It’s been a while since we had visited Victoria, British Columbia — “The Garden City.” The COVID pandemic had caused a gap, but a longer-term barrier was the cessation of Washington State Ferries service from Anacortes, which was the primary method we used to get there. Shortly after we arrived in Seattle in 1979, we went for the first time, and I have a family classic photo of my visiting mother sharing her 75th year with the Butchart Gardens’ similar anniversary and facing her youngest grandchild on their wheeled carts.

There were periodic revisits, and I even arrived there three times on the vintage Tri-Island Trek bike ride, which was then revised to end on San Juan Island after the 9/11 tragedy. On the sole occasion I traveled via the Clipper (and ever stayed at the Empress), I chose a one-time luxury return by air to Lake Union.

So it wasn’t Victoria as a destination that was on my bucket list, but the desire to experience a more novel means of getting there, namely the MS Coho Blackball ferry from Port Angeles. It’s possible to leave your car there and walk on to board, but we chose to pay for a round-trip vehicle reservation, even though we left our vehicle parked at our Inner Harbor-sited hotel for our entire stay. It is remarkable that our local land/water topography results in the surprising recognition that a two-hour ferry and drive trip to Port Angeles, and a 90-minute voyage onward, ended up placing us just 63 miles from Edmonds. That distance was enough, however, despite some wave chop crossing the Strait, to dodge the windy atmospheric “river” storm that was tormenting our home town. Over our two-day stay, it was chilly and breezy, but mostly dry and even sunny for our walking about a mile (2K?) each way along the harbor and up through the shops on Government Street.

This short visit in a less-clement time of year led us to pass on a drive or shuttle tour to the Gardens. We also passed on visiting the BC Museum and merely wandered through the quaint Empress Hotel “sans doing tea,” as we’ve been there, done that. I at least came close to revisiting the very unique Miniature World dioramas, nestled against the north side of the Empress. There was one thing we had never known of before, until a close friend (who visited Victoria and The Empress SIX times in 2024 via the Clipper with the assistance of the Canadian dollar exchange now at a mere 69 cents U.S.) had made us aware. That is, the remarkable availability of reserved dining at the B.C. Parliamentary Dining room. There are some requirements to honor, but you’ll have a chance to enter this classic building and quietly observe the proceedings of the provincial democracy. Then you go down through a utility corridor and an interior alley into a pleasant dining room and a meal far above the level of a bureaucratic cafeteria.

If you decide to do such a visit, whatever you plan to do during the day, you must be sure to include coming back outside to the Inner Harbor after dark to witness the lighted Parliament building and the general lively ambiance of strolling locals and us tourists. Overall, we had a great visit, with the only drag being the lengthy pre-sailing waits for drivers (60 minutes in Port Angeles and 90 minutes in Victoria). The ferry itself surpasses the Washington State Ferries in amenities, for seating, canteen, duty-free and a tour desk. We booked our hotel in conjunction with the ferry reservation.

Bienvenue au Canada!

P.S. An en route dining recommendation, if the timing is right: Try good comfort food for breakfast or lunch at the Oak Table Restaurant in Sequim.

P.P.S. All the Canadians we encountered, including officials, were very friendly toward us, without any coolness due to the current strain of relations at the level of our national governments. At our local level, we should continue to enjoy visiting our neighboring nation as good neighbors.

Author Kevin O’Keeffe lives in Edmonds.