Why the Saalish made hats

 The last few days, I have continued to explore the region. I follow the coast and stop at every park going. On a quest, of course, to see orcas on the straight. I am told they go by, but patience must be a watchword. SIGH!

The weather has turned cold again and the wind off the water can be very chilling.

I have been able to spot Grebes and even a small flock of Pacific Loons. Mark that in my book!

The poor weather has been good for my art though. I do a bit of gardening and then rest by sitting and doing some watercolours, drawing or oil pastels. I will post later, when I've sifted through all of it to choose what I like best.

Thursday was a day to travel down to Victoria. Not only to see the city, but to visit a friend of the family whom I had not seen since around 1976.

The drive to Victoria is a main highway as the ferry into Nanaimo is one of the gateways onto the island. Spectacular views are spectacular, even if it is very gray and rainy.

I passed through towns like Ladysmith, North Cowichan and Duncan. The whole trip took just over an hour and a half. There are a few mountains to go up, up, up and then come down, down, dpwn. At the top of of one of the mountain, near Mill Bay is this incredible vista. A picture must, but because it was a divided highway, I could only get the picture on my way back where there was a pull-over for just his purpose.

I got into Victoria just around lunchtime and parked near the parliament buildings. The sun seemed to arrive at the same time and it warmed up quite a bit.

There are a lot of very old and very impressive trees in town. Not only this redwood, but these two weeping cedars? in front of the Empress Hotel.

I walked along Government street, enjoying the shops, the quayside activity and the architecture.

Chinatown is at the far end of this street and has a lot of nice street sculpture and an enormous gate.

I found a lovely little Japanese restaurant and had a bento box lunch while reading Canadian author, Christopher Hyde. A great spy/mystery/adventure story.

I was meeting the family friend at their house around four, so after walking the downtown area, finding a coffee at BC's chain, Serious Coffee (I love their slogan, Tall, Dark and have some) I climbed back into my Rent a Wreck car and headed for View Royal.

View Royal is a suburb of Victoria with houses perched on hills that slide down into the sea. When I arrived, the tide was out and you could see tracks of birds and animals in the muddy bottom. They have otters that come and use their fish pond as a spa.

We went walking on a beach just west of the city and saw swans, more grebes and geese. The driftwood is huge and though it is symbolic of beaches in BC, I see it as the result of cut trees escaping the booms and drifting till they hit a shore.

I almost forgot the picture of Emely Carr with a dressed monkey on her shoulder. This is in front of the art gallery in Victoria.

This morning dawned rainy. Not enough to make the drive back to Nanaimo a worry, but glum in the aspects of all the views I passed. The colour green is dominant though. I'm sure in the wet, wet woods there is an emerald that's all slippery and lush.

In making this visit to Vancouver Island, there is always the thought of whether a place like BC would be a good home. I still reserve judgement since we've had mixed rain and sun. I'm told that Nanaimo, being on the lee side of the Island, gets more sunshine than Victoria, particularly in winter. Hmmm...would that be enough.

This last winter in Toronto was the cloudiest and glummest I remember. I know it got me down and made winter feel endless, so a winter of more constant rain or cloud is a real consideration.