By Joanne Reid It’s early morning in the beautiful city of Victoria, British Columbia, and already we are on our way to The Butchart Gardens, located in the Brentwood Bay area. The gardens are on 55 acres of land originally purchased and used by the Butchart family to build a cement factory (due to its […]
Although Victoria Butterfly Gardens is small in size and can be toured in an hour, you may wish to stay longer, wandering the pathways that will bring you to ponds filled with koi, tortoises, frogs, and tropical birds including the peaceful and elegant flamingos.
The heritage ghost town at 3 Valley Gap displays years of effort by the Bell family. It contains 25 historic buildings from all over British Columbia. On a daily tour, you’ll see Hotel Bellevue, the Golden Wheel Saloon, a blacksmith shop complete with artifacts, a barbershop, and a jail, among others.
Only half the distance from Vancouver as the Whistler/Blackcomb peak-to-peak gondola, the new Sea to Sky Gondola, just minutes south of Squamish, British Columbia, makes a nice day trip for those of us who don’t want to spend the entire day traveling. Less than an hour’s drive from just about anywhere in Vancouver, this new facility offers easy hiking trails and sweeping views of not only the Squamish Inlet, but also Diamond Head and Sky Pilot mountain ranges. The drive up the Sea to Sky Highway is always scenic on a sunny day, and a very pleasant day trip can be accomplished in five or six hours.
