July 2-5 July 6 July 7 July 8 July 9 July 10 July 11 July 12 July 13 July 14 July 15 July 16 July 17 July 18-21	Monday, July 13 I gave up and got up at 5:30 and did the photo downloading that I should have done last night. I made my breakfast, left a detailed, handwritten note for Mom (on the plans for the rest of the week as they affected her) on the kitchen counter, packed up and drove off to join the group. There was a slight drizzle when I arrived at the motel, but this soon stopped. We hit two lavender fields (one which is not usually open to the public and Olympic Lavender Farm). I must have felt that I had taken enough lavender photos yesterday, as I tended to concentrate on other things today... The three photos above were taken at a lavender farm not normally open to the public. The owner popped out of her house while we were there and invited us to photograph anything in her extensive garden, so we did. The photo on the left is a pot of nasturtiums and a bed of calendulas against the side of their barn. The photo on the right concentrates on the calendulas. The center photo is one of the many hollyhocks she had in her garden. This farm had a friendly cat (we learned his name was Old Brother and he was an older cat) that followed us from flower bed to flower bed. I had spotted this door to their garden shed and thought it would look better if the cat were walking by the bottom of it. So, Julie (left photo) and Terry (right photo) tried to coax the cat into cooperating. The center photo was the best of the batch. He preferred being with people. So, we moved on to the Olympic Lavender Farm. It wasn't open yet - it was scheduled to open at 10 - but the owner took pity on us and opened the gate fifteen minutes early. That also brought her a customer - another car had followed us into their parking lot. With the Lavender Festival starting this next weekend, the owner hadn't really wanted to start cutting her lavender yet, but she had orders to fill. So, we watched the workers cutting and bundling lavender for a while. The photo on the left shows one woman cutting the lavender. She'd pass it on to her co-worker who would pull it into a bundle and rubber band it together. Then it was put into a garden cart (right). The four photos above were taken at the Olympic Lavender Farm. Starting from the left, the first photo shows the farm's storefront with its gardens and flower baskets. The second photo is a closer look at some pansies and snapdragons. The third photo shows a purple adirondack chair in a garden setting. The final photo shows a decorative birdhouse (also seen in the background of the third photo). We then returned to the motel to let the others check out and get their bags into the cars. With the motel’s permission, I left my rental car in the motel parking lot and rode with John and Marie, the couple from Whidby Island, for the remainder of the trip. We drove to Port Angeles and checked in for the Coho, a ferry which shuttles vehicles between Port Angeles, WA, and Victoria, BC (Canada). We ate lunch at Smuggler’s Inn (again for me). I had the clam basket this time. We had the same waitress as I had last week. She's a character. When asked what salad dressings they had, she rattled off all seven or eight of them very, very quickly. She says she entertains at parties with that line (g). No, she wouldn't repeat it for us... The ferry soon arrived. It’s amazing what comes off those boats. There were two semis with full loads of lumber getting off the ferry. I almost fell asleep during the ride across (which took about 90 minutes) - there was a very gentle swell which almost rocked to me to sleep. It was a very smooth crossing - the rocking was very gentle and soothing. When the Coho pulled into the harbor in Victoria, we all had to return to our cars. That's when we found out how lucky we were. Our cars were both facing the open exit from the ferry and we could actually see almost all of the approach through this large opening. The workers finally shooed everyone to their cars and we reluctantly got in. We checked into the hotel, which is on the block right behind The Empress, an excellent location. We're within easy walking distance of the harbor, yet can easily access the major roads in and out of town. I got a very nice room which includes a small kitchen. The parking sucks, however. But that’s not my problem... The hotel has a small covered parking garage by the lobby, which we were able to find spaces in most of the time, another small covered parking area around the backside of the hotel, and an open air parking lot above this second covered lot. We'd wind up parking in all three before checking out. We basically dropped our stuff off, grabbed the camera gear, and headed for Butchart Gardens. Since an annual pass is about the same price as two non-consecutive day passes, we all got annual passes. We were there from 4-9:45 and barely scratched the surface. There’s lots of stuff to shoot there. The photo on the left shows the sign near the main entrance. The Gardens have been open to the public for over 100 years. We ate an early small dinner at the coffee shop at Butchart Gardens (I had yogurt, chips, and water) before shooting and we wound up almost closed the place down. Just about everyone visiting Butchart Gardens starts by making a beeline for the overlook which allows one to look into the Sunken Gardens. We were no exception. The three photos above were taken from this overlook. The Sunken Gardens were planted to disguise a former limestone quarry. The three photos above show more views of the flowerbeds of the Sunken Gardens. The photo on the right also shows a stairway to the top of an island overlook located in the center of this garden. The three photos above didn't really fit with anything else, so I added them here. The photo on the left shows Ross Fountain, which is located near the end of the Sunken Gardens. The center photo shows a wheelbarrow on a path in the work area of the gardens. The photo on the right shows some old mining carts filled with ferns! The three photos above show some of the flowers found in Butchart Gardens. I don't know what the red ones in the photo on the left are. The center photo shows pink astilbe. The photo on the right shows a Rudbeckia with a petunia in the background. The three photos above show some more of the flowers at Butchart Gardens. The photo on the left shows a study in purple with petunias and verbena. The center photo is a close look into a daylily. The photo on the right is a collection of several shades of purple petunias. The five photos above show some of the many, many tuberous begonias planted around Butchart Gardens. The photo on the left above shows one of the many roses in the Rose Garden. The other two photos show some of the extensive dahlia collection. The photo on the left just shows that Butchart Gardens still sells a variety of film in this day of digital cameras. The photo on the right shows a newly emerging leaf on a Golden Groundsel (Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona'). I had spotted this near the Rose Garden, but couldn't figure out what it was. The leaves on this plant are about eight inches in diameter. I wound up going to the Plant Identification station the Gardens had set up and playing stump the expert. She had it pegged on her third try. The three photos above show three paths through Butchart Gardens. The photo on the left shows a rose covered arbor over the main path through the Rose Garden. The center photo shows a garden gate under a rose covered arbor. The photo on the right shows another rose covered trellis over the path that borders the Rose Garden. The three photos above were taken from the general vicinity of the Concert Lawn, a pastoral area with a band stand. During the summer months, there's a different band or group performing each night. Tonight's band was a bluegrass one. The photo on the left shows a section of the mixed garden which adjoins this lawn. The center photo shows a brick path through a garden area near the back of this area. The photo on the right shows some trees with begonias under them that form one side of the Concert Lawn area. . After sunset, they turned on lights in several of the gardens. The photo on the left shows a gaslight type fixture near the main arbor through the Rose Garden. This arbor consists of several rose covered trellises with hanging baskets of mixed flowers hanging off of each. The three photos above show the effect of the lights on the Sunken Gardens. Then we drove back to the hotel and I crashed hard. Next...