VICTORIA!

Mandy, Mareena, Laurel, Elaine, Sandra

Sandra and I both had special birthdays this year so our girls decided that we should take a trip together to celebrate.  Last week the five of us flew to Victoria, BC. On Tuesday Sandra drove to Laurel and Greg's from Frontier and I drove up from Torquay.  We set the alarm for 2:30 am on Wednesday morning,  Greg drove us to Regina airport and we were on our way west at 5:45.  Surprisingly, there were many others travelling at that hour too!

We changed planes in Calgary.  Mareena and Mandy drove up from Lacombe to join us on the flight to Victoria.  In just over an hour we were landing on the island.  Mandy had arranged for a rental car, she took the wheel with Mareena in the navigator's seat and we were off!  

Our first stop was Butchart Gardens, a must see in Victoria.  We were there shortly after it opened for the day at 9:00 am with sunshine to welcome us.  I had been in touch with Anne-Marie Sovdi, who lives close to the gardens and works there in the gift shop.  It was her day off but she joined us and added tidbits of info to what was in the tour guides.  (Thanks too for your suggestions of places to visit)  Click this link for more pictures and information  .http://www.butchartgardens.com/gardens/

Beautiful fall flowers

Mareena, Laurel and Mandy on a stone walkway

Touching the pig's nose!

The sunken garden

3 "bears"

Sisters enjoying the garden

We had lunch there and I chose Fish Chowder.  I wasn't impressed after having had much tastier fish soup in Norway.  I make it at home too with Knorr fish stock.  I ordered cubes of it from Amazon.com.  When it arrived, it had been shipped from Portugal!  
Then we were off to the Butterfly Gardens, not far away.  It was a tropical environment, very warm and humid.  Before long I had to get out in the fresh air!  I enjoyed seeing the beautiful butterflies in this natural setting.  There were many other creatures too - turtles, flamingoes, parrots etc.. Ashley would have loved it there!

Our rental cottage was available at 4:00 so we were off to find it in north Saanich, with help from the car's GPS.  We were very pleased with the choice that Mandy and Mareena had made.

One of the two bedrooms

Our cosy cottage

A view from the deck

We relaxed and just enjoyed our "home away from home" that evening.  The girls enjoyed the hot tub beside the deck but Sandra and I declined.  We walked along the beach and gathered seashells by the seashore!

After a long day on Wednesday, we enjoyed sleeping in on Thursday!  We left our cottage around noon.  The only thing on our schedule was High Tea at the Empress Hotel at 5:00 on Oct.5, Sandra's 65th birthday.  I remember jumping up and down on the cellar lid at Grandma and Grandpa Erickson's when I learned that I had a baby sister.  She still brings much joy to my life!

We enjoyed visiting shops in downtown Victoria, including a walk through China Town. 

FanTan Alley

We sampled pastries at a bakery, enjoyed a taste of pumpkin spice ice cream, and did some trying on clothes too of course.  Soon it was time to head for the Empress.  We also spent  some time on the grounds of the Parliament Buildings nearby.

Empress Hotel

Seventy-five!

Sixty-five!

Goodies for our birthday tea

Two sisters and our daughters having tea.
(Each teapot had its own warmer!)

After our tea we stopped at "Whole Foods" to pick up some groceries and have a look at this store, now owned by Amazon.com The title tells you that it carries organic foods and foods with natural flavours and sugars.  We all enjoyed the pumpkin chiffon cake that became a birthday cake for Sandra.

On Friday morning the girls made pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast.  Then we were off to  Mattick's Farm, many shops out in the country on what was once a family farm.  We especially enjoyed The Ladybug Boutique that featured many Scandinavian items.

We were fascinated by all the pumpkin patches that we saw on our drives in the country.  Here's a picture of one of them.

Our adventure for that day was to drive to Sooke and do some hiking on trails along the coast.  The skies were threatening rain, but it held off until our hike was over.  The trail was a bit rough in places and we had to keep our eyes on the ground as we made our way up and down, over tree roots and rocks.  No, we aren't the climbers on this picture but two guys we encountered on the trail!

A helping hand from Mareena!

Five hikers

After our hike we got in a visit with Laurel's nephew Mark in their condo overlooking the harbour.  What a view from their living-room window!

We were hungry for fish and chips so we ate on the floating wharf on the harbour.  It was raining by that time but we found a table under cover so here we are.

Fish and Chips and soup on a rainy day

We also drove past the Terry Fox statue at mile 1 of the Trans Canada highway.

After that we were off to the movie "Stronger", the story of the shooting that took place at the Boston Marathon a few years ago. We enjoyed our first experience of watching a movie while sitting in reclining chairs. I think I even dozed off once!  A big bucket of popcorn hit the spot.

On Saturday we took the ferry over to Salt Springs Island and enjoyed their market day.  Vendors were set up in a large area downtown.  We could shop and eat.  Laurel and I tried lamb sausage on a bun and we both liked it.  Taking a ferry isn't cheap as it was $90 to take the car and five passengers. 

Shopping at the market

We enjoyed a fish supper at "Fish on Fifth" in Sidney.  I had halibut as it  a much better price there than it is in SK.  I guess being next to the sea makes a difference.  We had to wait a bit to be seated.  A busy place is usually a sign of a good place to eat and it was.

That evening we were treated to a "spa" treatment - face, hands and feet got special care.  Then we relaxed and watched the movie "My Left Foot", the story of a man with cerebral palsy who could only control his left foot but what he could do with that was amazing.

On Sunday, our last day in Victoria, we packed our bags, tidied up our cabin and headed for a visit to Craigdarroch Castle.  This castle was built between1887-1890 for Robert Dunsmuir, a Scottish immigrant who made his fortune fromVancouver Island coal.  It is an example of a "bonanza castle", massive houses built for men who became wealthy because of the industrial transformation of North America.  It is now a National Heritage site owned by The Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society.  It is a fascinating building with four storeys of Victorian furniture, numerous fireplaces, stained glass windows, lovely wood panelling.  Google it to see much more!

Castle built as a home for the Dunsmuir Family
with two sons and six daughters

Library

One of many pianos

Running water, electricity and a bathroom!

From there we drove back to Sidney and looked in many shops there, including a large bookstore.  Sandra found a special charm for her Pandora bracelet - five small hearts representing the five of us on this birthday trip.


Soon it was time to say Good-bye to Victoria so we headed to the airport, checked in and at 6:30 pm we were in the air on our way to Calgary. 

We said our good-byes to Mandy and Mareena in Calgary.  We are so thankful to them for planning this special trip, finding such a cosy cottage by the sea, renting a car and driving us safely around Victoria. This trip went so well we are ready for the next one!  The best part was spending these five days with my sister, her daughters and my daughter.  Time together is the best gift you can give or receive!

It was almost midnight when we arrived back in Regina.  Greg and Dawson had left a vehicle at the airport for Laurel to drive us back to their farm.  Thanks for taking care of us there with Ashley and Eric giving up their beds, a spaghetti supper when we came and breakfast before we left on Monday morning. Thanks too for making our plane reservations Laurel.  Everything worked out so well.

I stopped for a few minutes in Weyburn and got home shortly after one o'clock.  This was the first time that Alan and I had been apart so we were happy to be back together again.  Absence does make the heart grow fonder! We didn't have turkey for Thanksgiving Day but steak tasted great too, along with potatoes, carrots and tomatoes from our garden. On Saturday the 14th we  celebrated our 32nd (month!) anniversary and went out for supper at the Canam just north of Oungre, SK.

On Sunday we took in Eric's hockey game in Estevan and visited with Greg, Laurel, Ashley and Greg's sister Danita from Lampman.  The game ended as a tie after five extra minutes of overtime with four on four.  Then Alan and I went out for supper at Boston Pizza, thanks to gift cards from his family.  After that we enjoyed a piano concert at Trinity Lutheran Church, Estevan by Teresa Walters - "500th Birthday Party: A Musical Celebration of the Reformation".  The New York Times describes her as "The International First Lady of Piano" What a privilege to hear a pianist of this category  in Estevan!

Now it's Monday, Oct.16th.  Tomorrow is my brother Alan's 69th birthday.  I remember going up to Frontier hospital with Dad and my 3 year old brother Mervin.  The nurse, Kristie Uglene, asked "Would you  like to see your little brother?"  I was puzzled by that as my little brother was standing right beside me.  In those days we children didn't know much about expectant mothers! Have a very Happy Birthday, Alan.

We are having beautiful weather in SE SK this week.  Today it was +19C with a forecast of 21 tomorrow, 23 on Thursday and 20 on Friday.  We are enjoying!  Alan was out rototilling the garden area today.  However, there are wind warnings out for Tuesday and Wednesday, possibly up to 90 km per hour in parts of southern SK!

This concludes my post on Victoria, such a special trip for the five of us.  I've just touched on the highlights.  If you have a chance, go and visit this special part of Canada.  If any of you on this trip have pictures to add, just email them and I will find a place for them!