Oak Bay – May 9 – 13, 2016

 Paul's birthday week
So it’s Paul’s birthday week – and we have 5 days off, the question is: what to do? Should we go camping or maybe going to Victoria. And Paul decided Victoria is it. Where to stay – we already discovered Airbnb is awesome and you meet more people and that’s what we did…

 Our Airbnb in Oak bay
Was in a very nice neighbourhood in Oak bay… and we discovered one thing very soon, that there are a lot of amazing old historic houses… and the best a super large driveway for Paul’s charger… The trip went faster than we thought – even we had some amazing views on the still snow-capped mountains of the island and already a little after 1 o’clock were we here at this wonderful place.
Even better in the morning we got some nice muffins and coffee… that is so amazing!
Jim and Lorraine were a super nice couple and we found a lot of things to talk about.

 Coffee in the Willow Park
It’s coffee time – so we checked and went to the closest Tim Hortons – which was inside safe-on-foods… and then went to the closest park… ok we still had our sweaters on, because of the wind and others went in the water for a swim….
One thing is for sure… so far we like it here: some nice picnic tables – a sandy beach with driftwood in front of us and great views to the distant mountains.

 Trafalgar Park
Now we went towards the south and then stopped at the Trafalgar Park: a beautiful viewing platform with not only parking but also benches… and Gine could walk down the rocks… sunshine – great view on the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula – great spring flowers… what more can you ask for…

 McNeill Bay Park
We drive along and see this point… and see there, even some parking available. So we go down and check out the little islet… a table for Paul to enjoy the view from the top, a lot of rocks for Gine to climb around… and finally some nice chairs to sit and let the sun warm us up… we nearly don’t want to leave… but decided time to move on and see more…

 Meeting Ben
And when we want to go in the car, who walk around the corner: Ben… and so we talk and Ben talks and he invites us back to his place, which we do… and there we are, checking out his apartment.

 Oak Bay Marina
The sun calls, and so we walk over to the Oak Bay Marina, on the "turkey head walk", admire the funky Indian art sculpture out of rusted iron and then went around the Marina to check out the seals… which kind of live here and are a lot of fun to watch

 Uplands Park
We haven’t seen all… and so we went up further north the other end of Oak Bay to the Uplands Park and we have to say: wow there are some amazing houses around here, would be nice if you could afford one of those great old heritage houses… and then we walk to the Cattle point… again with great views on the ocean… we sit and talk and wish and plan - because the best plans are always done in nature... and so we brainstorm until we feel a little bit cold.

 Supper in the fancy Marina Restaurant
So earlier we checked the Menu and found fish and chips for reasonable price… and so we went in this super upper classy restaurant (looking totally out of our price range) and sit down and get a super price menu… so when we ask about the fish and chips and get told that they are only for lunch… we ask and guess what we still get them
And then let’s enjoy the last view warmer rays of sunshine and checking again for our friends the seals….
 Bowker Creek Walkwayso nearly right across our front door is first of all the super nice firehall of Oakbay and then also the start of the Bowker Creek Walkway... so what do you do, after eating too much: you go for a after-dinner walk along the creek: with it's cute bridges and the nice walkway underneath some nice old trees - and the battery on the camera goes dead - really!!!

 Uptown Mallneed to go shopping in Victoria - no problem... so we went to the Uptown Mall: a super nice spot with fountain, nice views and of course: Walmart and best buy.. so all what we need is more time for a coffee...
 Gorge Park in Esquimalt
There is more to Victoria and so today we are checking out this area on the west side of downtown Victoria… and we discover this super cool park: we came here for coffee – we came here for relaxing – we came here to walk along the inlet – we came here to check out the Japanese garden…

With some nice benches you can sit and overlook the water, the Japanese garden is beautiful and there is also enough space to put down the towels and soak up the sun.

Some interesting facts:

• Since the 1860s the settlers used this area for recreation and it became a park in 1905
• In 1907 they opened a Japanese tea garden - which got destroyed in the anti-Japanese fervor in 1941 – today the Japanese garden is back
  

 Saxe Point Park – Esquimalt
Was another spot we checked out and here we found another super park: we loved the huge anchor – the viewing platform – the view of the Juan de Fuca Strait and the Olympic mountains. For sure another we should come back here park.
 Along Dallas Roadand before we leave Victoria... we drive along the Beach Drive: stop at the nice chairs and overlook the strait... continue on Dallas Road with a stop at the Beacon Park.... a nice spot for a stop before we head home.
 Malahat lookout
And our little trip was over way too soon – it’s time to say good bye: we are happy to leave the big city and the traffic – we will miss all the excitement and before we go home we are stopping on the Malahat lookout where we enjoyed the super nice view on the Saanich Peninsula: we see were we went the days before. And we found a super nice totem pole here: with the thunderbird on the top and the grizzly bear at the bottom holding a mask…

Victoria we will come again!
But we don’t think we can live in a tiny apartment – so we come for visits only….