Mom-Day Adventure: A Harbour Tour, Plus a Wee Shop

Mom and I headed down to the heart of Victoria, the Inner Harbour, for a real tourist experience: Fisherman's Wharf and a harbour tour on a teeny harbour ferry. Ahoy! Lots of pics ahead, so you might want to grab a drink. 

I poked around in my closet and settled on this outfit after changing up the jacket and shoes. I wanted to make sure I could climb in and out of a boat! 

Kickass boots to the rescue! They had a lot of fans while we were out and about. 

• Jacket - Prosperity, consignment; last worn here in August 2021 over summer sequins
• Top - Bellessa, thrifted; last seen here (5th outfit) in June 2021 with 5 Ways to Wear Sailor Pants
• Denim skirt - Zara, thrifted; purchased here for $12.95
• Boots - Official Sabado, Fluevog; last worn here in March for a Saturday brunch and shop

I like my casual style to have a bit of an edge. I am a rock and roller at heart. 

I built the outfit around the new-to-me shredded white denim skirt. I bought it thinking I could tie-dye it, but I actually really enjoyed wearing it as is.

I've had the stripey top for ages.

The jacket is a sporty cut, sort of like a long bomber jacket, and has constellations all over it. 

It's a really unusual piece, exactly what I'm always drawn to. 

It has pockets too, which is always a good thing. 

Jacket off, although I never removed it. 

I am not bare-legged, by the way - I have nylons on (and socks!). 

All zipped up and with my suede gloves on. 

The sleeves on the jacket are quite short, and it's always chilling on the water - long gloves are perfect. 

I wore my mask when we were walking around in the pub. 

And in the shops I popped into on the way home. I'm taking my time getting used to things. 

Incognito mode. 

This is how most people saw me. 

Accoutrements: 

A matchy bag and mask. 

• Purse - Danier Leather, thrifted
• Mask - Lazy Susan's
• Gloves - Aldo, consignment

The stuff: 

Oh my gosh, I think these might be the best blue boots ever. Yay! 

Space bling: 

I love going thematic with my bling. Did you notice the pin on the jacket? 

• Steel cuff - thrifted
• Silver/gold cuff - JPL, vintage fair
• Brooch - Sarah Coventry, vintage fair
• Silver/aventurine ring - consignment
• Silver/enamel ring - antique shop, Sidney
• Earrings - thrifted

Vizzini, it's time for me to go - are you going to miss me? 

"No."

Silly boy. 

We drove downtown to Fisherman's Wharf. 

I like the mermaid and abstract ship. 

Victoria's harbour is a working harbour. 

This is a HUGELY popular area with tourists in the summer. I walked down here with Yvonne in the fall. 

We hopped in a water taxi to take us down to the Inner Harbour where we would catch our ferry tour. 

People live in these houses. How cool. 

Looking back at the docks. 

The boats hold about 12 people plus the skipper, and are enclosed in plexiglass so it's not too chilly on the water. 

We're sitting at the stern, with the pilot in the middle, up on his chair. There were folks from Texas in the bow.

That's Victoria's skyline, from the Johnson Street bridge on the left, to all the condos, Old Town buildings, and of course, the ubiquitous cranes and new construction. 

This is one of the water taxis - we're in its twin. If you're downtown and you want to hop a boat to one of the stops around the harbour, you just give them a call. 

You can see the pilot standing and steering, with the people sitting in the stem and stern. 

We rode in this ferry, which is the exact same boat, only painted differently. 

Our 45-minute tour didn't start for half an hour, so we had a stroll up and down the lower causeway of the Inner Harbour. 

Lots of sailboats moored up, and the whale-watching tour boats are ready for the tourists. 

I've been on a whale-watching tour with Mom (back in the 90s), and we saw lots of orcas. They are BIG and that's a very small Zodiac boat! 

There are ladders all along the harbour - this section is quite shallow. 

I like all the barnacles. We're at low tide. 

That's the seat of the province of British Columbia's government, the Legislature (link here, all links 'cause I love).

This lower area is right on the water - there is also an upper causeway. I love this walk around the harbour and have done it hundreds of time (I used to work down in this area in the 80s and 90s). 

This is one of the Signs of Lekwungen (about them here). 

There are seven of them scattered around the downtown area. 

There are big displays on the lower causeway, bringing the pre- and post-colonial history to attention. 

While the harbour is very built up now with condos and developments, it was once the prime living area of the Songhees people. 

This picture is of a potlatch. 

I love that this history is here. 

My own history is here too. 

I have been coming down here since I was a kid. 

I hung out up here in the fall as a teenager, writing angsty poetry, and watching the fog roll in. 

I partied on the upper causeway in my 20s, always going down to hang out during Swiftsure, the big international yacht race that is happening here in about 6 weeks (link here). The harbour is packed with yachts with all the colourful flags - it's quite a sight.

"Mom, take my picture!"

I have always loved the "mushrooms" - they are actually lights, so that you can stroll along here at night and not fall in the harbour. 

Check this out. Sorry about the crap resolution - this is a photo of a very old photograph! 

This is from around 1977, I think. That's my brother Dave in front, then me in the red pants and green coat with faux fur collar and cuffs (I loved that coat), and my mom's friend Kathy's kids behind me. We're on the "Be a Tourist in Your Home Town" tour, I think.  

I have a ladybug on me! 

I shooed it off and we continued. 

Lots of hotels too. The low building in front is the CP Rail building which now houses the Robert Bateman Gallery. 

I liked it when it was the Royal London Wax Museum (very old link here, enjoy the creepy wax statues!!). I used to walk past it every day on my way to work. It had a creepy Chamber of Horrors, or at least I thought so when I was a kid.

Looking back at the boats. 

Our harbour ferry terminal is on the right. 

The Empress Hotel looms over it all. 

I have done tea at the Empress, been to a steampunk convention there, snuck up to the top floors and made out (when I was a teenager!), and been to many company events there. And that's not even counting our adventures in the Bengal Lounge (ah, such memories). 

That's the way to Government Street, the main tourist strip, straight ahead.

The building with the Art Deco tower is the tourist info centre. 

It used to be an Imperial Oil gas station a long time ago. 

Such a cool tower. 

There's the empress. 

Oh, and another pic of the Empress Hotel. *wink*

This is what this section of the harbour looked like in 1904. 

See the building my red arrows are pointing at? 

We may have lost most of that old skyline, but that building is still around - and it's pink. 

Time to head out on our tour! There's Harbour Air's float plane terminal, and the Empress Hotel on the right. 

We cruised alongside the Songhees Walkway. 

This kayaker is supposed to be closer to shore; he's in one of the laneways for commercial traffic. Our pilot was a little salty about him! 

We cruised along to another cluster of houseboats on the far side of the harbour. 

I liked the name of this one: H2OME. Get it? Har har! 

This ginormous boat came up past us. 

It's a guide boat for the giant barges that unload goods at a different area of the harbour. There are always big barges out in the strait. 

Mom and I chatted with a young couple and their two little girls. We took their picture, and they took ours. 

The little ones were completely enamoured of my boots. "Like Wonder Woman!" I said and waggled my feet at them.

I was entranced by Mom's silver butterfly brooch. How did I miss this one in the Great Jewelry Liberation of 1985?? It must be newer. 

It's a stunner! I turned it over and it's marked silver, from Mexico, and has all kinds of stamps on it. Very cool. 

As we encircled the harbour, we came back to Fisherman's Wharf. 

We saw lots of Canada geese, but no otters or seals. 

Coming in...

Fisherman's Wharf was teeming with people, and all of the businesses were busy. It was good to see - they've struggled for a long time. 

You aren't allowed in the residential area. 

But I liked the look of these house-boats. 

There is every kind of food available, from pizza to Mexican to mini donuts. 

There are many flags flying for Ukraine, also really good to see. 

Mom and I drove over to the Flying Beagle Pub in Cook Street Village for lunch. 

This section of Beacon Hill Park is adjacent to our pandemic party park. This is a Gary Oak meadow. Lots of daffodils! 

This was so much fun, Mom, thank you!

Mom-daughter selfie! Love you, Mom! 

After lunch, I had some errands to run...and one of them took me right past the Velvet Crease. I had to go in, right? I couldn't just keep going! 

I found a few gems. Everything was 20% off and some items were marked 50% off. 

After noting during my closet swap-over of last week that I am low on skirts, I took a good look through them, but only this one caught my eye. 

I like the colour and cut, and that this a woven textile. 

Lines of golden tan, green and white, plus woven tone-on-tone red. Quality! 

I like how the hemline is pleated - it reminds me of men's neckties. 

This is long enough to read more punk than schoolgirl. 

It's by Mac & Jac, which used to be a big brand in boutiques (Dots also had it) in the early to mid-00s.

I'll end the suspense: it is 61% rayon, 25% nylon, etc. It was $28.00.

I am trying to behave around jackets, as I'm a bit of a blazer junkie. But this one was just too good.

Look at how all the lines match. The lapels match, the hemlines, even the pockets (which are all real!). It's perfect. 

It has one bigass gold eagle button. 

You can see that the fabric is woven, not printed. 

Oh, this is a lovely detail - an elbow patch. I was boggled to discover that this is actually leather, not PVC! Nice! 

And more gold buttons (also with eagles). They actually unbutton! 

The back has a middle section that splits from the sides to allow for movement.

The middle section is a little lower than the sides, a really good detail. 

It's by Smythe, a Canadian brand. 

It's a poly/wool blend and it was made in Canada! So rare to see that these days! This is an earlier version of their Duchess Blazer (link here 'cause I love), which sells for $795.00. I paid $70.40 happily. It fits me perfectly and it is gorgeous quality. 

This beauty was on the 50% off rack - I've seen her there before but at $95.00 she was too much for me. 

That is one big Muppety plaid cape. Note that the pattern is all lined up! 

I love the colours in it: magenta, pink, aqua, tan and brown. 

The quality is evident. This is a woven textile. 

I love the extra hidden button under the collar to hold it tightly closed. 

The buttons are moulded plastic. Look at those colours! 

The side slits have convenient pockets. 

I like that the fabric has been rotated on the pockets.

It didn't have a label, but there was a content tag. 

Wool, nylon and "other". That is a really low CA number - let's see if it gets any results...It's by Best Outer Wear Limited of Toronto. Not very helpful, as that's a parent company name - zero hits. 

It does have the ILGWU Union label, which proves it was made in Canada, at least. 

The requirements for labeling in Canada (fibre content and washing instructions like this) were shaken up in 1972 (thank you to this link here, and a post from the Curatorial Director of the Fashion History Museum):

I found a reference to it dating back to December 1, 1972, which I think must be right according the garments in which you find the registration labels. There was a big reorganization of the Canadian textiles and clothing industry going on right around then. It's around the same time that the materials and origins of imported clothes has to be marked on the label, as well as the care insignia redesigned to be in colours red (don't), yellow (with caution) and green (do) - something other countries never did.

So this cape is likely from the early 1970s! I am very happy with the $47.50 that I paid!

I wore her home as she was too big to carry.

"You brought me a new blanket to sleep on!"

She was amazing to wear, and I named her while I was walking and thinking about Muppets - I remembered that we named our old VW bus "Sweetums" after this Jim Henson character here.

So she will be Sweetums too. Welcome to the family, honey. 

"What? I thought I was your family?"

I have room for all of you, Vizzini. 

I hope you enjoyed our adventures! Thanks so much for stopping by.