I Made Ice Cream!

So, arriving back home after a lovely honeymoon, I had to do something fun. It was so hard to come back! But, having a few wedding gifts to open when we got back made it just a bit easier. One of the wedding gifts, from a rather generous person, was an ice cream maker attachment to my Kitchen Aid Mixer! I have been wanting this for years! What better thing to do to (try to) celebrate being back home?  Well, make homemade ice cream of course!  So, in order to reluctantly celebrate our return home and happily celebrate the month of October, I made pumpkin ice cream! 

It was so neat to watch the ice cream begin to form in the mixer.

First it was very "liquidie." I was a bit concerned about that but...

 ...then it started to freeze up a bit.

At the end if the 15-20 minutes of mixing, it was completely frozen!

I scooped it into little bowls (of fiestaware which were a wedding gift too) and we ate it right up! 

It was sooooo good! I loved making ice cream and can't wait to do it again. My best friend's birthday is coming up soon so I think I may have to break out the ice cream maker and make a fancy ice cream for her birthday!

Any suggestions on what the flavor of birthday ice cream should be?  I am also very willing to accept any recipes! 

Cheers!

Saturday Leaving Victoria

We are very sad to leave today.  Our Innkeeper, Dieter, made a fantastic breakfast this morning.  He called it Heavenly Hash. Oh, and it was heavenly! A great last breakfast. I will miss having breakfast every morning with Dieter and Ashley. 

After Jeff and I got all packed up, we stopped at the beach one last time.

Oh the way to the airport we passed a pumpkin patch. I wanted to stop and get one but I probably would have had to check it for an extra $25.00.

Going through U.S. customs was very different. It was easy to get out of the U.S. but to get  back in was a bit different. We did not have any problems but the whole process was bit Erie.  Then, we had to catch about 4 different trolley's to get to our terminal. When we got to our terminal our flight had been delayed because there was bad weather in DFW.  

But, everything was redeemed because we had a bigger and better plane and I had a Northwest Deli Picnic on the plane full of all my favorite things! Oh, and a little bit of wine too!  The picnic had summer sausage, crackers, some fancy sugary coated almonds, chips, and shortcake. It hit the spot! 

 Jeff and I sat next to the emergency exit so it was our responsibility to make sure everyone made it out of the plane securely should there be any issues. I figured this was not too bad of an arrangement for us because we would be the first out! I think I am always going to get seats next to the emergency exit! 

Well, I guess it is home to reality now. I had a fantastic time living life care free. It is not often that that happens.  Thanks to all that helped with the wedding and getting us to and from the airport. It was a very special time!

Cheers! 

Friday In Victoria

Today is our last day here in Victoria. We have had so much fun! This really has been the best honeymoon ever in our opinion.  We have had the best of everything...the ocean, mountains, and forest. It will be so hard to go home!  

(this boat is a decorative piece of the B&B grounds. It is called "gypsy girl" and they turned it into a planter, too cute!)

(This is Mac, she is part of the B&B grounds too!  She will greet you at your car and walk you up to the door.)

Today we slept in.  Dieter took the morning off from cooking breakfast and sent us to White Spot. After breakfast, we went back to the room and I took a nap!  I think the week was beginning to catch up with me. After my nice little nap we went downtown and did a bit more shopping.  After shopping we went back to our sweet little room at the bed and breakfast and chilled out some more.  

Then we got back in the canoe. This time we canoed over to the University and Hatley Castle.  We were out there for a long while but I did not see an otter this time!  I really loved being in that canoe in the middle of the lagoon.  It was so peaceful.

I took a picture of our evening canoe from the dock.  I got so excited about canoing today I left the camera on the dock as we were out for our canoing adventure. By the time we got back to the dock, it was getting too dark to get the camera and go back out. We did get a big kick out of these swans though. They had quite some character to them!

For dinner we decided to go back to Six Mile Pub.  It was a good little spot to start dinner off on Sunday so we figured it would be a good little spot to end dinner on Friday. We even met a Cowboy's fan!  Outside, before we walked into the Pub, there was a Canadian with a Cowboy's hat on! Of course Jeff struck up a conversation with him.  He has been a Cowboy's fan from ever since because he even mentioned Tom Landry! We got a kick out of this.  A true Cowboy's fan deep in the heart of Victoria, who would have imagined! 

Jeff allowed me to take a picture of dinner this time.  I had chicken pot pie...it was delicious! 

We also had the best crab dip I think I have ever tasted.

Jeff had Fish and Chips.  We had plenty Fish and Chips while here in Victoria! 

I believe a diet may be in my future.

 Cheers! 

Thursday In Victoria

This morning we had fruit and french toast for breakfast. I am an idiot and forgot to put the battery back in my camera so I did not get a shot of it but is sure was delicious! After a nice conversation over breakfast with our Innkeeper, Dieter, Jeff and I headed off for a day trip.  We plugged in the Ipod, put the Beatles on, and got to driving.

We headed out to Port Renfrew but stopped along the Jordan River first. It was beautiful!  I absolutely love the sound of the water hitting the shore. Oh, and the smell is fantastic. Something that is unheard of and smelled of in Texas.

I have to admit. Port Renfrew kind of creeped me out.  There was absolutely no one around because everything was closed, not their season now I guess.  But, this deserted town kind of gave me the feeling that the evil red head vampire from Twilight was going to jump out of the water or the trees and suck our blood. Jeff was all about it though. Then, when I finally came to and realized that Twilight was just a movie, I calmed down had a blast.

We found a trail in Port Renfrew that led to the beach. This beach was beautiful and the trail was amazing too.  There were huge slugs along the trail too.  Everyone that we came across as we were hiking was very friendly.  The hike was so much fun! 

There were several slugs on this little hike.

When we got down to the beach, there was a sign warning people not to get too close.  There are warning signs all over Canada.  This is a pretty informative place! 

After Port Renfrew, since there was not much else to do, we drove to China Beach.  There was a long and steep trail that lead to the beach. Along the way there were plenty mossy trees. It was amazing! 

Once we got to the beach there was drift wood everywhere.  I even had an encounter with a snake!  I almost stepped on this snake.  He was about to let me have it too.  He was tiny but he hissed and lunged at me in full on attack mode! 

After a long day of hiking and beaching, we had dinner at Markus' Restauraunt. It was delicious! I would have taken a picture, but sparring Jeff utter mortification, I did not.  The atmosphere was romantic and the service was great.  An excellent place to have a honeymoon celebration dinner. 

Yet again, another fun day in BC! 

Cheers! 

Wednesday In Victoria

We woke up to another beautiful day.  Breakfast were danishes from the local bakery and then Dieter made eggs and sausage to go along with it, yum!  

I love the cozy little breakfast nook where we eat each morning.

Then, after breakfast we went whale watching. We first came upon sea lions. They were hilarious! I love the sound they make.  At one point they all turned and stared at us from their rock almost as if they were wondering why we were staring at them.  Then, simultaneously, they all jumped in the water! 

Here is a little video I shot of them.

It was such a beautiful day to be on the water.  The wind was calm and the sky was clear.  We were out there for about 4 hours.  Here are some of the shots I took on our tour.

Then, as we were boating, we got word of humpback whale sightings. So, Dieter navigated us there.  There were 3 humpback whales that we saw.  Maybe a little whale family?  We sat and watched them for a while. Then the most amazing thing happened!  They dove down under the water and we did not see them for several minutes. Then...all of a sudden, they came up out of the water right in front of our boat and then swam aside us! We could not believe it!  I'm telling you, this had to have been the best whale watching moment ever!  Cheers to Captain Dieter the rock star! There were about 5 other boats around us whale watching too.  I am sure they were a little envious of our luck!

I loved being in the boat. It was great.  This place truly is amazing.  I don't think I want to leave.  We are discovering so much here.  What a beautiful place to live too.  Everyone is very friendly and welcoming. It is just perfect.

Dieter recommended that we go to Milestones for dinner.  It was great.  A good steak and potatoes kind of place.

Ashley recommended the Bellini and I took that advice.  Their Bellini's come with a little red shoe on top.  Cute. 

Cheers!