Finally Home....

Today was our final day in Victoria. It was one filled with highs and lows. We woke up this morning to see the sun shining brightly. It was a little annoying to see that when the day before was to have been the same weather, instead of the rain. Blah. Anyhoo, we had our breakfast again on our cute porch and enjoyed the final time at the cabin. Pretty good place for a freebie! After food, we packed up our stuff and checked out by 930am and decided that since there was a race or something happening in downtown Victoria, and that some roads would be closed, that staying clear of that would be the best thing.

So we drove out and found the Butterfly Gardens that we always see signs for but have never gone before. It was amazing and I highly recommend it! For $10 bucks you get in to the gardens and basically are in a photographer’s paradise. It was really warm for the butterflies and birds, so dress lightly. I was in a tank top and after only an hour I was sweating quite a bit. Ick! When the sun came out and shone through the glass roof, the butterflies went nuts. There were so many types and I got some truly awesome pictures. Over 133 to be exact. We emptied the pictures onto the laptop to clear it.

After that, it was close to noon and decided that we would do Butchart Gardens again, especially since it was spring and last time we came it was fall. Once arriving we went to the Rose Dinning Resturant and had afternoon tea! Oh it was fantastic, and the setting was lovely! I think they could give the Empress a run for its money indeed.

Then we toured the gardens and I was a happy shutterbug. Once again I filled the camera, only to, in the last half hour before leaving manage to delete everything I took there. ARGH!!!!!!!! I was devistated and basically cried in pure shock. I felt so stupid! We did a quick walk through one area so I could retake some pictures but my heart at this point was crushed and just wanted to leave.

Getting back to the car at quarter to 4pm, we hoped to make the 5pm sailing. HAHAHA, boy did we get a surprise. When we saw the new ferry sign that tells you how full the boat is, it said

5PM SAILING – FULL
6PM SAILING – 72% FULL

Oh crap! The one time I don’t make a reservation… again I start feeling like a loser. Ugh. Not the emotional high point of my day at this point. We drive a bit further and then hit the uber long lines of traffic that has come to a halt. There were the flag people asking everyone, reservations to the right please, ugh. Don’t remind me. We heard the American gals in the car in front ask what boat they would get on, and the guy replied that the 6pm boat was now full. We weren’t sure looking at the lines if will would even make the 7pm. We were hoping at least we could get the 9pm but then again, perhapes we could be spending the night in Victoria once again if that didn’t happen either.

We sat for about a half hour in one spot, assuming the lot was packed and they had no room until the 5pm boat was loaded. When we finally reached the ticket window the lady said we be on the 7pm. Woot. Well, here’s hoping as I type this at the terminal. We made the best of the situation, we bought some kettle corn, looked at the shops and found some neat tea light holders made from drift wood and ate the best tub steak dogs I think I have ever had. It was fun sitting on the grass and snacking on the dogs. I was finally feeling better about the whole situation I felt was somewhat my fault. It was an adventure, right? Hehe. Good thing we didn’t have anything important tonight.

So I will continue this once home, lets see if we do indeed get on the 7pm boat! Brew ha ha!

Ok, I return, we are finally at home. We did get on the 7pm boat and crashed upstairs were the tv was. Ken got some fries and we snacked on those and read the new people's magazine. Watched a bit of Billy Elliot on the tv and watched the girls snicker at the poor guy fast to sleep snoring. Hard not to miss him, he was pretty loud.

Once we were off the boat we got stuck again in uber traffic. There was a firetruck taking up one of the lanes, not sure why. We saw a fire on the beach....but wasn't sure if that was the reason. Strange? Got home, and boy it feels good to be home again after a long day of travelling. Ok, off to bed. Yay!

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!

Victoria Trip 2006

First trip traveling pregnant, well, thats not really true, Michigan was, but I was only a few weeks then, so this is somewhat different.

Baby seemed to like the ferry, was pretty mellow until we were getting off. The boat must have had some updating since our last trip, it was pretty nice. As usually we filled up at the Pacific Buffet. Yummy! So many good things to try. I was all over the salmon and mussels. I seem to be on a seafood kick right now. Ken was excited about the onion rings, lol. His plate was still much fuller than mine. Look below and try and guess who's plate is whose. Hehe. After dinner we walked around, hit the gift shop where I found cute baby shoes, hee. Then we found the new lounge area upstairs with a big flat screen, so we sat and watched Air Farce till we arrived at Swartz Bay.


We found our accommodations fairly easily. Its always a bit harder in the dark, and it was a new place so its feeling our way a bit. We arrived about 930pm and its very cute. Its like a little cabin suite. 2 bedrooms, for the next time when we have baby in tow, a nice little sitting room with fireplace and tv, and a cute deck overlooking the water. Nice. Sure it will be nicer in the morning as we plan to have breakfast overlooking the water.

Not sure what we are doing tomorrow, its an adventure I guess, but I don't doubt there will be some sort of trip to the various Christmas stores, heheh.

High School Bound

Last night Ken and I went to my old high schools performance of Little Shop of Horrors. This is one of our personal favorites, the music, cheesey story and of course the use of a plant puppet. We would watch the movie version so much that we finally had to get a DVD with the video copy being on its last leg. I haven't seen this play actually performed live before, while Ken did several years ago. We were both curious how they would pull it off, because without strong singing, acting and a good plant, the play would be a stinker.

It was a sellout show, we had really good seats, saw some friends from church and basically were ready to be entertained. Ken had a somewhat bothersome day dealing with non working equipment at work, so he needed a fast pick me up. We were not disapointed. The kids did fantastic!!! I was soooooooo impressed with the quality of the production. They picked strong leads that had a real flare and good voices (something that doesn't always happen). This year we really only knew 2 kids in the show from church, one was in the pit orchestra, the other a chorus member. During the opening song we scanned the stage for him, and couldn't find him. Then on the second number singing of Skid Row (Downtown) there he popped out of the garbage can as a drunk bum singing. Couldn't stop laughing at him, as it was just priceless.

Then we saw the plant. We were not disapointed. They really made the puppets work well with the show and very time we saw a larger Audrey 2 everyone would gasp, it was very impressive for a high school production. Ken even mentioned that the version he saw didn't even try to make the puppets but instead had a plant the actor would step out of to sing (not as cool). I felt bad for the poor kid in that puppet all night. She looked so hot and tired by the time it was over and took her bow.

Overall it was a fantastic performance, and we couldn't be more pleased. The only strange part was being back at my old school. I feel so old seeing the kids there, its almost been 10 years since I roamed those halls and helped out the theater with ushering. But it was neat to think someday we could see our little one up on stage in a show. Full circle I guess.

Strike a pose!

We went and had our maternity photo shoot tonight. Whee. Had a fun time with Maria. Got to see the proofs on the computer right away, and we really got some nice shots. Some are very artistic, while others were more safe for the grandparents. Heheh.

I was practically naked in a few, yet nothing shows. Looking at them afterwards, it was amazing how pretty some were, just capturing the curves of the body with the baby belly. Ken had his shirt off at one point, and its captured on film!!! He is such a shy guy.

I loved the fabric ones, very pretty. Stretch marks and all. We get the proofs this friday so I will post one or two of my favs. Stay tuned.

100th Post!

Wow, how exciting. I keep waiting for the balloons to drop from the ceiling.... nothing. Blah!

Well, at about 7pm tonight as I awaited my husband to come home (he was late do to a student having an allergic reaction, medical people were involved and she is fine, yay) I heard a somewhat familar thump at the door of an apartment that sits across from our deck area. Peaking out the window I saw our building manager along with 4 cops. I muted Entertainment Tonight, this was far more interesting then the continuing saga of the Tomkitten.

Not sure what the whole story was, but the guy who lives there seemed to be on drugs or something. The cops came once when he was uber drunk and he had locked his girlfriend out or something along that line. This time he wasn't as agreeable, that made me believe it was more of a drug thing. He tried hitting the cops, bad idea. They had him on the ground so fast. Now at this point the firemen and paramedics are on the scene. He is handcuffed on the cement in the parking lot, twitching madly and trying to kick anyone near him.

I called Ken at this point, since I knew he be close and told him to keep clear since it seemed somewhat ugly. They soon had the stretcher out and after a few moments they were all gone. I saw the girlfriend at this point come out of the apartment. Soooo, will be interesting to see if this incident packs them out of this unit... I'm not counting on it. Makes me sad, especially since they seem nice most of the time.

Ken started editing tonight, the baby is kicking me to no end and I sit and wait for my balloons.