Walk # 176 June 17th 2015 Exploring Gordon Head Part 3 - Arbutus Cove loop
We parked at the end of Houlihan Ct. and met outside the home of Merv and Kathy Scott. When the group were all there we headed through the laneway to James Houlihan Park and down to Ferndale Rd. turning right we walked to Gordon Head road and turned across to Arbutus Cove Lane. We found the path that leads to the stairs down to the beach. At the beach we walked across to the other end of the beach and climbed the stairs up to Hollydene park. Following Hollydene Rd. we walked up to Arbutus Drive and up to San Juan where we found the laneway through to Wenman and Hillcrest and eventually back to Houlihan Court and the end of the walk. Then a short drive to Maude Hunters pub for lunch.
Here are Terry's photos
Here are Terry's photos
Walk # 177 June 24th 2015 Visiting a Vintage Village with Lois
On June 24th we visited a property outside of Victoria where a collection of vintage and collectable items of a lifetime collection are displayed. I won't say where this is, for the protection of the owner and his collection; but I will say that all of us were astounded at the size of this collection and the organization of all of it. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. You will see that this is a collection of someone who truly wants to preserve the past and enjoys his collection. Thanks for the really interesting visit. Everyone really enjoyed the visit. We went to the Crooked Goose for lunch.
Here's Phil's photos this link does no longer work
Here's Terry's photos
Here's Phil's photos this link does no longer work
Here's Terry's photos
Walk # 178 July 1st 2015 Exploring the View Royal area on Canada Day
On Canada Day 2015 (July 1st for the rest of you) Some of the CAMRAmblers met and parked at the View Royal Town Hall next to the 4 Mile Pub and Brewery. We walked along View Royal Avenue out along the streets nearest the Esquimalt harbour and checked out every beach access that we found. None of us had ever explored this part of the Victoria area. We were all impressed at the quiet streets, well kept homes and beautiful views of the Victoria outer harbour. Across the water we could see CFB Esquimalt and a fire boat was giving a display of spraying a huge plume of water into the air. It was a beautiful day, clear, sunny and hot..but the breeze off of the water was just right to keep us comfortable. We went to the 4 Mile Pub for lunch but the service was very slow, they had forgotten our reservation, the cutlery was greasy, the table was sticky and half of my lunch was very late coming. Oh well.
Here's Terry's photos
Here's Phil's photos
Here's Claudia's photos
Here's Terry's photos
Here's Phil's photos
Here's Claudia's photos
Walk # 179 July 8th 2015 The Mt. Douglas Park perimeter trail
The air quality was a bit better today, from the cloud of forest fire smoke that has been blanketing the south coast for several days. Sill, it posed a problem for those with asthma, or breathing related problems. We started out on the Mt. Douglas trails doing the most level part first. When we came to the part that started to climb up the south end of the park trails Terry had to bow out due to a very sore hip and leg muscle. He walked back the way that they came while the rest of the group continued around the mountain on the Whittaker trail. At the very back part or the mountain the trails have a lot of exposed roots and that means really keeping your eyes focused on the trail to avoid tripping. Also the map is not very accurate so there was some confusion about which trail leads where. Eventually the group made their way back to the cars in one hour and forty minutes. Not a bad time for that long and challenging trail.
Here are Phil's photos
Here are Terry's photos
Here are Phil's photos
Here are Terry's photos
Walk #180 July 22nd 2015 Island View Beach walk
We had a really good turnout for this walk. Thirteen people showed up for the walk and one more for the lunch at the Prairie Inn. The sky was overcast but clearing when we got to the beach, but as soon as we started walking the sun came out and it became quite warm. There was a strong salty scent of sea weed on the wind that most of us like. It makes you feel like the air has a cleansing feel to it. We walked all the way down to the First Nations property boundary on the path and then walked back to the cars along the beach.
Here are Terry's photos
Here are Terry's photos
Walk # 181 July 29th 2015 Dallas Road waterfront to Ogden Point
We met along Dallas road and walked along to the Ogden Point breakwater where we walked out to the end. A lot of bull kelp was seen along both sides of the breakwater. We also spotted a baby seal, a scuba diver, whale watchers, and various other marine craft. It was a beautiful day with almost no wind and a bright blue sky. A Princess cruise ship was in port; the Pacific Princess. We went to the Beagle Pub on Cook street for lunch.
Here are Phil's photos
Here are Terry's photos
Here are Phil's photos
Here are Terry's photos
Walk # 182 August 5th 2015 Telegraph Bay Beach and Queenswood area
How much can the weather change from one week to another? Well today we found out how much! When I planned this walk the biggest concern was for finding somewhere there would be some shade to get relief from the blazing sun. On this day the wind was blowing cool, and the sky was completely overcast. The group did the walk through Queenswood anyway and I spent the time on the beach reading and exploring the small cove where so much history took place.* Dave F was the navigator and he lead the group through the twisted route of Queenswood and Arbutus road. The walk took about 70 minutes.
Here are Terry's photos of the beach
* Here's a link to the history of the area
Here are Phil's photos
Here are Claudia's photos
Here are Terry's photos of the beach
* Here's a link to the history of the area
Here are Phil's photos
Here are Claudia's photos
Walk # 183 August 12th 2015 A walk along Brighton Ave - end to end
This walk has to be one of the longest for the group in a while. It was more than 5 kilometers out and back. Maybe a little bit more since Phil showed the group a little park he knows near his home. Even thought the weather wasn't exactly like the predictions said it would be it was good for a bit of exercise like this. Terry did a bit a somewhat different route back because of hip problems, but even his walk was fine. Eventually all returned back to Windsor Park where we took over a picnic table for our lunch. The Brighton Avenue route is a charming walk through one of Oak Bay's meandering streets.
Here are Phil's photos
Here are Claudia's photos
Here are Terry's photos
Here are Phil's photos
Here are Claudia's photos
Here are Terry's photos