Tsunami Zone

A little further up the road from Jordan River - one of the many "tsunami" zones where debris

still washes up from Japan after the devastating earthquake in 2011.

Jordan River

The trek from the parking lot at Jordan River wasn't very different from French Beach but I

enjoyed it immensely. Efforts had been made to make it somewhat safer which

I appreciated :)

I enjoy the suspense of going down down down until finally

the beach and water is revealed.

Of course on my way down I had to snap a few photos of the flora - more

fantastic ferns...

 I love how ancient ferns are - they've been around since the Jurassic period!

Finally I emerge from the trail and reach the beach

 - as I am just a few kilometres down the road from

French beach it isn't really anything new.

But to me it's worth looking at again.

View to my left...

View to my right - somewhere down there is the actual Jordan River.

Hey - I'm getting better timing the waves!

The Russians are coming.....!

I'm going to have the Dickens of a time deciding which photos

I'll turn into watercolour paintings - this one below is a contender!

 I have to say the size and amount of 

driftwood and tree fall 

on the island's shores boggles my mind! 

I saw many a warning sign and I obeyed!

 Hi everyone - having a terrific time exploring the coast!

The weather is perfect.

 Tree sculptures :)

Anyone know what these flowers are called?

 I turned and walked to my right (northwest) to see if I could

find the river but ran into a rock wall. 

Time to travel further along the coast. I want to walk

part of the Marine Trail in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.

There is a section that runs from China Beach to

Mystic Beach - how can I NOT go to Mystic Beach!?

 Next up: The trail to Mystic Beach!

Off to the West Coast of the West Coast

While visiting B.C. for Canada's 150th birthday I took 1497 photos. 

Be afraid....be very afraid.....

Nah...don't worry, I will be selective. 

The area that I covered on my 2nd day on the island is in the bottom right hand corner...I druve and I druve my little Veloster heading ultimately for the Marine Trail in Juan de Fuca Provincial Park.

I don't know about you but when I see signs and gravel roads headed towards the ocean (or in this case the Juan de Fuca Straits) I just have to explore. 

So I did.

First place I stopped was called French Beach.

There was a small parking lot and a trail headed, I guessed wisely, to French Beach.

***

One thing I noticed about most trails I was on - TREE ROOTS! 

Look up and trip, look down, look up and trip, look down! 

I wore good shoes with heavy tread but my hiking boots would have been a better choice

and I worried constantly (that's a bald-faced lie) about rolling my ankles.

I didn't thankfully so I am good for Scotland in September! Imagine how many

photos I'll take on that trip! 😝

I am a big fan of ferns I think they are fantastic!

Over the mucky areas - boardwalks! 

I took the opportunity to look up safely...

and this is what I saw!

 My sculptor's eye sees the most wonderful creatures in the trees...

 Do you ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?

Nope, me either...

I made one of my own but not sure where the photo is...

 Perfect timing!

 I love how the light filters through the trees... 

Soooo, if there is moss on all sides of a stump which way is north? 

Welcome to French Beach!!

Ummmmmm, where's the water?

There are gigantic trees....

I'm getting closer... 

 Ta da! Gorgeous French Beach with the Olympic Mts. in the background! 

Aaaack! Are we being invaded?

 Looking to my right - I love how the giant trees come right to the water's edge.

Excuse me while I practice taking shots of the waves breaking on the shore...

it's all about the timing!

Nope.

Better...

 BEST!

 There was a nice picnic area. Compare the size of the picnic table to the tree next to it!

 I tried to upload a movie I took of the sounds of
the waves but the file was a little too big
and I don't know how to edit to make
it smaller!
So....imagine....

Next stop - Jordan River!

Victoria B.C. Time to Explore!

Whenever I travel now I book my accommodations on Airbnb. So far I haven't been disappointed. Victoria was no exception. The things I look for are: close to downtown but not TOO close, separate quarters from the owners, doesn't cost an arm and a leg, wifi,  a fridge and a corkscrew :)

This lovely setup met all of my requirements. It had a nice living area with a patio...

...a full size kitchen with all the needed appliances... (I stocked the fridge with yogurt and blueberries for my 3 breakfasts...)

...and it was on the main floor of a house with the owner and her two very quiet young boys living upstairs...

...a very comfortable bed and a brand new bathroom...no tub, but a really nice shower!

The location was St. Lawrence St. which was just a few blocks away from "downtown" Victoria. On this particular trip I needed a parking space too and there was a short driveway that was just the right size and was conveniently located next to the patio and patio doors so it was easy to carry things in from and out to the rental car.

It was a nice street with attractive Craft style homes with loads of flowers, shrubs and trees. The section of the street I was on was one way and very quiet.

At the end of my street, two blocks away, was a park that I walked through arriving at the Fisherman's Wharf. I could see clear across to the other side of the bay and watched the activity of the many boats and pontoon planes.

The harbour contains a "working wharf" which is very colourful and full of different kinds of businesses, not just the usual fishing boats.

This became my favourite place in Victoria and my friend Troy and I ate there on my birthday - I had seared tuna for the first time with a lovely chardonnay - it was so fresh and tasty.

It's a very busy place!

 

What I loved the best were the "floating houses"! There are 33 of them occupied year round. There was one for sale - if only I had a spare million lying around! Small living appeals to me very much, and living at the wharf year round sounds ideal.

Some are one story, most are two and many have a rooftop patio and garden. Some people operate businesses from their floating house.

This very colourful one appealed to my artistic side...

Piers become streets...

Most floating houses show the characteristics of the owners...

The green one has a nice rooftop patio.

There were many water taxis to help people get quickly to the other side of the bay...

 I continued on to explore downtown Victoria seeing a well-occupied fountain...

The HUGE Empress Hotel which I would have loved to explore but we weren't allowed...

The Parliament buildings were quite beautiful I thought...

A closer view of the Empress Hotel. If you book far enough in advance you can enjoy High Tea for about a million dollars.  (Now I need TWO million dollars!!)

Here's my high tea :)  After strolling the streets and taking in the sights I found a pub called "The Local" where I enjoyed a cold beverage and a quesadilla.

This is my view of the bay from "The Local" ...

...a different view...

 Remembering the dead in both World Wars...

 

A Sequoia tree that was planted in the late 1800's - it grows about one foot per year! Every Christmas it is loaded with lights.

You can see tiny people on the sidewalk beside the tree which shows how huge it is!

Parliament and First Nations going head to head - saving sacred land is an ongoing battle.

I saw this in a window of someone's home business - I couldn't resist!!

Lots of plants and flowers that I'd never seen before - beautiful!

And that was my first day - I travelled 3700 kms by Uber, plane, rental car and ferry and safely arrived at my first destination. Tomorrow I'll head to the west coast of Vancouver Island for hiking and exploring. The weather forecast looks great!