To and From Butchart Gardens

On the Clipper . . .

Barb relaxing while waiting for everyone to board :)We took a high-speed passenger-only Victoria Clipper ferry from Seattle, WA to Victoria, BC.

One of the Victoria Clippers

View of Seahawks and Mariners Stadiums from the Victoria Clipper

Central Waterfront from the Victoria Clipper

The Seattle Great Wheel is a giant Ferris wheel at Pier 57 on Elliott Bay in Seattle. With an overall height of 175 feet (53.3 m), it was the tallest Ferris wheel on the West Coast when it opened on June 29, 2012. The Seattle Great Wheel has 42 climate-controlled gondolas, each able to carry up to eight passengers (except the "VIP" gondola, seating four), giving a maximum capacity of over 300. The 12-minute ride extends 40 feet (12.2 m) out over Elliott Bay.

The Edgewater [building with red "E"] from the Victoria Clipper

Resting atop Pier 67 on Seattle’s sparking Elliott Bay, the four story 223-room Edgewater is Seattle’s original waterfront hotel. Originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair, The Edgewater Hotel remains as Seattle’s only waterfront hotel and has become a beloved local landmark. In 1964, during their first world tour, The Beatles stayed at our Seattle hotel, newly completed for the World’s Fair. At the time, no other hotel in the city would accept The Beatles as guests; however The Edgewater happily welcomed them. Since opening in 1962, The Edgewater Hotel has hosted some of the most famous names in music, including: The Beatles, Pearl Jam, The Village People, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, Wings, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, Blondie, Jewel, David Bowie, Emmy Lou Harris, Iggy Pop, Jessica Simpson, Mel Tormé, REM, Rod Stewart, Willie Nelson, and more.

Central Waterfront from the Victoria Clipper

The Central Waterfront of Seattle, in the state of Washington, US, is the most urbanized portion of the Elliott Bay shore. It runs from the Pioneer Square shore roughly northwest past Downtown Seattle and Belltown, ending at the Broad Street site of the Olympic Sculpture Park. The Central Waterfront was once the hub of Seattle's maritime activity. Since the construction of a container port to its south in the 1960s, the area has increasingly been converted to recreational and retail uses. As of 2008, several century-old piers are devoted to shops and restaurants. There are several parks, a Ferris wheel, an aquarium, and one over-water hotel. Some docks remain on the Central Waterfront, under the authority of the Port of Seattle, including a cruise ship dock, ferry terminals, and a fireboat dock. There are many architectural vestiges of the area's past status as the heart of a port, and a handful of businesses have remained in operation since that time.

The Edgewater from the Victoria Clipper

Resting atop Pier 67 on Seattle’s sparking Elliott Bay, the four story 223-room Edgewater is Seattle’s original waterfront hotel. Originally built for the 1962 World’s Fair, The Edgewater Hotel remains as Seattle’s only waterfront hotel and has become a beloved local landmark. In 1964, during their first world tour, The Beatles stayed at our Seattle hotel, newly completed for the World’s Fair. At the time, no other hotel in the city would accept The Beatles as guests; however The Edgewater happily welcomed them. Since opening in 1962, The Edgewater Hotel has hosted some of the most famous names in music, including: The Beatles, Pearl Jam, The Village People, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, KISS, Wings, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, Blondie, Jewel, David Bowie, Emmy Lou Harris, Iggy Pop, Jessica Simpson, Mel Tormé, REM, Rod Stewart, Willie Nelson, and more.

View of Downtown Seattle from the Victoria Clipper

Pier 70 from the Victoria Clipper

Pier 70 was built as Pier 14 by Ainsworth and Dunn and completed in 1902 along with a warehouse across Railroad Avenue (today's Alaskan Way) that is now the Old Spaghetti Factory. At the foot of Clay and Broad Streets, Pier 70 now marks the northern end of the Central Waterfront. Although the pier shed retains its historic shape, it was remodeled after a fire in 1915, remodeled again in the 1970s, and so heavily altered in the late 1990s—reclad with metal siding, all windows and doors modernized and many reconfigured—that (unlike the old Northern Pacific piers) it retains only traces of its historic character.

View of the Space Needle from the Victoria Clipper

The Space Needle is an observation tower, a landmark of the Pacific Northwest, and an icon of Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors, when nearly 20,000 people a day used its elevators. Once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, it is 605 feet (184 m) high, 138 feet (42 m) wide, and weighs 9,550 tons. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour (89 m/s) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. It also has 25 lightning rods. It has an observation deck at 520 feet (160 m) and the rotating SkyCity restaurant at 500 feet (150 m). The downtown Seattle skyline, as well as the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and surrounding islands can be viewed from the top of the Needle.Visitors can reach the top of the Space Needle by elevators that travel at 10 miles per hour (4.5 m/s). The trip takes 41 seconds. On windy days, the elevators slow to 5 miles per hour (2.2 m/s). On April 19, 1999, the city's Landmarks Preservation Board designated it a historic landmark. Read some Fun Facts about the Space Needle here.

View of Downtown Seattle and Central Waterfront from the Victoria Clipper

View of Seahawks and Mariners Stadiums from the Victoria Clipper

View of the Space Needle from the Victoria Clipper

The Space Needle is an observation tower, a landmark of the Pacific Northwest, and an icon of Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors, when nearly 20,000 people a day used its elevators. Once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, it is 605 feet (184 m) high, 138 feet (42 m) wide, and weighs 9,550 tons. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour (89 m/s) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. It also has 25 lightning rods. It has an observation deck at 520 feet (160 m) and the rotating SkyCity restaurant at 500 feet (150 m). The downtown Seattle skyline, as well as the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and surrounding islands can be viewed from the top of the Needle.Visitors can reach the top of the Space Needle by elevators that travel at 10 miles per hour (4.5 m/s). The trip takes 41 seconds. On windy days, the elevators slow to 5 miles per hour (2.2 m/s). On April 19, 1999, the city's Landmarks Preservation Board designated it a historic landmark. Read some Fun Facts about the Space Needle here.

View of the Space Needle from the Victoria Clipper

The Space Needle is an observation tower, a landmark of the Pacific Northwest, and an icon of Seattle. It was built in the Seattle Center for the 1962 World's Fair, which drew over 2.3 million visitors, when nearly 20,000 people a day used its elevators. Once the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River, it is 605 feet (184 m) high, 138 feet (42 m) wide, and weighs 9,550 tons. It is built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour (89 m/s) and earthquakes of up to 9.1 magnitude, as strong as the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. It also has 25 lightning rods. It has an observation deck at 520 feet (160 m) and the rotating SkyCity restaurant at 500 feet (150 m). The downtown Seattle skyline, as well as the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Elliott Bay and surrounding islands can be viewed from the top of the Needle.Visitors can reach the top of the Space Needle by elevators that travel at 10 miles per hour (4.5 m/s). The trip takes 41 seconds. On windy days, the elevators slow to 5 miles per hour (2.2 m/s). On April 19, 1999, the city's Landmarks Preservation Board designated it a historic landmark. Read some Fun Facts about the Space Needle here.

Downtown Seattle from the Victoria Clipper

On our way to Butchart Gardens

Downtown Seattle from the Victoria Clipper

On our way to Butchart Gardens

Downtown Seattle from the Victoria Clipper - Space Needle [left]

On our way to Butchart Gardens

On the Way to Butchart Gardens on the Victoria Clipper

On the Way to Butchart Gardens on the Victoria Clipper

On the Way to Butchart Gardens on the Victoria Clipper

On the Way to Butchart Gardens on the Victoria Clipper

On the Way to Butchart Gardens on the Victoria Clipper