Adventure in Victoria

 Hullo!! Today we are going on a day-trip adventure to Victoria!!!

And, of course, we got our first real skiff of snow but the roads are bare and wet, so we are good to go. The Malahat is always interesting in the winter, but it was no problem...

Righto... we are in Victoria and of course... they are a couple of weeks ahead of us sooo....

Cherry blossoms are out!!!!

And the daffodils...

This is the BC Legislature, the provincial government's building...

You can't go in unless you are on a tour... so phooie...

It's pretty though.

That's the Empress Hotel in the background!

Here's an unfuzzy shot... and the flags are at half-mast because of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting... so sad.

Alright... let's adventure!

This is where the Seattle Clipper somes in... one day... one day... we will make that trip!

The harbour is beary pretty and... 

You know... they serve high tea at the Empress... probably with real clotted cream and not whipped cream... let's go and see what it costs...

Oooh... flowers!!!!!

We had to walk by Emily Carr with her little dog and...

Can you guess what is on her shoulder??

The dog is pretty fixated on it...

It's a monkey!! Where she got a monkey from... who knows...

She was a beary famous BC painter... who studied in England and later France. Do you know her work? Let me grab an example...

She traveled all over BC painting indigenous communities. Later, she got mentored by Lawren Harris, one of the Group of Seven who told her "you are one of us"... Beary cool.

That's one of her paintings on an old stamp!

Alright... let's head into the Empress Hotel....

Ooohh.. ahhh... lots of dark wood paneling...

And a fancy tea shop...

We didn't even go in... the dollar signs were flashing!

Hmmm... that's a nice painting....

Yep, it's beary expensive...

We also had a look at the high tea menu and... it was on sale for Vancouver Island residents for $100 per person!! And an extra $25 if you wanted champagne... although it does look beary good... And our local place charged $85/person... and gave us whipped cream instead of clotted cream. But... the Empress Tea place has a dress code too... sigh... Maybe another time!

This is the menu... and yes... they do have house-made clotted cream and it actually looks quite yum...

And the dress code is not... excessive... 

"Please refrain from wearing hats. Exceptions are fascinators and fancy tea hats.

• No tank tops, beach wear, or athleisure wear permitted.

• No flip-flops or bare feet permitted. Exceptions are elegant sandals.

• No clothing with explicit or offensive wording or graphics permitted."

But... it's only for Afternoon Tea and it was only 10 am!!! Next time!!

Right then... where to next???

Sailor Sandy on the High Seas

 Oh, hullo!!! We are off on an adventure this evening... I know nothing...

Love surprise adventures...

We stopped at a few resorts to pick up more people and this one had a double decker red bus like they do in London!!! That's cause the resort was soooo big, you need buses and shuttles inside the resort!!

Now we're traipsiing down to the docks... are we going for a boat ride???

Well... yes we are! We are going on that catamaran!!

Never been on a catamaran... 

That's our boat there...

We are going on a sunset cruise!! Cool!

There are drinks, and there will be snacks... and there is music...

A margarita! Don't mind if I have a sip...

We're heading out!

We sat up at the front... and there were some very well-dressed people on the boat!

We are puttering out under motor speed... no sails... yet.

This is cool! I think Navy Beanie would enjoy this... must track down that mouse...

Oooohhhh... not bad so far...

We got to our turn around spot and they pulled... er.... hoisted the sail!

Looking good...

And the sail is up!!!

Ahoy maties!!! We met a couple of guys from the US... from Philadelphia... but one guy was originally from Minneapolis and I asked if he knew Jerry and Ben... of course not...

I'm a pretty good sailor... as long as I don't walk around... Mama tends to get a bit queasy on small boats soooo... she was fixating on the horizon and thinking tummy-calming thoughts...

There are probably too many clouds for an awesome sunet but... it wasn't bad.

Not bad at all. Cool adventure!!! And one of our last ones in Mexico... sigh... but it was great fun and beary relaxing!