This past week the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge along with their children, were in BC for a visit. I am not normally a Royal fan but since there were in town I figured I would get in on the action. They were sailing past our house, and it didn’t take much effort to walk to the end of the block. My seven-year-old son wanted to see what a Duke and Duchess looked like so he joined me. While we were waiting for their tall ship to appear he played at the beach.
We are so fortunate to live surrounded by so much natural beauty. Thetis Lake is one such place just outside of Victoria. We made it to Thetis twice this summer, once for a hike and the second time for a paddle. The trails around upper and lower lakes are classified as moderate, and I was so proud of our youngest hiker who walked the entire trail without complaint.
Last weekend, I got pickled. I spent Sunday with a group of moms on the Victoria Harbour Ferry Pickle Pub Crawl. Unfortunately, we picked the only rainy day in Victoria all summer, but we weren’t going to let a little rain stop us!
After the first disastrous camping trip three years ago, I didn’t have it in me to try for a second time. When my husband decided to give it another go I wimped out and took our not quite 2-year-old home to sleep at night. Last year I used the “I have a brain tumour” excuse (which got me out of just about everything that I didn’t want to do) and we didn’t go. This year I took one for the family, pulled up my big girl panties and went camping.
Last week, I was writing about being a tourist in my home town, so it’s only fitting that today I write about exploring Victoria. My first trip to the Butchart Gardens was a magical memorable day. My boyfriend had just moved to Victoria, BC and I visiting from Toronto. We were young, childless and carefree. We woke up on a Saturday morning and he told me that he had to run out for a bit. When he returned, without any words he tied a string to my finger. Just a plain beige string, nothing fancy. He held the other end in his hand. I looked at him with a puzzled expression not understanding what was about to happen. Next I felt a ring on my finger. My ring finger. Still no words from him. He never officially asked but that was the moment that we got engaged.
As a mom, I find myself spending my time doing things that I have no interest in. I don’t mean cooking dinner (which coincidentally I have no interest in) because that is a necessity, I mean things like spending a Sunday afternoon at the Northwest Deuce Days car show. Before kids I would never have dreamed of spending a hot sunny afternoon with thousands of car enthusiasts. But post kids I did, and will probably do it again.
When I was young, single and childless I would escape to the cottage frequently stopping along the way to pick up a rental kayak for the weekend. To get my money’s worth I would go for a couple of paddles a day. It has been at least 6 years since I have kayaked. Life got busy with kids, marriage, work, school and a brain tumour. So when a friend suggested that we get a group of people together and go on a kayak tour I was in. I even managed to talk my husband into trying it out, as he had never kayaked before. He has a good sense of adventure and is usually up for trying new things with the exception of sharing a kayak with me.
Recently I attended Dîner en Blanc in Victoria BC. I didn’t know what Dîner en Blanc was until a friend was looking for a date for the event. I will go on the assumption that many of you don’t know what it is either. Dîner en Blanc is a chic picnic in a public space where all of the attendees wear white. Thousands of people with tables, chairs and white picnic baskets converge on a secret location to wine, dine and dance. The concept began almost 30 years ago in Paris and it has now expanded to five continents so there maybe an event close to you.
Did you go out this year to watch Canada Day, or Independence Day fireworks? What city were you in? I am not sure but I don’t think that I have ever been to the Canada Day fireworks in Victoria, my excuse is young children. Almost the entire time we have lived in Victoria we either had a newborn or a toddler to take care of, and nightfall was way past their bedtime. Never mind the noise which is frightening to me as an adult. This year with a seven and not quite four-year-old we were able to enjoy the fireworks together as a family. Continue reading
Making A Life 