This is our last touring day. Just as well, as we were about to fold. But, Victoria awaits and here we come! We had no idea that Victoria was so far, and it took as long to get there as it turned out to be. Our medium-sized tour bus with about 16 passengers took off at 8AM with its very chatty driver. She talked to us without stop. She did not even come up for air, all through the drive to the Ferry and all through the drive from the Ferry to Victoria. It was quite painful. I managed to tune her out most of the time, and just caught bits of the more relevant info. However, poor Colette just suffered in silence, wishing for some quiet contemplation of the lovely countryside as we speeded by. The ferry ride was OK, however it paled in comparison to our tour through the Inland Passage. Victoria was interesting but I probably expected something smaller and different. Maybe if we were able to spend more time here we could have explored the more interesting areas. But as it was, I was not too impressed. We took off quite late for the Buchard Gardens, which gave us practically no time to enjoy it. We just run through, even though I managed to take some photos of the Sunken Gardens, the lovely display of the fountains, and the over-planted Japanese Gardens. The roses had not come to full bloom yet so sadly we missed that treat. The begonias however were exquisite and in full regalia. Definitely not enough time to see it and appreciate it all, as much too soon to our dismay it was time to return to our “Motor (mouth) Coach”. On our trip back we had a much newer and bigger ferry that whisked us back to Vancouver. We passed up dinner and returned to our rooms by a taxi. Our last day of touring was probably just one day too many. We were much too tired to give it our full energy and justice. Still we saw what we came for and now it is time to think of our return trips home.

This is once again travel day. Time to say good-bye to my friend, and to Vancouver. This morning the cats (two of them) decided to grace us with their presence. This made Colette’s visit complete, and she can go home now in peace. Colette had the earlier flight and we said our goodbyes right after breakfast. No tears, just warm hugs. Later I took a local bus to the nearby University of British Columbia where I walked around a bit, took a few pictures and then I too made my way to the airport. My flight was on time and uneventful, happy to report. So, as all good things must come to an end, this vacation of high adventure has come to a close as well.