Saturday, July 27, 2013

The Trip Home

The last morning broke sunny and warm and looked good for a better trip than the day before.

Butchart Gardens 94 There were even some jellyfish swimming around the dock.

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The US Customs at Roche Harbor was really nice.

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The weather stayed pretty good until we got into a fog bank in the channel.

Butchart Gardens 98 There was fog,big ship wakes, Victoria Clippers and rough water all the way to John Wayne. Thankfully this time no one was sick!

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Boating and Buchart Gardens

A gray foggy morning makes for a nasty day on the water. It was really rough, especially in the shipping channels, and visibility was AWFUL! Being seasick makes a rough trip even worse. Thankfully, it did eventually clear up.

Butchart Gardens 15 Going through Canadian customs was easy and we were quickly back on our way to Brentwood Bay Marina.

Butchart Gardens 16Butchart Gardens 20  After lunch we called a cab to the gardens.

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The gardens were gorgeous! And the weather was perfect!

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the Good Luck Boar

The Sunken Garden was beautiful!

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There were so many pretty things to see…

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The bog garden, rose garden and Italian gardens were also very nice…

Butchart Gardens 73 Butchart Gardens 50 Butchart Gardens 51 Butchart Gardens 56 Butchart Gardens 58 Butchart Gardens 65 Butchart Gardens 69 Butchart Gardens 71 The carousel was new and had some very cool and unique animals.

Butchart Gardens 54 Butchart Gardens 53Our favorite was the Japanese Garden!

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After dinner we went to a folk music concert…

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Butchart Gardens 90After dark, the garden was beautifully lit.

Butchart Gardens 93 Butchart Gardens 91 Butchart Gardens 92   By the time we got back to the boat, we were all exhausted and slept great!

Vancouver Island Cruise – Day 1

Walt and Dena took us on a quick cruise in their boat to Vancouver Island to visit Buchart Gardens. We left the day before and spent the night at the John Wayne Marina in Sequim.

On the way, one of the tires on the boat trailer had a blow out. We changed it at a coffee stand near a gas station. We were able to use some landscaping block and the trailer jack to change the tire all by ourselves.

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Butchart Gardens 02We were back on the road in no time. We stopped for supper. While maneuvering in the parking lot, a woman seemed to be following us in her car. Finally, she rolled down her window and said that one of the tires on our trailer was shredded. What??? Sure enough, the center tire was in bad shape.

Butchart Gardens 03    In order to make the rest of the trek to the marina, we removed the tire. We put the boat in the water, tied up to the dock, and settled in for the night…

Butchart Gardens 08 Butchart Gardens 05 We looked at the map to see where we were and where we were going.

Butchart Gardens 11 The morning was cool and foggy. We got up at the crack of dawn and took a stroll before we were underway.

Butchart Gardens 09 Butchart Gardens 14 Butchart Gardens 12 Butchart Gardens 13And then we were off…