A Wander through Victoria

During every visit I make to Victoria I try to have some time with my cousin Jim who lives in Oak Bay. We generally do a walk or hike through some interesting location but sometimes we just stay close and enjoy Victoria proper. Today would be one of these close-by adventures, which was just as well as I was feeling a bit worn down.

Jim arrived around 11:30 and I made my way down to him at the street outside the hotel. We then decided on the route we would take. Our goal was to spend some time in Beacon Hill Park and then the beach before eating at the Breakwater Bistro on the waterfront. We set out down Quadra Street to the north entrance to the park. As we started along the gravel path we both noted that the Gary Oak trees looked beat up and not in the best of shape. Large sections of the Arbutus trees also were dead and totally bare of leaves. Most trees were likely ok but in winter they can look less than healthy. We continued along the trails in the park passing a large flock of ducks that were slowly wandering around the numerous park goers. 

We aimed for the high point of the park - Beacon Hill – and there we admired the view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula beyond. The low layer of fog on the water added to the grandeur of the scene. A few freighters making their way along added a sense of scale to the view. It really is a pretty spot and if it was warmer, one could spend a lot of time just sitting and enjoying the activity. We followed a trail down the slope to the beach and began our walk along the walkway to the first stairway down to the beach.

Once on the beach we continued our walk westward to the Bistro. We were able to follow a trail for the first while but soon it ended and we had to scramble over the rough rocks that formed the shoreline. It was slower going but we were determined to continue along rather than climb back up to the easy walkway. I guess we felt that the Tsunami warning signs didn’t apply much at the moment. It was a fun scramble and we enjoyed watching a seal that was also carefully watching our progress. We finally crossed the final grouping of boulders and made our way to the seriously damaged seawall. The surface layer of concrete was quite lifted up off its base and sat in large chunks across the surface. It looked quite bad but was still much faster to walk than the rocks we had been on.

Soon we were back on hard pathways and walking was much easier. I was surprised to see another swimmer out in the water again today. She was at least wearing a bathing suit as we weren’t at the nudist beach today! We took the ramp up to the main walk and soon arrived at the Bistro only to find it closed. So much for lunch on the water. Jim said he knew of another bistro a few blocks from here. It was not on the beach but offered nice food. So, we headed along the streets away from the glorious ocean views and found ourselves passing MacDonald Park on our way to the Heron Rock Bistro. Traffic was light and the scenery still interesting and soon we could see the bistro. As we approached things looked odd and sure enough it was also closed! I told Jim he was on strike two.

Jim considered the options and realized that the building housed a second coffee shop on the far side and so we made our way to the James Bay Coffee House. This one was full of people. We scanned the food offerings and I was waylaid by a gorgeous looking cinnamon bun with cheese icing. One can only resist so far after a tiring walk and so the bun soon made its way to my plate and eventually to my mouth. It was a lovely pleasure with which to finish our walk along the shoreline. After we had finished eating and warming up from the walk we continued on our way back to my hotel. We had a decent amount of exercise and good conversation but it was time to part our ways until my next visit. We walked once more through the corner of Beacon hill park before the final climb up Quadra Street where we said our good byes as I headed into the hotel.