Vancouver Island, August 12–15

Martin Mars water tanker base, Sproat Lake, Port Alberni, BC

Martin Mars water bomber preparing for take off, Sproat Lake, Port Alberni, BC

Chinese cemetery, Harling Point, Oak Bay, BC

View over Harling Point to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Oak Bay, BC

View from Gonzales Hill over McNeill Bay, Oak Bay, BC

ON SUNDAY, Anna and I woke up to a fog-free morning. By 10 am the car was packed, we said our goodbyes to Elizabeth, Ryan and the kids, knowing that in a few days we would see them again. We would rejoin them at their house when we reached Victoria. Outside Port Alberni, Anna indulged me when I said quite suddenly, I would like to turn off the highway and visit the Air Tanker base on Sproat Lake. In my student years, I had put myself through school in the summers, by working in the BC Forest Service. In 1972, I was actually on a fire atop a knoll, above Sproat Lake, when the lumbering behemoth of a Martin Mars bomber, approached not much higher then eye level, through a screen of smoke. We all threw ourselves to the ground just before 27,000 litres of water mixed with Phos-Chek (fire redardant gel) rained down upon our wild fire.
Martin Mars - Coulson Flying Tankers - The World's Largest Flying Boats Ever Flown Operationally

The drive continued to Victoria where we stayed in a comfortable motel on Douglas Street and on "the Strip" leading into the city. I had made plans to meet someone from the distant past on Monday morning. Merry was a childhood friend, from my days on Wilmot Place in Oak Bay, near Victoria. She was a little younger then I, when I last saw her in January 1957 which was shortly before my 7th birthday. Anna and I met her on Fort Street in Victoria and we retired to a cozy little teashop. I was thrilled to see Merry again. Our conversation seemed very engaging, wide-ranging and full of warmth. Hopefully our next meeting will be in the not too distant future.

Finally, Anna and I rejoined our camping friends at their home. After supper we walked with them to Ross Bay. There we lingered on the pebble beach. When we weren't sitting and gazing across the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the Olympic Mountains we were throwing rocks at a floating piece of wood. The scene was bathed in gorgeous evening light.

For our last full day in Victoria, Elizabeth gave us a guest pass for the Royal Provincial Museum, to help us out with the admission. We mostly toured the history exhibits that traced BC's history from colonization through to the recent decades. The First Nation's exhibits also fascinated Anna and I.
http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/Exhibit_Gall/default.aspx

In the afternoon we picked up groceries for the evening meal before joining the family for a walk to the Chinese cemetery and the "Secret Beach" as my friends called it. The neighbourhood was very rugged, with lots of exposed rock amongst pretty homes, and where patches of invasive Gorse and Scotch Broom (both brought by homesick settlers from the British Isles) competed with native species. We ascended the rocky flank of Gonzales Hill, skirting around homes and crossing the main road, before reaching the lookout on top. Finally got home tired and happy from our walk before enjoying a final evening of food, wine and conviviality.
Chinese Cemetery at Harling Point - Victoria BC

Got home today, on this August 15, after crossing on the ferry from Swartz Bay to the Mainland.