Day Ten

---

Hi All. Today was a full day in Victoria, B.C. We got up late and headed for the hotel's breakfast buffet. This is the first big breakfast we have really eaten on this trip. Usually we make do with a Starbucks and eat a late lunch. But I was particularly hungry from all of the walking we have done. So we had a nice meal.

After breakfast, I walked Steve across the street to the Miniature Museum. What a fun place, full of scale models of villages, war scenes, a lumber mill, period homes, a circus, and so many incredible replicas. We spent an hour taking pictures and marveling at the detail. We had no idea it would be that big. There were working trains and cars, working lights, and a fully operating carnival.

Then we boarded a bus for the Butchart Gardens. After a 45 minute ride and informative lecture from the bus driver, we spent 1 1/2 hours in the garden. It is exquisite, huge, and full of different kinds of landscapes that are astoundingly beautiful. Apparently the Butchart's were very a very wealthy mining/quarry family and this land was their's for well over 100 years. Still today, it is in the family and the fourth generation is running it. Even the old quarry has been transformed into the "sunken garden" which is the most lush and beautiful part of the place. There is a Japanese garden, a rose garden, fountains, etc. etc. We looked through the gift shop but really didn't find anything to buy.

From there, back on the bus to downtown Victoria where we walked around in search of a native doll for my collection. The last place we went to had one and we bought her. Now to get her home safely. We found a great seafood place to eat near the water, then made our way to a coffee shop. We finished the day sitting on a park bench sipping coffee (Steve smoking a Cuban!)

The day is over. Tomorrow we take the Ferry out of Canada and back into the U.S. Should be a great trip around the Olympic Peninsula. We are staying in La Push, Washington where they filmed part of the Twilight series of movies.

Have a great week end everyone.
Sue and Steve

---