Day 6 - Tofino to Victoria - From nature to man-made wonders

This was a big travel day for us - a 5 hour drive from Tofino to Victoria. We stopped at the other side of Cathedral Grove


Look at the big tree!


I love this photo - doesn't the forest look primeval? (I said that word probably 30 times on this trip!)


A teeny tiny mushroom.


We got to Victoria in under 5 hours, and we walked immediately to the middle of town. Here's the famous Empress Hotel.


While we were in Vancouver, a fellow B&B guest recommended a fish and chips place called "Red Fish Blue Fish". It's a converted shipping container on the harbor.


We decided to get sandwiches, as we were supposed to go to a local fish joint recommended by our friend Huay the next day. It was fun to watch the whale watching boats while we were waiting for our food.


Side note - did you know that in Canada, Canada Dry is the "champagne of ginger ales"?


The sandwiches were so tasty, I got oysters and Rob got scallops. One of the condiments was a deep fried pickle chip, which tasted way better than it sounds.


Afterward, we went to the Royal BC museum, which was one of the best museums I've ever been to. Great exhibits about the history of British Columbia, including the First Nations cultures - these tomtem poles were very impressive.


They also had crazy recreations of different time periods in British Columbia. Rob says they are "full-size occupiable dioramas". Here we are next to the HMS Discovery (in my Klaralund!)


After checking in our B&B, we headed back into town for a movie. It was fun to watch a movie with the locals.

Our favorite highlight? Our lunch (it always comes back to food!)


Day 7 - our final full day of vacation...