After our second night in Victoria, we explored the area outside of town.    We headed west and a little south to the Sooke (the “e” is silent) area of Vancouver Island.  Our first stop was a visitor center to get some information on the local parks and how to get there.   After one wrong turn, we finally made it to the East Sooke Regional Park.  This park has a wide variety of hikes and walks.  You can take a fast walk straight to a beach or wander around the coast line and the forest.  We did  the latter with the walk along the coast.  This included a stop at Beechy Head, an odd marker about the boundary between the US and Canada.  The views of the coast and the Olympic Mountains in Washington State were all very scenic.

 

 

Following the park, we made our way back to Victoria, but stopped along the way at the Fisgard National Historic Site.   It contains the oldest lighthouse on the west coast of Canada.  There is also a military installation (Fort Rodd Hill) that had some interesting stuff to see like the disappearing gun and barracks.

We finally returned to Victoria.  For dinner we went to a local brewpub across the drawbridge.  The food at Spinackers wasn’t great and the beer not too cold, but the view from nearby of the harbor is very good.  After dinner, we returned to the hotel and rested up for our final day in Victoria.

 

 

View all the trip photos here:

http://sanjoseabrams.com/photos/VancouverIslandAug2011/