When we see Vancouver today it’s hard to imagine what the city looked like 150 years ago; well, the fact is, there was no city! A couple of mills had been opened up in the 1860s and these started Vancouver‘s long love affair with lumber. The mills also attracted workers and where there were workers drinks were required, so the first saloon was built. This signalled the start of the construction of Vancouver’s original downtown, all thanks to one man named Gassy Jack Deighton. Gassy Jack opened the first saloon in 1867 and this neighbourhood of Vancouver was later named […]

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Butchart Gardens near Victoria BC is, without a doubt, one of the finest botanical gardens in the world, and is consistently ranked as one of the city’s top attractions, even being honoured with an exhibit in its name at Florida’s Epcot Centre. Whether you plan to visit the gardens for only a few hours, or if you intend to spend an entire day or two taking in the flowers and foliage, you are certain to come away feeling relaxed, and refreshed. Butchart Gardens History and Highlights Built over several decades by Robert Pim Butchart and his wife Jennie, who established […]

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If you are in Sooke and only have time for one scenic walk, visit Whiffin Spit Park. To find Whiffin Spit, you must head down Whiffen Spit Road, which heads south of the main road (Highway 14). Follow the signs to Whiffin Spit or Sooke Harbour House, both of which are found at the end of Whiffin Spit Road. There is a small parking lot that I imagine during high season is hard to find space in. You may need to find street parking and walk in. According to the signs, Whiffin Spit is named for a clerk on the […]

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The name of this new hotel in Sooke BC is a bit of a mouthful, but it is worth investigating. I’m very fond on new hotels because you never get a “tired” room. This feels like a double branded hotel. This Sooke hotel is part of the Prestige Hotels and Resorts collection of hotels which are in major BC communities like Vernon, Nelson, Kelowna, Cranbrook, Golden, Radium Hot Springs, Rossland and Salmon Arm. When you pull into their parking lot, you are met with white columns and a very high impressive front. It was off season when we visited so […]

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Located off of Highway 14 (Sooke Rd.) on Phillips Rd, this is one of the more interesting Visitor Centres to visit. A lot of times when you go to a visitor centre, it’s a dull looking facility with racks of brochures and booklets. This is not the case with Sooke‘s visitor centre. This place has the top of a lighthouse on it! The Triangle Island Lighthouse was moved from its original location to the Sooke Visitor Centre and Museum. Once inside the staff running the centre are very knowledgeable and within a few minutes we had set our priorities of […]

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Embarking on a whale watching cruise in search of Orcas, Grey Whales, or Humpback Whales is an excellent way to spend a beautiful day on the water. Let’s take a look at some of the top whale watching experiences British Columbia has to offer. When to Go You’ll find whales in the waters off BC all year long, but the whales are most abundant during the months between May and October; the weather during these warmer months is ideal for enjoying a nautical adventure, too. Where to See Whales In 2010, Travel and Leisure Magazine named the west coast of […]

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If you love skiing you probably think of gliding down on the white stuff when anyone mentions a mountain! For me, who is not a skier by the way, I think of hikes and fabulous views, and Vancouver‘s Grouse Mountain is somewhere that offers these in abundance, plus there is of course an alpine ski area here too! One of the reasons why Vancouver is such a popular place is its setting; surrounded by mountains and water this really is one of the world’s most beautiful cities. You’ll find Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver, that is, across the Burrard Inlet […]

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Around the world there are scenic highways that are renowned for their beauty, and that must be driven on at least once in your life; well here in Canada that road is the Sea to Sky Highway, and, on a clear day at least, this is one of the most scenic stretches of road you’ll find anywhere. The Sea to Sky Highway is officially named Highway 99 and this most famous stretch of it runs along the coast from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver, and heads 134 kilometres (83 miles) north, passing through Lions Bay, Squamish, Whistler and eventually Pemberton. […]

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While on the last few hours of our trip to Sooke, we wanted to see one of the train trestles on the Galloping Goose Trail. This trail is part of the Part of the Trans Canada Trail. It begins in Leechtown (a former gold rush town), north of the Sooke Potholes Regional Park, to the Johnson Street Bridge in downtown Victoria. Our tiny 20 minute walk began after we investigated the Sooke Potholes Regional Park. A local said that the best way to see a trestle was to access the Galloping Goose Trail just north of Meota Drive, off of […]

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I suggest visiting this park on a cold wet day in March when the kids are out of school because you’ll have the whole place to yourself. If you are like me, you think of potholes as something in the road that you don’t want to drive over. In the case of Sooke, this city’s potholes are geological formations that make deep pools in the Sooke River’s rock that offer excellent freshwater swimming, or when it’s really cold and wet, some of the best waterscapes around. To reach Sooke Potholes Regional Park, you head north from Highway 14 east of […]

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