We set off at 09.00 heading for Victoria which is the capital city of British Columbia, Victoria has a population of 400,000 and is about 85 miles from us in Parksville. On the way we visited the town of Chemainus. This town used to be a thriving timer exporting town but when that industry all but died out the townspeople had to diversify and they came up with the idea of making it an arts based town. To establish this it was decided to paint several murals, now it seems that every gable has a mural as you will see in the slideshow below. If you look carefully you will also see some ladies in red hats. These are members of the Red Hat Society and organisation much like the Hells Angels but with no organised crime connection. The seemingly go around the country on trips and have fun - or so they say. Uniform is red hat and gaudy accessories and any old purple clothes, it is quite a daunting sight seeing them en masse!
Once we reached Victoria we had a picnic lunch in a park, Eileen was captivated by the peacocks - after we had paid the ransom we went for a very windy walk along the harbour wall to stretch our legs. Fern then drove us round various scenic areas of this handsome city. Finally we parked near the centre and walked through the marina where many yachts had gathered for the Van Island 360 International Yacht Race. This race, as the name suggests, is round Vancouver Island which is about as long as Ireland but a bit narrower. After a delicious ice cream we explored a bit more before returning to Parksville. Another great day of exploring all thanks to Bourassa Tours inc.
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