September 12-13, 2024 – Thursday & Friday
On Thursday, we set sail from Genoa Bay towards Tod Inlet, eager to explore the hidden entrance to Butchart Gardens. You have two delightful options: anchor at Tod Inlet, leave your dinghy at the dock, and hike to the gardens, or head to Butchart Cove, just outside Tod Inlet, tie up to one of the complimentary 24-hour moorings, and dinghy over to the so-called “back door” of the gardens. The scenery is breathtaking, as are the gardens themselves, but we chose to keep moving and spent the evening in Sidney.
Friday’s forecast promised sunshine and warmth, perfect for hiking. However, within an hour, we found ourselves caught in a downpour and returned to the boat.
It has been an amazing experience, but this gig is almost over. Tomorrow, we go to Victoria for the weekend, where Rick insists on celebrating my three-quarters of a century presence on this merry-go-round we call Earth. His one request? Leave the camera on the boat and savor each moment. So, until we return to Port Townsend, this is goodbye for now.
The old dock has been removed but the piling remain, note the bird houses on top of the pilings.
Local art initiative to celebrate the area’s natural & cultural heritage.
From here you can hike to Butchart Gardens.
According to our Waggoner Guide this area, just outside the mouth of Tod Inlet, is the back door to Butchart Gardens.
Flowers along Sidney’s beautiful waterfront promenade.
A not-for-profit community aquarium and cultural learning centre dedicated to the ecosystem of the Salish Sea
Flowers along Sidney’s beautiful waterfront promenade.
According to its plaque, the diver was carved from a single, 80-foot tall standing red cedar tree by Alan C. Porter in the mid-1980s, then donated to the town by the Hotel Sidney which is now called Sidney Pier Hotel & Spa.