Victoria British Columbia Dallas Road October 14, 2026

 

This was my view as I arrived at the walkway along Dallas Road.  

The easterly direction was calling me.  

This was the view looking back from where I came. 

looking back again from further along the walkway 

Oh my goodness! As it was mid day with lots of people around, I moved along slowly with hopes I might spot a sleeping Owl.  No luck!

Western Meadowlark

Black-bellied Plover

at Mile Zero of the Trans Canada Trail

Just below the above sign were three Sea Otters.  You can see two of them here. They were quite entertaining so I watched for a while.  They spent time swatting each other, grooming each other, climbing over top of each other.  They didn’t stay still for very long but did when I snapped this shot.  Something caught their attention.  

White-crowned Sparrow

another White-crowned Sparrow

male Harlequin Duck

view along the way 

After plenty of time well spent at Beacon Hill Park and along Dallas Road, it was time for other sorts of savouring.  A perfect spot on a patio paired nicely with this lager beverage. Fish and Chips were the icing on the cake. I lingered long here, I was not in a rush and I was not being rushed.  Eventually though, time came to move on.

On those distractions!  I enjoyed them!

So, of course I went shopping!  

I have so much to still learn!  

What I call “flitting about” I just learned is called “bop around”!

Victoria British Columbia Beacon Hill Park October 14, 2026

 Oh those distractions as I made my way to Beacon Hill Park!

Between beautiful autumn colours and plenty of  birds, the Park was a happening place!  I had no route to follow nor a plan in place other than to meander my way along and eventually end up at Dallas Road.  Time was on my side to go as I pleased. I heard a variety of bird songs yet could not spot where most of them were coming from.  The Park is densely forested in areas and my patience was lacking. The autumn shades were a distracting culprit! Robins were in abundance and were easy to spot!

The colours speak volumes, much more so than my words can describe!

one of dozens of Wigeons

Pacific Wren

male Mallard

Yellow-rumped Warbler 

Many other bird species were visible yet I was not able to capture good shots. My photos of the colours numbered in the many, many of dozens. I did eventually work my way to Dallas Road where the scenery was just as gorgeous as it was at Beacon Hill Park.

Victoria British Columbia October 13, 2026

Distractions were plentiful on my way to go Whale Watching!  

I thought “just get there I can admire the sights afterwards”.  

I got there! I checked in! I patiently waited to board the boat!  It was cold, overcast and a tad bit showery.   None of that mattered, I sat outside anyway. We left the harbour at a slow pace yet the waves created were worthy enough of a photo. 

There was no worry about getting my sea legs, I was born and raised with them.  He took my photo.  He being from the couple I met at check in.  They happen to be from the same province, they happened to have sat across from me on the plane, they happen to be staying in the same home away from home as me and they happened to be on this same adventure as me.  

Hold onto your hat, have three points of contact at all times, the Captain is ready to rev the motor…..

…..and high tail it out to the middle of the Salish Sea!

We arrived to where we needed to be to see what we came to see!  I was not having luck with capturing nice photographs, it was a challenge to keep my lens dry plus my camera would not focus. It was foggy, it was cloudy, it was rainy, it was atmospheric.  Yet, how beautiful this all was!  I got a couple of photos.  I put my camera away knowing the Naturalist would provide us with a series of images she captured.  It was a challenge for her too.  I watched as approximately twenty or so Orca Whales were out there, spread out in all directions.  It was an amazing sight to see!  I didn’t know which ones I should watch.

I decided to pull out my camera and give another go at capturing special seconds in time! A Humpback Whale was in the vicinity.  Success!  Then that vicinity became…..

…..Holy Sh!! close!  There were two Humpback Whales that came to investigate us.  They swam back and forth under the boat, which had the thirty of us going back and forth which had the boat rocking back and forth. These are a few of the dozens of photos I captured. The experience was breathtakingly beautiful!  

The following five photos are from the series sent to us by the Naturalist.  

Time came to begin the trip back. On the way back we stopped to see the sea lions.

It was us and this boat only, so quite a quiet experience.  They were from Anacortes Washington.  We waved to them as they waved back to us.  We parted ways heading back to our home bases.  

As we were approaching the harbour area, the Norwegian Encore was leaving after spending the day in Victoria.  Many of the people were out on their private decks and the main decks.  We waved to them and they waved back.  I yelled out well wishes of various kinds but I don’t think they heard me!

The Coho left Victoria also!

 

The float plane left too!

The little ferry on its way to another dock!

Welcome to Victoria!  We arrived back!  The next thing I knew, I felt a tap on my shoulder.  I turned to see the Captain standing there with a big smile.  He said we are back in Victoria, we are staying here, we are not going back out, it is time to debark!  I had been off in another world, already reliving this amazing experience.  He brought me back to reality, I scurried to the exit!

The black dotted line at the bottom shows our route.

Where we went!

This is where we went last year. It was nice to experience a different area for Whale Watching. Right now I am feeling this adventure was fulfilling enough I may not need to go out again.  After a couple of days, will I feel the same!