that sounds like so much fun Debby. I'm going to Victoria for the August long weekend for my niece's wedding. It will be the first time for me to see Victoria. I won't be there long enough to take in everything you did, but I'm going to try and find Rogers Chocolates and the Dutch Bakery. My niece is getting married at the Dragonfly Hill Vineyard. I hope to take as much as possible for the short time I will be there.

GS and I will be there, on cruise ship, June 17th. We don't dock until 7 pm and leave midnight.

Enjoyed your photos

Rogers Chocolates is just a block or two to the left of the Empress Hotel, and the Dutch Bakery is on Fort Street.

The chocolates are very expensive ($2.75 per large wrapped chocolate) but so worth it. I love the coffee and the orange the best! Wild Cherry was delicious too.

My sis and her boyfriend just took the Clipper boat up there from Seattle for a weekend and they just loved it. I want to go! I need to get my passport.

i'll be waiting for all your photos! I have never been there! must put it on the list, I know it's a bit expensive though.. I need a passport too!

Wonderful pictures, Debby! I enjoyed seeing them as I lived there for 12 years.
If anyone is going and has the time, Miniature World is an awesome thing to see as well.
Debby, did they still have the petting zoo at the park? My daughter, who is 23, still loves the pics I have of her as a baby with the baby goats nibbling on her toes!
Btw, I don't know if you care for your Flickr pictures but it's actually called Beacon Hill Park and its Fisgard Lighthouse.
Glad you enjoyed Victoria!
Suzan J

Kat, my sister got a deal from clippervacations.com. She said she got the roundtrip tickets for 2 and a nice hotel for the weekend for about $400. Then once she got to the hotel she was able to upgrade to a really fancy room for cheap. They didn't spend much money once they were there besides on food.

If I went, I would definitely go whale watching though!

Here is a link that might be useful: Clipper Vacations

I didn't see miniature world, but it was on the list of things to see. Fort Rodd Hill was fun, but we got there late and didn't get to see the whole thing. That's also where the light house is. I found Victoria very artsy, and perfect for anyone who loves to take pictures of old buildings.... like.... ME! I'll be posting more pictures on Flickr as I process them.

The petting zoo is still at Beacon Hill Park, but I didn't go in there. I was meeting friends there. It's where I took the peacock picture, through the fence. LOL

If anyone does go there, do get the fish and chips in Fishermans Wharf. Walk over the bridge, and it's the first stand to the left. YUM! I had fish and chips three times last week, and the meal at the wharf was THE best I've ever had.

My favorite attraction on Victoria is Butchart Gardens. We camped on Victoria many moons ago.

Great photos, Debby! Are some of them old, or did you make them look old? They have some of the effects I've been working hard to undo on my dad's negatives. LOL

A pro photographer told me about shooting from the hip, too, but I haven't tried it yet. He uses this technique for street photography.

Glad you enjoyed your vacation to such a beautiful place.

Thank you for your comments on my pictures, alisande! I use Adobe CS5 for my pictures. Most of the processing is done in Camera RAW, then I tweek it in CS5. I just keep playing with the colours, saturation, sharpness, etc., until I get the look I want. Sometimes I get lucky and find a new look, other times I don't get lucky and just leave well enough alone. LOL I have a few more from the hip shots to post. Sometimes those work, sometimes they don't. That's because you can't focus. You just point and shoot and hope for the best.