Victoria travelblog: Navigating Waterworld

Remember “Waterworld,” Kevin Costner’s 1995 movie about a post-apocalyptic Earth in which water covers the Earth?

Well, actually, neither do I. Never saw it. But at the time, “Waterworld” was the most-expensive film ever made. It was a box-office bust; the movie ended up recouping its costs only via video and post-cinema sales.

But Wednesday, I thought I was living through “Waterworld.” I woke up at 3:30 a.m. in Norman and laid my head down 22 hours later in the gorgeous city of Victoria, British Columbia.

To get from God’s country to the northwest corner of our great continent, I flew over water and I drove over water and I rode over and I walked by water. It was quite a day.

Trish the Dish had a conference in Seattle that ended Wednesday, so several months ago we decided that I would join her then and spend a few days exploring one of our favorite parts of America. We have loved our previous visit to Seattle and we loved our two visits to the Oregon Coast, and this time we decided to try out Victoria.

British Columbia always has seemed like the coolest of places, though I have to admit my knowledge of the province was limited. What I knew about Vancouver I learned from Bill Hancock’s Olympic dispatches and a five-minute conversation with Big Country. What I knew about Victoria was even less. I heard a character on “General Hospital” 35 years ago talk about how beautiful was Victoria. That’s literally all I knew.

But one look at a map tells you Victoria is a place to visit if you get a chance.

For one thing, Canada is a fabulous place. This is our third straight year to visit The True North Strong and Free. We went to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island two summers ago with the whole family; maybe my favorite vacation ever and a place I’m returning, sooner rather than later. The Dish and I went to Niagara Falls, Ontario, last September and had a fantastic time. And this time we headed West.

Canada seems to embody the best of the U.S without embodying the worst. I’m sure Canada has its bad parts and bad features, but let me tell, they’re hard to find. And we get out and drive around. I hope the Canadians know that Donald Trump’s act with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is just schtick. Canada is more than the best friend the U.S. has ever had. Canada is the best friend we’ll ever have.

Anyway, Victoria is the capital of British Columbia and rests on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada’s Pacific Coast. Vancouver Island is 290 miles long and 62 miles wide at its thickest point. The cosmopolitan city of Vancouver does not sit on Vancouver Island; it is across the bay from Vancouver Island.

The city of Vancouver is only about 70 miles north of Victoria, but it takes 4-1/2 hours to get there, because it includes a ferry ride across the Straight of Georgia, and the ferry ride passes through U.S. waters. I don’t know if you need a passport to get from Victoria to Vancouver, but that’s sort of wild.

Of course, to get from the state of Washington to Victoria requires a ferry ride also. So to get to Victoria, you arrive by ferry or by air.

Victoria has a city population of 85,000 and a metro population of about 383,000, making it the 15^th-most populous Canadian metro. About the same size as Eugene, Oregon.

Victoria is named after the famed British queen – Victorian age – and was settled by the Brits in 1843. A statue of Queen Victoria sits in front of the magnificent capital building, which was constructed in 1897 and sits overlooking Victoria’s Inner Harbor.

Victoria thrives as a technology hub and a tourist spot. It has several prominent universities, plus attracts retirees, since it has a (mostly) snow-free climate.

The Inner Harbor is a gorgeous setting, with the famed Empress Hotel also overlooking the water. We walked around the port  Wednesday evening, encountering a kilt-wearing man playing bagpipes for donations, and a pop-music concert, and moored sailboats and water taxis, and tourists from multiple continents. Beautiful place and we’re looking forward to exploring.

But getting here was a challenge. It was a hectic day, because deadlines keep coming.

The Victoria Clipper is a ship that can take you straight from Seattle to Victoria, and that’s the best way to go. But it left too early to get us there Wednesday. And we decided to spend all five nights in Victoria, because of a good deal I got at the Marriott Inner Harbor. So car rental was our best option.

That made for tight connections. Here was my itinerary.

* 6 a.m. flight out of OKC to Denver; 8:30 a.m. flight from Denver to Seattle.

* Land in Seattle at 10:35 a.m., rent a car and drive to the University of Washington area, where the Dish was staying. Her conference would end at 11:45 a.m., she would Uber back to the house she and her colleagues were renting and meet me there.

* We would take off for suburban Edmonds to catch the Washington State Ferry, which would get us across Puget Sound. The ferry leaves Edmonds at a variety of times. For us, the key times were 12:40 p.m., 1:40 p.m. and 2:25 p.m. We likely couldn’t make 12:40, and 2:25 would be cutting it close for reasons I’ll get to, so 1:40 is what we were shooting for.

* The ferry takes you to Kingston, Washington, where you then drive about 60 miles to Port Angeles, Washington.

* At Port Angeles, you catch the Black Ball Ferry, which makes three trips a day to Victoria. The last trip leaves at 5:10 p.m., but they ask you to be there at 4:10. If you miss that ferry, you’re stuck. You’re not getting to Victoria that day.

So you see the time crunch. And you’re dealing with Seattle traffic.

I took every precaution to make sure I made all those connections, including getting to Will Rogers Airport 90 minutes before takeoff instead of my usual 60. I wanted to give myself time to change a flat tire; even drove the Dish’s Mazda, since her spare tire is a lot more accessible than the spare on my Nissan Frontier.

Anyway, the flights went off without a hitch – thanks, Southwest, I can trust you. I would never have signed off on such a tight schedule if I had to fly any other airlines – and I even got to sleep most of the way to Denver. So I was fairly rested when I got to Seattle.

Seattle, as you know, is a fabulous city on Puget Sound, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. You know it and everybody else knows it. People flock to Seattle, which now has a metro population of almost four million. It generally is the fastest-growing major metro in the U.S.

The downside is, traffic is awful. And you know it before you leave Sea-Tac Airport, which rests between Seattle and Tacoma, the massive suburb to the south. To get to baggage claim, you wind through a huge line of the poor suckers standing in line to get through security. You think, glad that’s not me.

Then you get outside to catch the rental-car shuttle bus, and you hit your own massive line. Probably a block long. I started worrying about making the Black Ball Ferry. But the line moved rather quickly. I probably waited about 15 minutes.

Soon enough, I was on the shuttle and renting a car from Thrifty, which sort of had a neat operation. There was a moderate line waiting to get one of the three agents, and when the line expanded, someone appeared and activated these video kiosks where you rented through an agent at a remote location. Soon enough, I had my Toyota Yaris, a hatchback that seems to be about seven feet long and looks like one of those Little Tyke Cozy Couples that 4-year-olds play with. Driving a Yaris will get you laughed at in Oklahoma, but it makes you one of the cool kids in the Pacific Northwest.

Anyway, I headed out and hit Interstate 5. Traffic was a little rough getting into Seattle. But they’ve got a cool setup – mobile speed limits, digitally presented over the interstate, for different lanes. For example, the express lanes for buses and multiple-passenger vehicles might be 50 MPH, while the other lanes might be 30 or 35. The technology can detect what’s a safe speed. I found it incredibly helpful.

The drive along I-5 is great, even through industrial south Seattle. You’ve got Puget Sound on the west and mountain views on the east and the Seattle skyline to the north. You drive past the twin ballparks of CenturyLink Field (Seahawks) and Safeco Field (Mariners), which should hold a place near and dear to the heart of Oklahomans. They are responsible for us having the Thunder. Fifteen years ago or so, Seattle built those new coliseums for football and baseball, but the NBA SuperSonics were offered only a renovation for aging KeyArena. NBA commissioner David Stern was angered enough to facilitate the Clay Bennett group’s purchase of the Sonics and eventual move to Oklahoma City.

Anyway, I got into downtown Seattle quickly enough, and soon on the west passed by Lake Washington, on which the university sits. Husky Stadium is easily viewed from I-5.

I get to Seattle about every 10 years. I was there in 1985 for a quick stop when I made a recruiting trip with OU assistant coach Scott Hill – first and only time I ever ate shark. It was quite tasty.  I was back in 1995 for the Big Country Final Four and had a great time, other than the Cowboys’ defeat. Then in 2008 I was here for a few days around the OU-Washington football game. Husky Stadium has been renovated since then and looks really cool from the freeway.

Crazy enough, I actually beat the Dish back to her house. Then we were on our way to the first ferry.

Edmonds is a scenic suburb that sits right on Puget Sound and has a charming downtown. You pass through a tollbooth to get to the ferry, but it really just keeps you on an Edmonds street. When it’s time to load the ferry, downtown traffic is stopped while cars drive onto the massive boat. We arrived about 12:50, which meant a 50-minute wait. You just park and wait, or walk around. There was a roadside coffee stand that sold hot dogs. I got the Dish and I a kosher hot dog for lunch.

The ferry ride is $18 for cars and $8 for extra passengers, but they charged me only $14 for the Yaris, since it’s so short. They pack the cars in tight on the ferry, then you walk upstairs to spend the cruise inside or outside for the 30-minute drive.

One problem, it’s a little chilly. Not to make anyone jealous, but the temperature was in the 60s – the high in Victoria was 71 Wednesday, and it’s not supposed to get out of the 60s the rest of our stay – and when you’re on the water, with the wind whipping, it can get downright cold.

We walked around and enjoyed the views and soon enough were unloading in Kingston.

The western side of Puget Sound is gorgeous, too, but seems far removed from Seattle. Maybe because you have to take a ferry to get there. A lot more rustic.

The drive to Port Angeles was gorgeous. Through those magnificent Washington pines and around beautiful water. You hug Port Gamble Bay and pass by elegant lakes and drive across Squamish Harbor on a bridge. I’m telling you. Waterworld.

What you’re really doing is driving around massive Olympic National Park, which houses the majestic Olympic Mountains. The entire area is called Olympic, with Port Angeles serving as the hub. Port Angeles is a city of about 20,000 – several cool small towns lead up to it – that has become a recreational mecca.

Port Angeles has a nice harbor from which whale-watching excursions embark into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which the Black Ball Ferry crosses. They say that Victoria is visible from Port Angeles, but it was quite foggy and we certainly couldn’t see it.

We arrived in Port Angeles about 3:35, checked in, parked our car in line and were told to be back at 4:45.

The temperature was about 62, with a stiff breeze, so the Dish was cold. We walked along the pier and strolled through some shops and found her a nice jacket at the Whale Watching shop. She was going to need it making the trek across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

We stopped in at Smugglers Landing, a seafood joint on the pier, and bought a couple of clam chowders to go. Then we went back to the car and had our snack, waiting to board the MV Coho, which is part of the Black Ball Ferry line.

This year marks the 200^th  anniversary of Black Ball. Black Ball claims an important part of maritime history. Before 1818, ships sailed on their own schedule. They waited until their holds were full, then departed, leaving passengers and freight to just wait. But Black Ball’s owners, a group of New York quakers, set a schedule and began sailing at appointed times.

In the late 1800s, U.S. Treasury secretary Charles Folger appointed Charles Peabody, whose family had launched Black Ball, to move west to Port Townsend, Washington, to manage the U.S. Cutter Service. In the mid-1890s, Peabody established the Alaska Steamship Co., flying under the Black Ball flag. Eventually, Black Ball established a ferry service between Victoria and Port Angeles.

On the boat with us were hundreds of cars, massive trucks, every kind of vehicle you can name.

The trip is only about 20 nautical miles but takes about 90 minutes. It was so chilly, we spent most of the time inside, reading up on Victoria.

From a distance, Victoria seems underwhelming. The skyline is not huge and the outer harbor is largely industrial.

But when you make the turn into the Inner Harbor, the elegant old buildings and the sailboats come more into view, and the charms of Victoria are apparent.

We were one of the first cars off – since we were one of the first cars on – and got through customs quickly. The agent asked us where we were from, how long we were staying, where we were staying and if we’re bringing in anything that we won’t take back. We answered honestly and well, and the whole process was less than 60 seconds. Like I said about Niagara Falls, you can’t get through Arby’s drive-through any more quickly.

Our hotel was about a two-minute drive. We checked in and had a distinctively Pacific experience. I pulled in front of the Marriott, and the bellhop came out. The Dish stayed in the car, but I got out to check in and told the bellhop I wasn’t sure of the parking arrangement. He explained the options -- $20 a day to self-park, $23 a day for valet – and I said I’d probably self-park. He said fine, go ahead and check in. But he said, “I’ll just reach in and turn off your car.” Victoria touts itself as a green city, even to the point of the bellhop not letting a car run for two minutes. I couldn’t really argue with the guy.

We checked in and got a great room but drew the short end of the view. We got cityside instead of bayside. Oh well. We’ve drawn the great views plenty of times, so I’ve got no complaints.

We headed back out and walked around the harbor, and I was starting to lose my energy. It had been a long day. We grabbed some dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory – Victoria has some renowned places to eat, but that’s for when I’ve got the energy to be adventurous – and it was good and right next to the hotel. Then we crashed, having made all our connections in Waterworld and ready to start another Canadian adventure.