Offically Full!

My goodness, whenever we come to Victoria, we get the best food, its amazing. Its almost sad to say most of our memories of here is the food. Hehe. Today was no exception. We had a nice simple breaky on our porch. It was raining lightly so we had to sit under the covered part, see how cute the little cabins are!

It was too bad the rain showed up, so much for the gorgeous day the weather man promised, blah! We drove to downtown Victoria and parked the car. We walked down the streets enjoying the neat shops. First purchase was at a cute bookstore, where Ken found a children's book by one of his favorite authors. Our child will be well read if Ken has anything to say about it. Then we found the first of 3 Christmas shops, the one with the reindeer busting through the building. Got some cute new ornaments, they always seem to have new stuff everytime we come. Its offical that this year we will indeed need a bigger tree.

The rain was really starting to come down and the one thing I forgot to pack was the umbrella, argh. I always pack it since we never have luck with the weather, but this time I guess I was too excited about getting away that I didn't bring it. Luckly, we ducked in a shop and they had some on sale and we bought one just to keep in the car from now on. We were both pretty cold and so we decided it was time for tea.

Walked down the sidewalks filled with fallen pink blossoms. It was rather pretty if it wasn't pouring rain. We got to the James Bay Tea House, and there was only one family there so fast service, yay. Ken and I had come here when we were first married, on our little honeymoon weekend. Its so cute, and we both had the afternoon tea service. Yum! Egg salad and tuna finger sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, crumpets and mini tarts. I was most amused by my teapot and the fuzzy cozy they put on it. I kept petting it like it was a little dog, heh.

After tea we walked back and saw the horse drawn carriages all lined up. I guess with the rain, that had somewhat mellowed a bit, no one wanted a ride. They looked so sad standing there, so we put one of them to work. We went for a lovely tour of the Beacon Hill Park and heritage houses. Our horse's name was Michael, we got a kick out of that. It was neat to learn the history of the park and all the little gifts that were given from around the world. There was an amazing tree that California had given, so much character.

The heritage homes were gorgous, it would be amazing to live in one. Apprently, you have to keep them the same paint colors that they were orginially painted. The government buys the paint for you, its a perk the tour lady said. By the time our tour was over, the rain had pretty much stopped, but there was now a pretty strong wind blowing off the water. We decided to hit a few more shops before we would head back to the hotel for a rest. Found out one of the 3 Christmas shops closed, boo. Now there is only 2, I guess thats ok. I went there and found some really bizarre ones, like a toaster and a lobster holding a wreath. I love ornaments.

Drove back and had a warm bath to warm up. The tub here is a wonderful soaker tub, and so for the first time in a long time I was completely covered with water. It felt nice on my swollen belly, and I was trying to figure out how we could talk it home. Since we were tired and hungry, we opted for an early dinner so we could relax the rest of the night on the couch. Went to Chandlers for dinner, and since this could be our last meal there for awhile (be looking for the family resturants soon) we went all out and had the Victoria Feast!

Oh my goodness, it is as big as it sounds. It started with fresh bread, ceasar salads, then a platter of lobster tail, a large piece of fish, butterfly prawns, crab legs, mushroom caps, rice, asparagus and a twice baked potato. Ken was finally filled!!! When the waitress took our plates, I commented how they looked like a grave yard for seafood. I will not need to eat again for many hours, and thats good news for the pregnant lady who seems to snack all the time now.

We waddled back to the car and drove back to our hotel. Of course now the sky is a brilliant blue and clear of any clouds. Argh. Somewhat not fair but, oh well. Saw the ducks and shore birds on the waters edge, took some pics of the flowers and now we are relaxing by the warm gas fireplace. Think we will look for some movie on tonight to chill out with, and rest for our day tomorrow. We have some ideas but will wait to see how the weather goes. Ok, I am stuffed and need to lay down. Life is good!