We decided to take the Ferry twice as part of our trip. The first ferry went from a port just across the Canadian border from Point Roberts to a port north of Victoria. It was a cool experience, driving our car right onto the boat. Unfortunately, there was only a small section of the ferry that allowed dogs. By the time we got parked and up onto the deck, most of the seats inside in the pet friendly area were taken and there wasn't a great view from the 2 seats that were available. So we sat down on a bench in the outside pet friendly area. It was great before we started moving.
But then the ferry started moving and the wind picked up. It was already cooler this day than it had been all week in Vancouver and Point Roberts. But when the wind picked up, it made it quite chilly. We braved it for a little while longer.
After about 20 minutes out there, we decided to move inside. Only, there were still just the 2 seats in the pet friendly area. We left Ashley, Tyler, and Lula there and the rest of us went in search of 3 seats together in another part of the ferry. It took us a couple of laps around the ferry before we decided on our seats. They were the only 3 that we could find that were together. Unfortunately, they were facing seats that were occupied. We squeezed our way into the row and tried not to feel uncomfortable about facing people we didn't know. We mostly looked out the window and looked at each other.
We were on the ferry for about an hour and a half. When we got off, we drove south and explored a few places on our way to Victoria. We stopped at a public beach, but it wasn't much of a beach. And it was a 1/4 mile walk over to the water.
We were ready to eat after that, so we found a Dairy Queen with outdoor seating. Then we continued on to Victoria and checked into our hotel. We relaxed for a bit and made a plan for the rest of our day in Victoria. We started at this castle with gardens around it. We happened to arrive just before a graduation at the venue. The grounds are shared with a college. We were worried that this would make the area more crowded and parking hard to find, but it ended up being fine. We walked around the castle first.
When we got to the gardens, we learned that dogs were not allowed inside the gated garden area. The internet misled us on this one. The boys and I went into the garden while Ashley, Danny, and Lula hung out outside. The gardens were really pretty. There were some really tall and unique looking trees.
There were some fun bridges and ponds.
And a rose garden with all different colors of roses. I had the boys each find their favorite.
After the castle and gardens, we left and found another dog friendly beach nearby. It had a little playground next to the parking lot, so the boys stayed and played for a little bit and the girls (plus the dog) walked down the beach. There was a lot of driftwood, so once we got past other people that were sitting on the beach, we found our own driftwood to chill on.
Lula explored the area. She was more interested in the trees than she was in the water. Ashley and I had a good laugh when Lula chased after a crow and then it started mobbing her (like they would do with the eagles in Point Roberts). After a few swoops down over Lula, I think the crow realized that Lula was much scarier than a bigger bird and it gave up and flew away.
The boys found us after about 20 minutes of sitting there. They had fun throwing sticks into the water.
After the beach, we headed over to Fisherman's Warf. I wanted to get some quality fish and chips and thought this would be a good place to get them. We walked around first to see what our options were.
There were some funny signs around as we walked.
The fish and chips did not disappoint. But we ordered way too much, so we took the leftovers home. Ashley ate them for breakfast the next day (she was not a fan of hotel breakfasts, so she usually just ate our dinner leftovers for breakfast. It worked out well, because she was happy to eat it in the morning and we didn't have to throw the food away).
While we were waiting for our food, Lula had fun trying to get the pigeons that were all around the tables. One of the workers standing nearby thought she was fun to watch. Ashley, thrilled by the chance to show Lula off, stood up and did some tricks with her for the guy. She was limited by the leash and the fact that Lula was quite interested in the birds, but she did a few things. Then the guy left for a bit and came back with some dog treats for her.
After dinner, we headed out, stopping to get a picture with this less than impressive sign. There was a much better one as we were driving out of the area, but no where to stop the car near it.
The boys swam in the pool again that night. There was no hot tub, so I just read on the side of the pool and tried to avoid getting splashed.
The next morning we checked out of our hotel and then headed over to this park that Danny and I had walked through when we stopped in Victoria for our Alaskan Cruise. I think it was called Beacon Hill Park. We were interested in the cricket game being played in the field next to where we parked, so we watched them play for a bit. We did not understand the rules of the game, though, so we didn't watch for long. This park had sooooooooo many birds. Like really big birds (peacocks, geese, ducks). There were also some squirrels, but not as many as there were birds. Lula was not that interested in the peacocks or geese, but she chased after some of the smaller birds.
We walked to the top of the hill, where the Canada flagpole was and then went in search of a playground for the boys. They were getting bored. While they played, Ashley and I walked around more with Lula and found some more birds.
We also walked around this pond and laughed about the turtles lined up on the log.
When we got done at the park, we went in search of food. We found a chicken place, but there was no outdoor seating near it, so Danny parked on the street and left us all in the car so he could run in and get the food. As we were sitting in the car, a homeless guy walked past and peed in the corner of a building right next to our car. So gross. It was raining a bit, so we went back to beacon hill park and ate the food in our car. After we finished eating, we headed to the ferry. We thought we were 30 minutes early, but when we got there, we realized that we were actually late. We didn't realize that this ferry required us to be there twice as long beforehand to do all of the customs stuff. This ferry was a lot more dog friendly so we were able to get some nice comfy seats together with a nice view. We arrived in Port Angeles in the late afternoon. We checked into a VRBO that we found kind of last minute. It was owned by the owner of a hotel across the street from it, so we still got to use the amenities from the hotel, including their breakfast. We got pizza for the kids for dinner. Danny and I went to dinner at a steak and seafood place. The food was good. There were some loud bells that rang on the hour all through the night. The first couple of times we heard it, there were 10 and 11 in a row, so it went on forever. There must have been a church or something nearby.
