Am I crazy to think about taking my mom to Victoria for her 80th birthday over Labor Day? She's dying to go and 1) her b'day is just a few days after Labor Day and 2) I don't get that much time off work so I'm trying to incoporate the weekend with a holiday to "stretch" it.

I realize Labor Day is not a Canadian holiday but is it going to be uncomfortably crowded with US tourists at that time? I've looked at several hotel websites and most seem to have room available for that weekend.

Thoughts?
Thanks -
Wibs

Actually Labor (or Labour ;-)) Day is celebrated in Canada. So long as you make your plans to avoid the worst ferry times (if you are planning to take ferries that is) it shouldn't be all that much busier than any other summer weekend.

I would reserve the ferry if you're going by ferry. If you have a car you could take in the Saanich (country) Fair that weekend. It's out on the peninsula not far from Butchart Gardens.

Thanks for setting me straight with regard to Labour Day. I had no idea . . . I hate it when my ignorance shows.
We are not going to do the ferries, much as I would like to. My mom gets seasick just thinking about water so we've left that out of the itinerary. I'm glad to hear it's not abnormally crowded at that time; I expect busy because it's such a tourist draw so I'm prepared for that.
Thanks -
Wibs

So are you flying? Got passports?

Yes to both. Flying right into Victoria too, to make it simple. We are flying out of Phoenix so we get pretty good choices of flights along the west coast.

Victoria is famous for afternoon tea - especially the one served at the Empress Hotel. It would be nice to take your mother to tea but I highly recommend you take her to Murchies which is on Government St just a couple of blocks from the inner harbour. It is excellent (better than the Empress for the pastries etc) and it is 1/2 the price. They do take reservations as there are two seatings so I recommend calling a day ahead to make sure you can get in. Their phone number is 250-383-3112. The Empress is lovely to walk through and the Bengal Lounge is a beautiful room if you would like to have a cocktail or the curry buffet. I hope you have a wonderful visit. The Royal BC Museum has the Titanic exhibit on now if that is of interest. Otherwise the museum itself is wonderful and you can visit that without paying the extra for Titanic. Here is their website http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca

I love Arizona. Presumably you'll want to see different scenery, so I hope you do rent a car so you can take the waterfront drive through the Uplands in Oak Bay and out to the peninsula. You could drive over Mt. Tolmie on the way. There's a parking lot at the top so you don't have to walk anywhere (don't even have to get out of the car if you don't want).

I get the impression that there aren't as many tourists from the USA as usual this year.

Thanks, traveller69, tea is a must-do for us so I am grateful for the recommendation. The Titanic exhibits sounds fascinating too!

April, I hadn't planned to rent a car but your idea of doing a drive along the waterfront is most appealing so I may rethink the car issue. Thank you!

Wibs

even if you are not sailors there is a wooden boat show right in the harbor during the labor day weekend. it is fun to walk the docks and see fabulous yachts of all ages & kinds.

This thread makes me smile because we often get into discussions about where to have tea. Many people insist on the Empress because it's so well-publicized, but it really is something of a rip-off and not worth the money.

We just came back about half an hour ago from tea at Point Ellice House, a historic home not far from downtown. You can get there from the inner harbour on a little harbour ferry. You can walk through the restored historic home and garden, and then have tea in the garden - it costs $22 for tea plus the house tour (which is on audio cassette). The tea wonderful; they serve an enormous tray of goodies and the setting is lovely.

We also saw the Titanic exhibit a few days ago - can you tell we're entertaining out-of-town guests? The Titanic show is very interesting, much more so than we had even anticipated, and everyone enjoyed it a lot.