July 16, 2025 - Driving from Alaska to Maryland
Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC

Leaving Butchart Gardens, we drove south to Victoria, where we stayed overnight in the quaint James Bay Inn.  The Inn was a short walk to downtown Victoria and the Inner Harbor.

Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.  Named for Queen Victoria, the city is one of the oldest in the Pacific Northwest, with British settlement beginning in 1843.

 
   

In the hotel lobby we spotted this newspaper which said the U.S. Coast Guard tall ship "Eagle" was in town.  Ten years ago, our next door neighbor was Captain of the Eagle and invited us to ride the Eagle from Annapolis to Baltimore:  Link.
   

After checking in, we walked around town in the late afternnon.

This is a memorial to the Canadians who died during World War I,  World War II, Korea, and Afghanistan.
   
Victoria's two most famous landmarks are the Parliament Buildings (finished in 1897 and home of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia) and the Empress Hotel (opened in 1908).
 
This is the Parliament Building of British Columbia.  
 
   
Very impressive.  The building, that is.
   
Down at the harbor and our first look at the famous Fairmont Empress hotel.
   
Victoria was one of the stops on our Alaska Cruise back in June 2015 (Link).  But we were only here for a few evening hours.  The ladies had tea at the Fairmont Empress.  I don't think I even got off the ship.
   
Orca and baby Orca, made out of flowers on a grassy wave.
   
For good reason Victoria is known as "the Garden City".
   
 
   
The Royal British Columbia Museum which features exhibits on local Aboriginal peoples, natural history, and modern history.  It was too late in the day to check it out, unfortunately.
   
We had dinner at the Old Spagetti Factory, in honor of the many times we had a family dinner at the Old Spagetti Factory in Sacramento which my parents and grandparents.
   
 
   
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