The Little Town That Did!

Chemainus (5)

Thursday 26 July:  We visited Chemainus, on Vancouver Island, where the spirit of survival lives on in this beautiful little community.  When the sawmill closed down in 1983, threatening to disrupt the lives of families who had depended on the forest industry all their lives, this little town survived and has continued to flourish as an outdoor art gallery for which it has received international acclaim.

Chemainus (8)Chemainus (6)

Murals by well known artists fill the sides of buildings around the town, celebrating the history of the forest industry and life in a small mill town.  There are now 44 murals and 10 sculptures located around the town and we were taken around by horse and cart to see them.  At the end of our tour, we were happy to purchase a charming little book “The Chemainus Murals” by The Chemainus Festival of Murals Society as a souvenir of a very enjoyable morning.

Chemainus (4)Chemainus (3)Chemainus (2)Chemainus (1)

We also stopped to see the statue of Terry Fox and later watched his biography in the coach.  As well as being Canada’s hero, he is such an inspiration to the world and I felt very touched by his story.

Chemainus (7)

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens (2)Butchart Gardens (8)

Wednesday, 25 July we visited  the Butchart Gardens,  a world famous attraction located on Vancouver Island, consisting of 55 acres of gardens open every day of the year.  Started in the early 1900’s in a disused quarry, this garden is so inspiring and is still owned by the Butchart family.

Butchart Gardens (9)Butchart Gardens (7)

We were treated to a lovely buffet breakfast in the restaurant, followed by a leisurely morning exploring these magnificent grounds.  A minimum of 50 gardeners tend the grounds increasing to 90 as required.  Everything is perfect;  not one spent flower or faded leaf to be seen.

Butchart Gardens (6)Butchart Gardens (5)

The staff in the Plant Identification Centre were very knowledgeable. We saw some plants that we were interested to know more about and by taking some photos on my phone they were able to identify them and let us know if they were suitable for our zone.

Butchart Gardens (4)Butchart Gardens (3)Butchart Gardens (1)

Canada

 

DSCN0016 (2)

Following our trip to South America, I came home with a plan  up with to catch up on various crafts – sewing, scrap booking etc.  Consequently, on one hand I got a lot done;  on the other, I completely lost my writing mojo and this is my first blog for quite some time.

Now I have it back ….. because we are in Canada!

Nice to have a direct flight, from Brisbane to Vancouver.  Not so nice the 13-1/2 hour flight.  Good thing I can sleep pretty well so don’t have a problem with jet lag.

We are doing a Trafalgar tour with a group of 24, so together we made our way from the airport to the car ferry, heading for Victoria, Vancouver Island, where we spent 3 days in our Worldmark accommodation, very conveniently located, a short walk from Fisherman’s Wharf.

DSC_0325

The locals were feeling the heat, with temperatures around 30 degrees, but we thought it was great.  Love Victoria, the beautiful buildings, friendly people and hanging baskets of flowers everywhere.

DSCN0006DSCN0012

Also it doesn’t get dark until about 10.30pm which was absolutely amazing for us.  We can’t even get daylight saving in Queensland, so we thought it was wonderful to be able to walk around town in the evening and watch all the buildings light up.

DSCN0019 (2)DSCN0005DSCN0003DSCN0013