Trip to Victoria BC

[geist1223]

We were scheduled for the 6pm Ferry out of Tsawwasen BC. No knowing what traffic would be like through Portland, Vancouver WA, Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, and the Border we left Salem at 6:30am.

Well except for a brief slow down by the Tacoma Dome due to a traffic accident there was no traffic. Once we got north of Seattle we stopped at 2 Costcos for eating lunch, doing a little shopping, clean bathrooms, and topping up of gas. When we got to the Border there was only 1 car in front of us. The Canadian Border Officer apparently did not like some of their answers because after quite a bit of questioning they were directed to the detailed inspection area. When it was our turn the Border Officer asked a couple question, scanned our Passport Information, looked at our vaccination cards, and looked at our down loaded Covid Test results and wished us a good trip to Victoria.

We arrived at the Ferry Terminal at 2:56pm. So for an extra $28 We were allowed to get on the 3pm Ferry. After stopping for grocery shopping we arrived at the Worldmark at 6pm - the time of our originally scheduled Ferry.

There was a little bit of rain yesterday and some rain today. We have not had any real rain in Salem for months. It actually feels nice. Today is a day of relaxation and maybe hit a Farmers' Market.

The check-in was efficient, friendly, and painless. We forgot how small are the regular 2 Bedroom Units. Patti said next time we will reserve a 2 Bedroom Penthouse like last time. We are on the 7th Floor in the East Building - to the right as you face the Lobby from the Street. Wish we were on the 9th Floor.

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, an AT&T 4G LTE tablet

 

[geist1223]

Last night I walked through the Parking Garage. It was about 2/3's full. 3 cars with Oregon Plates (including ours). 3 cars with Washington Plates. All the rest were British Columbia. Now some of these may have been rentals for folks that flew into Vancouver or Victoria, BC.

 

[Luanne]

I hope you are planning to go to Butchart Gardens while you are in Victoria.

 

[geist1223]

I hope you are planning to go to Butchart Gardens while you are in Victoria.

Every trip.

 

[geist1223]

As you can tell our Pets are highly upset and miss us terribly.

 

[geist1223]

Our first 5 days were glorious. Today the rain set in. But we were ready for a break. We have been here in June, September, and October and had great weather. But it can vary from day to day and week to week. If you Book a Penthouse Queen you will have a shot at the 9th Floor. The Passenger (no vehicles) Ferry between Seattle and Victoria resumed today. One nice thing about the COVID19 thing is there are very few people from the USA. We had a great time at Butchart Garden the other day because of the drastically reduced crowds - fewer Canadian, USA, other.

 

[geist1223]

I wanted a Pizza to eat while watching Football on Sunday. At Home I pick up a Bake at Home Sunday morning from Pappa John. I cook it and then munch on it all day. So I searched the Internet but only found one place that had a take it Home and bake it yourself option. But they were closed on Sunday. No big deal I will pick it up late Saturday night and put in Frig. It is not uncommon for me to buy a day old Pizza at Home for a discount. The Pizza place was Second Slice Pizza. I show up at the scheduled time. They had Baked it. I said no look at the Order it was suppose to be unbaked. They said no problem they would make me another one. It was an extra large Meat Lovers with multigrain dough. They only surface they have for making Pizza is the cooking pan. Once they got the pizza made they discovered they could not transfer to the take out box without it falling apart. So back to the drawing board. They put a bunch of waxed paper in the bottom of the take out box and made the pizza in the take out box. I had my doubts but It was paid for online. This morning the pizza did not want to slide out of the box on to the Pizza Pan in the Unit. I had to roll it up like a Calzone. The flavor after cooking was quite good.

Do not order from Second Slice Pizza if you want to Bake at Home.

 

[geist1223]

The Resort Staff is very responsive. Need new light bulb or new coffee pot. They are delivered in minutes. Running short on coffee just go by the Front Desk and they will give you packets.

 

[geist1223]

Today we visited the BC Museum. We enjoyed it greatly but then we always do. We got back to the Resort in time for a 90 minute rest before our Dinner Reservation. We went to Il Covo. The Service was wonderful. Every course was excellant. We shared an Appetizer Prosecutto with Melon. We both had a Caesar Salad. Patti had the Duck Breast and I had the Lamb Shank. Both had wonderful aroma and taste. They were cooked to perfection. We let the waiter choose the Red Wine to go with both Main Courses. It complimented both Dinners. For Dessert Patti had Pannacotta and Limoncello after the Pannacotta. I had the Cannoli and a Flat White. We would highly recommend this restaurant. Tomorrow we have dinner at Cafe` Brio on Fort Street.

 

[geist1223]

Tonight we ate at Cafe` Brio on Fort Street. It was our 3rd time in 5 years. The Staff is attentive and friendly. The Food is excellant. I had the Rabbit. I forgot how boney Rabbit can be. Patti had Rack of Lamb. We both greatly enjoyed our dinners. One interesting option is to have half an order - slightly over half cost. That is a way to try more main courses or simply to eat less.

 

[geist1223]

Yesterday was a lazy day. Visit a few folks in Victoria. Pick up a few presents. Laundry and packing. My cell fone is now in a bag of Rice. I forgot it was in my swim suit pocket until a few seconds too late. It has been in Rice since last night. I will leave it until at least Tuesdy night. Our trip Home was as long as our trip up 2 weeks ago was swift. Constant slow traffic around all cities. Apparently there was a major accident on I5 by Woodburn. It took us 3 hours to travel from Portland to Salem. Usually less than an hour. This was with jumping off at Aurora and going the back roads. We were not the only locals that decided on this route. This lead to backups at every stop sign.

But we are home. Felix and our cats were happy to see us. It took Felix over an hour to calm down. He is now sleeping on the TV Room Sofa with his head on my lap. The cats are with Patti.

 

[barto]

Great trip report - thanks for sharing!

We were there in August, flew in from Edmonton - was very busy in the resort so we ended up with a 3rd-floor unit and not a great view, but our first time staying in a WM (rented through an owner) and there was lots to like - definitely keeping an eye out for a low-cost entry into that world.

We didn't make it to Il Covo this trip - we had to start with Il Terrazzo (a must-do for us in Victoria), then Ithaka for the first time (excellent Greek food) and just ran out of time to also do Il Covo. Next time!

 

[marmite]

Great trip report. Interesting to see one from 'my neck of the woods'. I'm on the mainland, but have family in Victoria that I visit often. Victoria is always full of tourists all year long, but you're right in that with Covid it is a great time to travel there. Glad to see you were living it up and enjoying some of the restaurants there, it sounds like you had some wonderful evenings.

 

[marmite]

@geist1223 I'm sorry to bump this thread, but was wondering if you could tell me how easy it is to book Victoria with Worldmark? I am just starting to research the Worldmark system and was thinking that owning a Worldmark contract might be a great way to visit family in Victoria without paying the $$$ nightly rates of my usual hotel there. I would not be booking a whole week, I'm not sure if that makes a difference with availability. Thanks.

 

[geist1223]

If you want to Book less than a full week you can only do it less than 10 months before check-in. We always Book 13 months out and stay 1 to 2 weeks. So I have no idea what is the availability at less than 10 months. This will also be affected by the Season. Winter would be the easiest to Book at less than 10 months and then the shoulder seasons of Fall and Spring. Victoria is mainly 2 Bedroom Units though there is 1 3 Bedroom Unit. No Studios or 1 bedroom Units.

 

[marmite]

Thanks for that information @geist1223 It didn't occur to me that a timeshare wouldn't have 1 bedroom units, but this is actually the one location I would only require a one bedroom for a stay. That said, I may find a 2 bedroom is still a good value of points for Victoria where hotel prices are generally high. I was reading another thread on booking at 13 months by combining several shorter reservations -- that sounds like a great option if I wanted a few days in Victoria and then to move on to somewhere in WA or OR. With the land-border back open these road trips are now possible again!

 

[Tacoma]

Generally if you put in a waitlist with some flexibility and at least 3 months notice you get a unit in Victoria. As mentioned though, they only have 2 bedroom units and 1- 3 bedroom unit. The location is awesome. It would definitely be easier to pick up a few days here and there instead of a full week. Also if you own worldmark you can often pick p resorts on Monday Madness which means no HK fee.

 

[marmite]

Generally if you put in a waitlist with some flexibility and at least 3 months notice you get a unit in Victoria. As mentioned though, they only have 2 bedroom units and 1- 3 bedroom unit. The location is awesome. It would definitely be easier to pick up a few days here and there instead of a full week. Also if you own worldmark you can often pick p resorts on Monday Madness which means no HK fee.

Thanks, for the waitlist information. I do have plenty of flexibility but don't really want a long stay so that could work well. It's just nice to pop over to the Island for a few days, take my daughter out to dinners and have a nice visit. I usually stay at the Laurel Point Inn which is literally a 2 minute walk to the WM Victoria, so know that neighbourhood well. I love that area and the restaurants there too. Do the WM's always include parking for the stay (regardless of it being a long or short stay), or is that extra?

 

[Tacoma]

Parking depends on the resort. All of the resorts in Canada have free parking. I see complaints though that they charge for parking at the Anaheim resort and in Austin Texas. Many other urban resorts don't have attached parking so you are subject to the rates of the city you are staying in.