Tuesday In Victoria

This morning we woke up to another beautiful sunrise. It was a beautiful sunny day too! 

We went downstairs for breakfast. We had fruit and apple souffles. It was delicious! I actually got a picture of it because only Jeff and I attended breakfast this morning. 

We had a lovely conversation with one of the Inn Keepers, Dieter. Tomorrow he will be taking us out in his boat for whale watching!

We decided to take a mini day trip. Our first stop was the beach right across from the lagoon where we are staying. There was so much drift wood!  It was beautiful.

We stopped at Goldstream Provincial Park for a bit of trail walking. Unfortunately, the Salmon run had not started. That would have been neat to see but we had fun none the less.

I loved the huge Maple leaves. They were everywhere.

There were also beautiful trees covered in moss. I like moss :-)

Rocks by the water covered in moss too. I love this place.

After Goldstream we continued to drive up the Malahat. It was beautiful.  Then we stopped in Cowichan Bay. This was a quaint little port town.  There were float homes and boats everywhere.

We had lunch at The Rock Cod Cafe. It was fantastic! 

We shared clam chowder with a side of crab cakes and....

a lobster melt. The best. So good! 

We went to a few shops too. We got some cheese at Hilary's Cheese and then stopped at the Organic bakery next door. At the bakery we picked up foccacia to make sandwiches for dinner tonight and a few ginger cookies.

Then we decided to head back to the B&B for a bit of canoing. While driving back, we saw the coolest dog ever...just chilling out the side of his ride.

I had so much fun canoing! I have never done this before but I want to do this everyday we are here. It was so relaxing. We even saw an otter poke its head out of the water.

While canoing, I got a closer view of the sheep farm.  They are so cute! 

Cheers! 

Monday In Victoria

We woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise.

We went down for breakfast, we had waffles and fresh fruit with whipped cream and maple syrup...but...there were other guests at the table and I know that Jeff would be mortified if I took a picture of breakfast with strangers that we just met.  We met a lovely couple from Ontario. They have been married for 55 years and were staying in Victoria before heading off to Seattle for the Sweet Adeline competition. This is quite ironic because on the plane we were sitting right next to a lovely group of ladies from Dallas that won the Sweet Adaline competition last year.  They were on her way back to Seattle to uphold their rein! It is such a small world.  We had a very nice conversation with them and also learned a lot.

But, after breakfast, I was able to get a snapshot of Alice and Taco, the resident canines around here. Jeff felt it was appropriate for me to capture this moment.

Apparently they keeps themselves warm this way and it was a bit on the chilly side today.

I was also quite amused by this pack of cigarettes.  Why can't they do this in the states?

Well, anyhoo, after breakfast Jeff and I did some major shopping today. I found the greatest knitting shop! This is by far the best knitting shop I have ever been to.  The guy working was so informative and nice. I think I may go back on Friday for a carding lesson. I wish there were shops like this in Texas.  This shop is called Knotty By Nature.  Jeff even liked it!  They had a bike that had roving needle felted around it right outside the store front.

I was able to take a few shots of the store. It was fantastic! If I ever had a store, this is what I imagine it to look like. 

We did some major shopping in downtown Victoria. We even joined the Mountain Equipment Co-op.  That was unexpected and fun. This store is very much like REI, but they actually like to think of themselves as better and made that very clear, but friendly. However, I am now an official member of the co-op.

After major shopping, including the Roots store...which I loved. We walked over to Fisherman's Wharf.  When we arrived we saw a seal!  The seagulls were everywhere too and there were signs not to feed them but Jeff did anyway.  But this seal was fun to watch.

Seal in the water.

Seal almost out of the water.

Seal out of the water to eat some fish! 

We stopped at Barb's Fish and Chips.

We had, fish and chips of course...and also fish chowder.  OMG, it was gooooood!!!

After that we went on a little tour of the float houses.

Such a lovely little area.  Jeff and I found a little trail back to the Downtown area from the Wharf. It was so much fun. We saw so much! But, on the way back, we saw this sign. I got a kick out of the picture on the bottom left hand corner.

I had to capture this pretty little trail too.

There was also a giant drop spindle sculpture!!! Wow, can you believe it? I am so impressed with this.  Spinning seems to be popular around here. It was certainly popular among the native people which is why there is a sculpture.

We shopped for about 5 hours today. On the way home we got stuck in traffic. But, it was fine with me. What better place to get stuck in traffic in?  

Cheers!

Honeymoon Time!!

Victoria, here we come!

(flying over Vail, Colorado.  I got to sit by the window.)

The weather was beautiful for a flight, praise all that is pure and good! I am not a big fan of flying but think I may be a pro at it now. Finding this gate, landing and going to that gate, landing and going through customs. Really, it was not so bad. I even took a little nap on the plane to Seattle!  There was only about 20 minutes total of turbulence on the flight and only one air pocket.

From DFW we flew into Seattle, very nice airport by the way, and the hopped on a prop plane.  I actually had to walk out to the tarmac and walk up the steps to the plane! That was a new experience.  I knew we would be flying over the ocean but when the flight attendant told us that our seat cushion can be used as a flotation device in case of emergency, things kind of sunk in for me so to speak. I made sure to pay attention when she was explaining all of that. She was a rather attractive woman and had all the hand motions down (just like Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune), describing where the restroom was located, emergency exits, and how to use your seat belt and seat cushion. I looked over at Jeff and we chuckled. The plane was LOUD because I was sitting next to the propellers and it was also really rough. But, not as bad as I thought it would be.

Then finally, after picking up our car rental and navigating our way through Victoria, we arrived at our destination (with a little help from our GPS system).

There is a sheep farm next door, it is funny to hear them baaaaaaa, while sitting on the balcony.

After we settled in, we enjoyed a bit of wine, cheese, summer sausage, and crackers on the balcony.  The weather is so pretty and it is nice and chilly, just the way I like it.

Then I gave Jeff his wedding gifts.  This would be considered phase 3. I accidentally skipped over phase 2...it was a scarf I spun and knitted for my mom but we will get to that :-)

(socks to keep his feet warm while we are in Victoria)

(the alpaca scarf that I spun and knitted, also to keep him warm while in Victoria!)

Then, after we settled in for a bit, we headed off to Six Mile Pub for dinner. It was fantastic.

We had Shepherd's Pie 

and Guinness Mac n' Cheese. They were served in cute little cast iron skillets!  

Then, we went back to the B&B and crashed!

Cheers!

Wedding Day!!

Well, I was up until the wee hours of the morn last night getting all the last minutes touches done on  things for the big day. I finally got the veil down! Yippee! My mom steamed it for me and it looked fantastic. I think the steaming was key really. She is the steaming queen! I know you cant really tell very well in this picture, but it did turn out nice.  By the end of this post I may decide to put a picture of myself on here with the veil on.

The day today started out with arriving to the Rose Chapel to decorate. My mother pretty much put everything together during the whole planning process. Her friends helped tremendously too. They were all amazing and all the table decorations turned out so beautiful!

My friend Mel strung bells together for everyone to shake for our big send off!

The flower arrangements were made by a local florist. The bouquets were just absolutely beautiful, even more so than I imagined they would be.  I was too hard to capture with my little camera.

The chapel pews were decorated with Tussy Mussys filled with ivy and herbs from my garden and a friends garden. There were also candles on the stain glass window seals throughout the chapel and on the alter. I wish I had more pictures of that! As soon as I get more pictures I will be sure to post! 

My mother found a great website that provides free templates for wedding programs and invitations. We selected the one that we liked the best and then she had them printed. 

My sister made the cake topper! It is sooooooooooooooooooo adorably cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(can you see my just married sign in the background?)

These are all shots prior to the wedding itself. When the cake arrived, it was beautiful! The cake topper looked absolutely perfect on top of it.

My cousin Phoebe made these adorable signs to hang on the back of my chair and Jeff's chair

Then, my favorite, the wedding favor.  Carmel corn with candy corn!

My grandparents were married in the chapel which makes our wedding special too.  There was a table displaying their wedding picture as part of the decoration. Sweet.

The wedding was absolutely perfect. Everyone had a good time and we danced, danced, danced.  There was even a conga line!   When I get additional pictures I will be sure and post but, for now....my sister and me, and my veil.

(myspace pose, ha!)

Cheers!