There’s no seagoing experience quite like watching,

 close-up, a sleek whale weighing thousands of pounds

 frolic  like a child  in it’s natural habitat.

Up and down the coast of British Columbia,

 from Victoria  to Port Hardy on Vancouver Island,

 from Vancouver  to the BC Gulf Islands, and up to

 Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands), Orcas

 (killer whales), Gray whales   and  Humpback whales

 ply the waves and perform their watery rituals.

 Whalewatching at its best!

Whatever else you do in British Columbia, don’t miss the

 whale watching boat – you’ll have a tale of a whale to tell

We appreciate your understanding.

CHERYL YOUNG, REALTOR, www.cherylyoung.com    

SAANICH  PENINSULA REALTY,

SIDNEY BC. WWW.CHERYLYOUNG.CA

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CHERYLCYOUNG

WWW.TWITTER.COM/CHERYLCYOUNG

 the City of Victoria has a proud history of British Columbia

The Greater Victoria region covers the extreme southern end of

 Vancouver Island, including the Saanich Peninsula, Victoria,

Esquimalt, Colwood, Metchosin, and Sooke, with almost half

of Vancouver Island’s population of 750,000 people living

within the Capital Regional District (CRD) around Victoria.

Victoria has a temperate climate with mild, damp winters

and relatively dry and mild summers.

It is sometimes classified as a cool-summer Mediterranean

climate due to its usually dry summers.

 There is a rich diversity of landscapes within the region, ranging

 from the Douglas fir forests along the coast to the drier,

 exposed conditions of the higher, rockier elevations that

support arbutus (madrona) and Garry oak forests.

 Victorians display their love for the natural world by

cultivating flower gardens at every turn.

 As you’d imagine in a region where a large urban population

 interacts with such a delightful natural tableau, a vast

 network of walking, hiking, and biking routes leads through

 the many parks with which the city is blessed.

It’s easy to imagine how sweet life was for Native Canadians

who once had this all to themselves.

 Beacon Hill Park in downtown Victoria was the site of a village

 that had been inhabited for thousands of years prior to the

arrival of the colonial

 settlers in the 1840s.

A tangled web of events since then has displaced the original

dwellers, but their history is evident in the petroglyphs that

 adorn the shoreline and in the middens of seashells mounded

up beside the beaches on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

 Totem poles new and old stand as proud reminders of this

 First Nation heritage.

To gain a fresh appreciation for the talents and skills of

First Nations peoples, combine a visit to the outdoors around

Victoria with a stop  at the Royal British Columbia Museum, a

world-class repository of  native artifacts.

 With the enriched perspective that such a visit will bring,

you’ll look  at the landscape with new interest and appreciation.

 The figures on the totems will no longer be static

representations from a mythological age.

Instead, combined with the presence of killer whales, seals,

eagles, ravens, salmon, and other species that are as vibrant

in the landscape today  as they were in the past, you’ll enter

 a timeless realm and, in the process, discover a new place

 in nature for yourself.

Conde’ Naste Traveler Magazine reader’s poll rated Victoria

one of the  top ten cities to visit in the world.

 The picture-perfect Inner Harbour is surrounded by many

of Victoria’s beautiful character buildings and premier

attractions: the stately Empress Hotel, the BC provincial

Legislative Buildings, museums and galleries.

As romantic as Victoria may be, with its delightful natural

harbour and the Olympic Mountains of Washington State

 on the horizon, the provincial capital of British Columbia is

less a museum piece nowadays than it is a tourist mecca.

Visitors pour in to view vast sculpted gardens and London-style

 double-decker buses, to shop for Irish linens and Harris tweeds,

 to sip afternoon tea, and to soak up what they believe is the

last vestige of British imperialism in the Western Hemisphere.

Population: 78,659

Location: Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver

Island which is situated off the southwest coast of British Columbia.

 Visitors from the Lower Mainland of BC travel to Victoria by

 ferry from the BC Ferries’ Tsawwassen terminal in Delta.

Sailing time is 90 minutes for the 27-mile (44-km) distance across

the Strait of Georgia to the Swartz Bay terminal, 20 miles north o

f Victoria.

Visitors from the United States can journey to Victoria via ferry

 from Seattle, Anacortes in northwest Washington, or from

 Port Angeles on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.

The Anacortes ferry arrives in Sidney, at the Washington

 State Ferries terminal, 3 miles (5 km) south of Swartz Bay.

 The MV Coho from Port Angeles arrives in Victoria’s Inner

Harbour,  as does the Victoria Clipper from Seattle’s Pier 69.

 The Olympic and Saanich Peninsulas are separated by the

Strait of  Juan de Fuca, a 17-mile (27-km) stretch of (almost)

open ocean.

By air, visitors arrive at either Victoria Harbour (by float plane)

 or Victoria International Airport on the Saanich Peninsula,

 about 17 miles (27 km) north of Victoria.

A coach service operates via BC Ferries between Vancouver

 and downtown  Victoria (43 miles/69 km by road, excluding

 ferry travel).

 Pick-up is available from various locations in Vancouver,

including Downtown Vancouver, Vancouver International

Airport, and major hotels. Visit our Transportation section

for further information.

View maps of the area:
Map of Greater Victoria
Map of Victoria
Map of Victoria Downtown
Map of South Vancouver Island

Victoria Weather: One of the glorious things about the Victoria

 region is that you can picnic, golf or hike here year round,

something that much of the rest of the province has always envied.

 Each season has its unique character, and life is always

 assuming new forms Spring and fall migrations of birds and

 fish animate the landscape

 Evergreen forests brighten a winter landscape that otherwise

lies unveiled once deciduous trees drop their summer foliage.

Even snow makes the occasional appearance, though it rarely

 remains for long.

 Summer droughts and winter rains determine the songs sung

by rivers and creeks.

Hanging Flower Baskets adorn the city’s lampposts in a celebration

 of scent and bright colours, symbolizing Victoria’s passion

for gardening.

Flowers bloom year round in Victoria, which makes exploring

 the outdoors here enjoyable in any season.

 Ferns and lichens colour the forest floor throughout the

winter; come spring, an explosion of trilliums and calypso

orchids heightens the effect before  giving way to bushes lush

with huckleberry, salmonberry, trailing blackberry, salal,

 and Oregon grape.

BC Legislature: If there’s a quintessential image of Victoria

etched in the memory of all who visit the city, it must surely

 be British Columbia’s Legislative Buildings at night.

Adorned with 3,333 light bulbs, it takes on a magical quality.

Take a free tour of the Legislative Buildings and learn about

history  and government of British Columbia,

The Royal British Columbia Museum is one of the finest of

its kind in the world, offering dramatic dioramas of natural

 landscapes and full-scale reconstructions of Victorian storefronts.

 The museum features outstanding displays on the province’s

artifacts,  documents, history and culture, as well as national

 and international feature exhibits.

 Permanent Galleries include the First Peoples, Modern History

and Natural History Galleries.

The Maritime Museum of British Columbia allows visitors to

 explore BC’s seafaring history through more than 5,000 artifacts.

 Exhibits include the fort and the city of Victoria, explorers

 and pirates,  whaling and fishing, shipbuilding and shipwrecks,

ship models and paintings, the Coast Guard and Navy, and

the courtroom once presided over by the notorious Judge Sir

Matthew Baillie Begbie in the late 19th century.

The museum is housed in an elegant heritage building in

Bastion Square.

Old Town Victoria is the oldest section of Victoria, built up

between  the 1860s and the 1890s. Explore Johnson Street and

Chinatown, the galleries and sidewalk restaurants in Bastion

Square, and historic Market Square, a restored 19th-century c

ourtyard surrounded by  three floors of charming heritage

shops, restaurants, and offices.

Chinatown: The splendid lion-bedecked Gate of Harmonious

Interest marks the entrance to Victoria’s small Chinatown, the

 second oldest in North America (after San Francisco).

 Once a ghetto for newcomers, Chinatown is now a heritage area,

a vibrant commercial community, and an intriguing part of

 Victoria’s past and present.

 Visit the tiny shops and studios on Fan Tan Alley, the narrowest

 street in Canada – only 90 centimetres wide at its narrowest.

Relax in a horse-drawn carriage and capture the romance of an era

when tall ships docked in the Inner Harbour.

 Private carriage tours include Old Town, Chinatown, Beacon

Hill Park heritage homes, and the Dallas Road waterfront.

Fabulous horsedrawn carriages have been delighting visitors

with rides through Victoria for over 100 years!

The National Geographic IMAX Theatre will delight you with

 crystal clear images and 12,000 watts of wraparound IMAX

Digital surround sound.

Six stories high and 81 feet wide, the IMAX screen pulls you in and

 brings images to life, letting you feel like you’re really there.

 Located inside the Royal BC Museum.

Click here for More Attractions in Victoria

THIS BLOG IS COURTESY OF

CHERYL YOUNG, REALTOR,

SAANICH PENINSULA REALTY

SIDNEY B.C

REALTOR AND RESIDENT OF VICTORIA B.C AND

VANCOUVER ISLAND

www.cherylyoung.com    email cbythesea@shaw.ca          

www.facebook.com/cherylcyoung

www.twitter.com/CherylCYoung  

And to go with yesterday’s beautiful pendant you won’t want to pass up on

these exquisite Garnet earring www.cheryyoung.ca scroll down to earrigs

 reputation as the Whiskey Gap during the prohibition era of the

1920s, Fernie has inherited a unique and colourful history.

A town with a strong history of coal mining, Fernie was named

after mining magnate William Fernie who helped develop the

town into the  industry’s  largest centre in the Elk Valley region,

after he hadreported a major coal  discovery in 1897 that led to

the formation of the Crowsnest Pass Coal Company.

The founder of the city met a tribe of Indians during one of his

many prospecting trips.

 Enquiring about the source of the shiny black stones that

adorned a necklace worn by the Indian Chieftain’s daughter,

the Chief agreed to reveal the origin in return for  the

prospector agreeing to marrythe princess.

William Fernie never kept his promise, and refused to marry

the princess, whereupon the angered chief put a curse of fire,

flood and famine on the valley.

 On August 15, 1964, Chief Ambrose Gravelle of the Kootenai

tribe, known as Chief Red Eagle, smoked the pipe of peace with

the then  mayor of Fernie to finally lift the Fernie Curse.

Abandoned mines, museums and heritage sites invite visitors to step

 back in time to explore the area’s bustling boom years.

 The beauty of the Elk Valley entices campers and hikers, and a

challenging world-class 18-hole golf course sits at the foot of  

towering peaks.

Population: 5,168

 rivers and mountain scenery within its boundaries

 the community of Burnaby is nestled around the high peak of

solitary Burnaby Mountain.

As private secretary to Colonel Richard Moody, the Colony’s

 land commissioner, Robert Burnaby displayed notable talents

 as an explorer, legislator and speaker.

In 1859, when Moody received word from local natives that a

fresh water lake existed north of New Westminster, Burnaby

immediately volunteered for the survey party.

Moody would later name his discovery Burnaby Lake, a name

that pioneer citizens would unanimously choose for the

thriving municipality of Burnaby in 1892.

Burnaby is blessed with a remarkable number of

interconnected parks and trails of different sizes and

features.

Deer Lake Park, Burnaby’s hub of arts, culture and heritage,

is the crowning jewel of this park system.

 High atop Burnaby Mountain sits Simon Fraser University,

designed by celebrated architect Arthur Erickson, and

 named after one of British Columbia’s foremost explorers.

Not long ago, it used to be easy to distinguish Vancouver from

its neighbours.

 Bridges spanned Burrard Inlet and the Fraser River to

connect with communities to the north and south, while

buffer zones of undeveloped land defined where the

 Big Smoke left off and all else to the east began.

 By the 1970s, such distinctions had blurred to the point

where one hardly noticed a transition from one city to the

next, particularly between Vancouver, Burnaby, New

Westminster, and Port Moody.

Although mainly a residential area of Vancouver,

Burnaby’s diverse sights and attractions are yours

to discover.

 Burnaby has the largest retail and entertainment complex

 in British Columbia and outstanding sports and recreation f

acilities.

The Metrotown area, a 15 minute SkyTrain ride from

downtown Vancouver, is where you’ll find over 500 stores –

enough to keep even the most dedicated shopper happy.

Population: 205,477

Location: Burnaby is located in east Vancouver, 10 miles

(16 km) east of downtown Vancouver.

Access is by Highway 7 and 7A, and the Trans-Canada

Highway 1.

Take a trip down memory lane at the Burnaby Village

 Museum, a 10-acre open-air museum circa 1925.

Made up of more than 30 shops and homes depicting the

1890s through to the mid-1920s, the village includes a

Chinese herbalist, a rural area, a blacksmith and an

Ice Cream Parlour.

 Ride on the vintage C.W. Parker Carousel, wander amidst

costumed townspeople, view demonstrations and displays,

 and take part in the hands-on activities and self-guided

tours.

Playland Amusement Park at PNE Fairgrounds on East

Hastings Street is a seasonal amusement park offering a

collection of 28 rides and attractions, midway games, and

a variety of food venues.

Popular attractions include the historic wooden roller

coaster, a spectacular woodie that has been operating since

1958, the Corkscrew upside down roller coaster, the Wild

 Mouse, and the 90-foot-tall giant Westcoast Wheel.

Visitors can also take a spin on one of a number of flat rides.

The Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Simon Fraser

University is home to displays of Northwest Coast Native

art and culture.

Extensive and detailed, these exhibits allow visitors a

 glimpse into the natural and harmonious way of life

 pursued by the First Nations people of the West Coast before

 the arrival of Europeans.

The Museum is located in the Academic Quadrangle on the

 Concourse Level.

Set in the natural splendour of Deer Lake, Deer Lake Avenue

recreates the turn-of-the-century era with over 30 buildings

 and outdoor displays.

In addition to the Burnaby Village Museum, visitors will

find the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and the Gallery at

Ceperley House, presented by Visual Arts Burnaby.

Naturalists will be amazed by Century Gardens, where

 hundreds of Rhododendrons, Burnaby’s official flower, burst

into bloom each spring during the annual Rhododendron

Festival.

While on Burnaby Mountain, visit the astonishing

Playground of the Gods, a home away from home for 50 or

 so totem poles carved by Japanese artist Nubuo Toko and

his son Shusheo.

 The Tokos are members of the Ainu culture, Japan’s first

 inhabitants. Installed on the top of an open slope looking

 west over Coal Harbour, the poles honour the ties between

Burnaby and its Japanese sister city, Kushiro.

The spectacular setting inspired Toko to imagine it as Kamui

Mintara, or Playground of the Gods.

The poles represent the story of the gods who descended to

 earth to give birth to the Ainu.

Animal spirits such as whale, bear, and owl adorn the tops

 of the slender poles that are bunched together in groups of

twos and threes.

A killer whale and a brooding raven stand apart from the

rest, looking west across the Strait of Georgia towards

Vancouver Island (and Japan).

This is a stunningly beautiful setting, one of the best examples

of art in a public place in the Lower Mainland.

You’ll want to photograph it, especially at sunrise or sunset,

to take away with you as a memory of Vancouver.

Enjoy a fascinating ride aboard the miniature railway, or

discover trails, tennis courts, a skateboard park, and a

spray pool at Confederation Park.

 From the park, a 5.5-km network of trails wind along the

 picturesque Burrard Inlet.

Vancouver and Burnaby both have beaches on the Fraser

River’s North Arm, and both are named Fraser River Park.

Watching activity on the Fraser is the main attraction from

both beaches.

The beach at Burnaby’s Fraser River Park lies at the south

end of Byrne Road off Marine Drive in Burnaby.

Although wading in the Fraser River is refreshing, full

immersion is a dicier proposition and is not recommended.

Two trails take you inland: the western route, surrounded by

wet brushland, leads to the Marine Way pedestrian overpass,

and the eastern route follows Byrne Creek.

 Children can pretend they’re pirates on the riverside pirate

ship, an intriguing play area.

Hiking and Walking: A good stretch with a forested feeling

is the Burnaby River Trail (easy; about 6 miles/10 km return).

This hard-packed, cedar-lined dirt pathway runs east beside

the Fraser River from the south foot of Boundary Road near

Marine Way towards New Westminster.

 An alternate approach to the trail is at Fraser River Park.

 Here in the park, the log booms that line the shoreline

 beside much of the trail give way to a long stretch of

open beach.

 One of the most attractive sights along the trail is Mount

Baker’s snow cone, framed by the spires and guy wires of

two bridges, the Queensboro and the Pattullo.

For more information on the trail and park, contact the

Burnaby Parks and Recreation Department, (604) 294-7450.

The Mountain Biking trails on Burnaby Mountain (elevation

1,200 feet/365 metres) are not open to mountain bikes, but

try telling that to the mountain bikers who regularly make

 their way along one of the dozens of trails that crisscross

the mountain.

Its high usage stems in part from the fact that students

attending Simon Fraser University at the top of Mount

 Burnaby want alternate paths up to and especially down

from school other than the two roads that wend their way

up Mount Burnaby (more often referred to as Burnaby

Mountain).

Golf: The contemporary designed 18-hole layout at Burnaby

Mountain Golf Course has always been a favourite with

 players of all levels.

It requires precise shot making to achieve par, but

 recreational players find it very forgiving.

 The natural tree-lined beauty of its fairway and the gentle

rolling terrain at the foot of Burnaby Mountain offer a blend

 of charm, character and serenity that will enhance your

enjoyment of the game. Par 71, 6,431 yards.

Golf Vacations in an around Vancouver.

Burnaby’s Barnet Marine Park is located on the site of an old

 logging community that flourished in the first half of the

20th century.

All that remains are the massive concrete towers and a

squat scrap burner hunkered on the broad beach.

 Burnaby has replaced the old wharfs with a pier from which

visitors can scan Burrard Inlet for marine and birdlife.

 A large boomed-off swimming section fronts the hard-packed sandy beach.

Picnic tables with barbeque stands are shaded by tall poplars.

There’s also a boat launch here.

A level pathway leads west of the park towards the Ironworkers

emorial Second Narrows Bridge.

 It provides visitors to Barnet with a chance to cycle or stroll

amid the lazy trails on those overcast days when the beach is

not the exclusive reason for visiting this charming site.

 Barnet has a paved driveway that can be used to launch canoes,

kayaks or sailboats in Burrard Inlet.

No motorized boats can be launched from here.

True to its name, Central Park is situated in a key location

on the Burnaby side of Boundary Road, the dividing line

between Vancouver and Burnaby.

The park is a popular place for tennis, jogging, pitch-and-putt,

cycling, picnicking, or just wandering about.

The numerous paths make the 222-acre (90-hectare) green

space seem larger than it actually is.

 A dense stand of towering Douglas fir blocks most of the noise

from the three main thoroughfares that constitute the

park’s north, south, and west borders.

City planners around the Lower Mainland seem to have

deliberately placed parks bordering on major roads, perhaps

 to attract passersby, perhaps to contrast the natural and

the artificial. For instance, Hwy 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway)

runs through Burnaby’s largest green space, formed by Deer

Lake Park, Burnaby Lake Regional Park, and Robert

Burnaby Park.

Deer Lake Park was once a popular swimming destination, but

poor water quality has forced the Burnaby Parks Board to

keep the area closed for nearly a decade.

Still, it is an attractive picnic area or a good place to drift

 about in a canoe, rowboat, or sailboat for a few hours.

A Squamish legend tells of an underground river that runs

from Deer Lake to False Creek.

The Deer Lake area is home to the Burnaby City Hall

(including the Burnaby Parks and Recreation Dept at 101-4946

Canada Way, (604) 294-7450, a good place to pick up maps and

information on municipal parks), the Shadbolt Centre for the

Arts, the Burnaby Village Museum, and the local Royal

Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment.

Deer Lake Park has a pleasant, grassy picnic location: one look

at the lake is enough to cool anyone down.

Too bad there’s no swimming.

Robert Burnaby Park is located about a mile (1.5 km) east of

Deer Lake, a peaceful setting of huge western hemlock, cedar

and Douglas fir.

 This large park is known for its wooded ravine and forest

trails, which attract walkers, joggers and nature lovers

enjoying the exercise and quiet surroundings.

Trails are laid out on hillsides, meandering through ravines

 and into open meadows.

Burnaby Lake Regional Park is on the north side of Hwy 1,

 across from Deer Lake, and is a blend of highly developed

recreational facilities alongside a completely undeveloped

wildlife sanctuary.

Special features in this 740-acre (300-hectare) park include

both the Nature House (open mid-May to Labour Day), and a

 BC Wildlife Watch viewing tower at the Piper Avenue

entrance.

An easygoing 6-mile (10-km) walking trail circles the lake.

 There are three main access points to Burnaby Lake Park,

including two off Winston Avenue and another off Sperling

Avenue.

All are well marked. For more information on Burnaby

 Lake Regional Park, call (604) 520-6442.

Burnaby Mountain is Burnaby’s tallest landmark.

Simon Fraser University sits on top, a crucible of learning

designed by architect Arthur Erickson, who also put his

imprint on the Provincial Courthouse and the Museum of

Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

Simon Fraser’s campus is surrounded by Burnaby Mountain

Park.

The park is a warren of trails that cut through deciduous

second-growth forest. Most visitors come to visit the

Playground of the Gods.

In June, a formal rose garden nearby perfumes the air and

makes the environment appear even more like the

Elysian Fields.

A grassy slope descends the mountain below the totems,

contributing to the open feeling of this part of the park.

A special event in Burnaby is the Burnaby Village Museum

Heritage Christmas in December.

See the best of the area on a driving Circle Tour. Head north

 out of Vancouver for a scenic tour of the

Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island, or stay on the

intensely scenic Sea to Sky Highway, passing through the

magical winter resort town of Whistler and looping through

the Coast Mountains.

To explore the rural farmlands and forests of the fertile

 Fraser Valley, travel outbound on the scenic route north of

the historic Fraser River, returning westwards along the

Trans Canada Highway 1 to Vancouver. Circle Tours in BC.

CHERYL YOUNG, REALTOR

SAANICH PENINSULA REALTY

SIDNEY, BC   www.cherylyoung.ca

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