Alaska Cruise Days Five & Six

 Happy Mother's Day from Victoria, BC. For quite a while there were only four of us in the line of people getting off but not doing an excursion. We were feeling pretty adventurous and brave striking out on our own in the wilds of the capital city of British Columbia... LOL

No city buses this time. Instead we bought tickets for the Hop On - Hop Off tour bus. And unlike in Ketchikan, this one stops when you wave it down at one of their mapped but unsigned stops... Whew!

 We took the second half of the 90-minute tour before getting back to the starting point at The Empress Hotel: the landmark of Victoria. While unlike most of the passengers who went to Buchart Gardens, we enjoyed the flowers out front of the hotel on our way to use the free wi-fi at the visitor's center. 

First stop along the way... Tim Horton's. :) 

With our Google map downloaded, we walked 20 minutes back from where we came from to Craigdarroch Castle. Built by Robert Dunsmuir, a wealthy coal magnate, from 1887-1890. Unfortunately he died before construction was finished. Joan lived in the house for 18 years before her death and left the house to her 5 surviving daughters, but not to her estranged surviving son who had sued her. The children auctioned off everything in the house but were unable to sell the castle itself. So they held a raffle with $1 tickets. The winner never lived in the castle but used it as collateral for business loans but went bankrupt in only 10 years.

In 1919 it became a hospital for WWI veterans. It housed Victoria College from 1921-1944 and was used as their offices from 1946-1968.The Victoria Conservatory of Music used it from 1968-1979. The Castle Society made it a permanent museum that same year. 

So many things to see! The restoration is spectacular! Well worth the price of admission...

Then we walked to China Town for dinner. 

First we wandered through Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest street in Canada...

Then we hopped back on the bus back at the Empress for the second half of the tour and a ride back to the ship.

But then we decided to get off a couple of stops early and wander through Fisherman's Wharf on the way home. Turned out to be a very good decision. The hot maple mini donuts were incredible and worth a trip back to Victoria... 

Then we packed up our checked bags, changed, grabbed some pizza, went back to the Boleros for drinks and surprisingly enjoyed the karaoke. We didn't sing but we loved the fun energy and supportive audience participation. A few were really good! And somehow I got swept up by a fun group of ladies and ended up on the dance floor. I guess you never know what will happen on a cruise ship??? ;)

The last show was the comedian again. And he was just as funny in his second performance. 

We got up bright and early to grab some breakfast before our 7:30am departure time only to be greeted much like we started the trip... a line. Thankfully this one was much more comfortable in the 270 Lounge, had nice seats, frequent updates and food. And it was only 90 minutes. 

Grabbed our luggage, waited 45 minutes for the parking lot shuttle, had an easy drive home in plenty of time to get all unpacked and pick up the dog before Chris even needed to teach and go to his evening meeting at church. 

It was a very nice trip. Not our favorite new vacation. But I think we'll give it another chance someplace warm... :)