archives, in 1894. In 2003, these two organizations joined to become British Columbia’s combined provincial museum and archives, collecting artifacts, documents and specimens of British Columbia’s natural and human history, safeguarding them for the future, and sharing them with the world.
 

The exhibit included an amazing number of artifacts showcasing the First People history (similar to our Native American culture), Modern History, Natural History and a traveling Gold Rush exhibit. The last two pictures show an authentic 400 oz gold bar and gold medals from the Vancouver Olympics.
 

There have been many street performers around the marina and throughout town. Tonight I heard bagpipes and assumed they were at the Parliament building but when I went to look, I discovered they were also street performers. They were doing a great job (unlike many we saw) so I got their picture and they earned a little extra money.

As we were sitting on our boat tonight Moon came by to tell us that two young girls had an "aquarium" set up on the dock and were charging 15 cents to see it. I went down the dock to find them and they were very excited to collect my quarter and to show me their aquarium. They had some minnows and a bottom feeder in their mom's cooking pot. When I gave them the quarter they said, "We are going to get rich!" They were so cute!

Splash 2015 - Day 8 at Victoria

We've arrived! We are now in Victoria which was our final destination before heading back home. We left Sidney at 11:00am and headed south toward Victoria. As we cruised around the south tip of Vancouver Island we passed the Stanes Point lighthouse. It took us three hours which put us in the harbor at 2:00 - our anticipated arrival time. We were told to standby in the harbor as they decided where to have us dock. Coming into the Inner Harbor was very picturesque as we saw the Empress Hotel, the parliament building and other coastal shops.

 

We arrived in the marina and backed in to our slip. We are rafted to Ingrid and Gary Bruhner but with the stern against the dock, we can walk right on and off our dock! We are situated directly in front of the Empress Hotel and could not be happier! We even have a strong wifi signal here since we are right next to the office.

 

After a dinner of hearty appetizers on Jack and Moon's boat, we visited with people and I got a few pictures as the sun was going down. Larry and Cheryl invited us to their boat for ice cream cones so I was able to get some pictures from their fly bridge.

 

Splash 2015 - Day 7 at Sidney

We started out our day with doing laundry in the fancy laundry room and then headed in to town so Bob could check out the book stores. I was in search of a hat for afternoon tea at the Empress coming up on Saturday so I walked around town, found what I was looking for, and then spent the afternoon on the boat with my book. Bob was intrigued with a Sherman tank that was on display and took lots of pictures of it for reference for his model building. There was also a great military book store right across the street from the tank.

Our day ended with popcorn on the dock with our friends as we planned our trip to Victoria tomorrow. There will be 25 boats from our yacht club coming into the marina for the Victoria Symphony Splash event and they are saying it will be hectic getting all the boats in place since we will have to raft together to fit all the boats in.

Splash 2015 - Day 6 at Sidney

We left Genoa at 11:00 to run over to Sidney which took about two hours. The scenery was beautiful and the marina was amazing. It is such a beautiful setting and first class accommodations. After we tied up, we walked around the marina to get a feel for what was here. I couldn't believe the laundry room - comfortable chairs, a kitchen and TVs! It made doing the laundry a pleasure instead of a chore.

 

We walked around town and Bob was excited to see a vintage Triumph TR3. He drooled over it for awhile and it reminded him of his old Triumph Spitfire.

When we returned to the boat, we settled in for some reading. Across our dock was a sailboat and we nervously watched the captain get hoisted up his mast to do some work on it. Bob just "loves" heights and we were very glad to see him get back to the safety of his deck. I think that gave us one more reason we prefer power boating to sailing.

We had dinner on our boat and enjoyed the quiet of the marina and the beautiful sky as the sun went down.

Splash 2015 - Day 5 at Genoa Bay

We woke to beautiful skies this morning so after breakfast Bob and I did a little geocaching. We found two caches - one under a lawn decoration and the other along the road that leads around the bay.

We got our kayaks down and joined Jack, Moon and Sue out on the bay. It was beautiful and so peaceful. Bob got a picture of all of us in our kayaks but since he wasn't in that one (except for the tip of his kayak), he took a selfie with my 35mm camera. It didn't turn out too bad, after all!

We returned to our boats and prepared to get underway. If we were to walk 3 miles across the island, we would be at our new destination. Genoa Bay was close by but by boat it took us 1 hour and 10 minutes. On our way, we passed through a group of kids taking sailing lessons. They were having a great time but we had to be on our toes to be sure none of them inadvertently sailed in front of us. The scenery was beautiful as we sailed around this part of the island.

We were in for a treat! We all were very taken with Genoa Bay. It is another quaint little marina with a cute art gallery, restaurant and seaside decor.

The Waggoner's cruising guide recommended the marina restaurant as a great place to eat. Since the dinner menu was pretty pricey, we decided to try it for lunch. We were all thrilled with our choices. Their pulled pork sandwiches were fantastic according to Bob and several of us had fish tacos that were also wonderful. The only problem was an abundance of bees on the deck but the restaurant had one bee zapper that patrons passed around between tables. Larry managed to kill one while we were there. This last picture is of the waitress showing Cheryl and Larry how to use the credit card machine that they bring to the table. Such a great idea - your credit card is never out of your sight. Come on US, we need to get with it!

We took it easy this afternoon and then all had dinner on our boats. We gathered on the dock for apple pie and ice cream. Larry got a great shot of all of us from the fly bridge of his boat.