Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and is located on the southeastern tip of Vancouver Island.  It's a beautiful city with an English charm and an almost ideal climate.  It was a lovely morning as our group of travelers from the Brazos Valley headed out for a guided tour of the city.  Our guide Marv, a retired chaplain, gave us a very informative tour that stretched from the the Parliament Building and Victoria's Chinatown to Beacon Hill Park and the marina at Oak Bay, where we were visited by some friendly harbor seals.  Then we were treated to lunch at the Empress Hotel, with fish and chips the most popular fare.

The afternoon was free for everyone to check out some of the local attractions.  Beth and I did a walking tour of some of the shops, and some of the group were going to the Royal BC Museum and IMAX Theatre.  Glenda decided to go on a whale watching tour, which sailed some 40 miles to the Pacific Ocean.  We saw her when she returned, and she was so excited.  Their captain told them it was the best trip he had seen in several years with close encounters with some Orca, or killer whales.

This place really is beautiful.  Flowers of all colors everywhere.  Hanging baskets filled with color, and the most interesting trees.  We saw Sequoia and giant Douglas Firs, and a most interesting one called a Monkey Puzzle Tree.  You can see many of these in the Day 3 entries of pictures in the Eye on You section.

Tomorrow we go to Butchart Gardens before boarding the ferry to Vancouver.

P.S.--Hollee, your dad says he has no lingering effects from his fall at the airport.  I sat next to him at lunch today.