West Bay Walkway

I've been neglecting one of my favorite spots this last few months so I returned to the West Bay Walkway for a stroll this afternoon. It offers such great views that I enjoyed revisiting it again immensely. Here we see the Coho car ferry leaving the harbor on its afternoon trip to Port Angeles, Washington.

Bon Voyage!

Here goes the MV Coho on it's last trip across to Port Angeles. - Fern

Inversion

This is a kind of weather we see often. Here we are looking at the Coho, a car ferry, as it exits the Inner Harbour on one of its trips to Port Angeles, hidden beneath that cloud bank on the horizon. Poking up above the clouds are the peaks of the Olympic Peninsula. I'm happy to say that this kind of weather usually stays over there on the other side of the strait. Victoria is relatively flat and it seems these low level clouds either stay on the US side or blow over us to Vancouver where the mountains bring them up short again. That's my personal theory for why Victoria gets so many more hours of sunshine every year than its neighbours. Anyway, this kind of low cloud is called an inversion because it is the opposite (the inverse) of what we normally see - clouds up in the sky and clear air near the ground. On the left of this photo you can see the Ogden Point Breakwater.

Inner Harbour Departure

When planning our recent trip to Port Angeles I must confess that one of my ulterior motives was to take some photos of the Inner Harbour of Victoria from a reasonably stable platform in the harbour itself. So, before we start to look at the revealed beauties of Port Angeles we will take a leisurely departure from Victoria as experienced on the deck of the MV Coho, the ship that has been carrying cars and passengers between Victoria and Port Angeles in the USA for over 50 years.

The green roofed buildings in the background center are the BC Legislative Assembly Buildings. The Grecian styled building in the right foreground was built as the Canadian Pacific Steamship Terminal. More recently it was occupied by the Royal London Wax Museum. Currently it is empty though rumour has it that a new tenant will soon occupy this building. The relatively tall building on the far left is the Royal BC Museum and Imax Theatre, currently featuring dinosaurs.

Day Trip - Port Angeles, Washington, USA

Though I've traveled around the world a couple of times there are still places within a day's journey from Victoria that I've never visited. One of these places is the lovely little city of Port Angeles, Washington. My brother and I boarded the MV Coho yesterday morning for the 90 minute crossing to Port Angeles. We arrived at noon and walked from the terminal up into the town for lunch. In the afternoon we experienced some of the unusual history of Port Angeles under the guidance of Mr. Don Perry, a local historian who has done much to collect and preserve the city's history. He led us on a tour that took us beneath the city and then above its shops and storefronts and exposed some of the fascinating history that is embodied in the heritage buildings of Port Angeles. I'll share a little more about this city over the next few days.

Good bye Victoria

On a blustery day last week we threw caution to the wind and boarded the Coho ferry to Port Angeles. From the cafeteria I would run out onto the deck, snap a few pictures and then scurry back inside to my hot tea. This was taken from the starboard quarter (thank you Google) looking back at Victoria.

Postcard

While browsing through the archives I came across this photo of the MV Coho, the car ferry that operates between here and Port Angeles in Washington State, and was struck by how much it reminds me of a fifties postcard - something to do with the slightly washed out colors. It's also taken from an unusual vantage point - Macaulay Point. The rocky foreground is Work Point. Beyond it the Coho is moving through the entrance to the Inner Harbour.

Fogbank

I confess to a fondness for fog so I liked seeing this fogbank moving in from the ocean the other morning. I realize that for mariners it must pose real problems but with both feet safely on the ground and from a distance, it's lovely. A few minutes after taking the above photo (with my "new" 50mm lens) I noticed the MV Coho, the car ferry from Port Angeles, nosing her way out of the fog and took the photo below.

Dawn

Taken just at sunrise last week, Captain Vancouver atop the green dome of the Legislative Assembly Buildings catches the first rays of the morning sun while the Port Angeles ferry, the MV Coho, awaits her morning departure.

MV Coho - 50 years

The Classic Boat Festival this year paid tribute to a classic ship that has been a feature of our harbour and our long relationship with Port Angeles in the USA since 1959, the MV Coho. The ship operates as a car and passenger ferry between Victoria and Port Angeles in Washington State. Above is a photo of her taken as I often see her when leaving Victoria Harbour on her final voyage of the day. Click here to read an article about the MV Coho in Wikipedia.

Songhees Point 1

Songhees Point marks the beginning of the Westsong Walkway and is a splendid place to catch the last rays of the day lighting the Inner Harbour. The large ship on the right is the M. V. Coho, a car and passenger ferry that operates between Victoria and Port Angeles in Washington State.

M.V. Coho

Since Victoria is on an island, you have either to take a plane or a boat to get here. The BC Ferries Corporation operates ferries to Vancouver and the Gulf islands from their Swartz Bay terminal about forty minutes drive north of Victoria. However, you can come by boat directly to the Inner Harbor from Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula, on the ship that is pictured here, the M. V. Coho. It's a car ferry that travels back and forth twice daily. There is another regular ferry for passengers only called the Clipper that travels between Victoria's Inner Harbor and Seattle. Above we see the Coho leaving Victoria Harbor on its last trip for the day.