Home Sweet Home

Friday, April 17, 2015

Up at 3:00 am this morning to get the taxi to the airport in Sidney.   Check-in was seamless and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful morning. 

We have had the most memorable trip ever, never to be duplicated.  We tried to put on sad faces, but the truth is we are finally ready to go home.   Every day has been so special, but we're both eager to get home and start our new life. 

Thank you Vancouver Island for all the wonderful memories.  

We were blessed with a beautiful flying day with mostly clear skies.   The Rockies are humbling, in both number and size.  They just never end!

An hour later we landed in Calgary.  You can see the city on the left and the beginning of the Rockies, 50 miles away on the right.  

We stayed on the same flight and back in the air we crossed through the Prairies and thousands of Sloughs.  

There's still plenty of ice on the East shore of Lake Huron. 

We spotted our condo as we approached the airport.  Who can spot it? 

(Left side, middle, behind the dirt lot). 

That was cool. 

A beautiful day on the Tarmac. 

And look who was there to greet us!!!

Cuz!!!!   

Captured this just before he shot me the finger LOL!

I told him, you don't have to be my friend, but you'll always be family!!!!!

We drove back to Moe's place to pick up my van and enjoy Chinese Dinner with Joanne and "Just arrived home from 1st year University", Shannon!!

It was great seeing our Hawaiin family again. 

We drove home and I managed to carry my bride across the thresh hold to begin our new lives..........

......and they lived happily ever after. 

THE END

Now off to bed, I have lots of chores to do in the morning!  :)

Our Last Day

Thursday, April 16, 2015

With this being our last day in Victoria we got an earlier start than usual and as we left the building we caught a glimpse of an orange pair of running shoes going by. 

"Hey Ritchie!!".......pretty dapper looking!

We walked downtown and had a great breakfast at the Aegean, this is a restaurant that Ritchie owned and ran 16 years ago.  

Victoria Harbour.   I could sit here all day. What a beautiful place.  Parliament building on the far left. 

We took one of the little tugs for a tour of the Gorge.  It was a neat tour.  The Captain grew up as a kid on the Gorge and had a lot of interesting stories.  

This boat in the harbour is worth $56M.  

I watched these two buskers and got the idea that Doc and I could make a few bucks on the side!

We watched this gentleman carve this soapstone eagle the other day (I think it was in the blog).   I bought it for $20!!

The happy newlyweds :)

It was a beautiful day today and visibility was the best we've seen.  This is Mt. Baker approximately 120 miles away in Washington state. 

I had arranged to meet Wayne Hilts, one of my brother's best friends growing up.  I hadn't seen him since I was 10 years old when Bud got married.  He picked us up and took us to his place in Sidney for a great chat.  

Wayne had pictures of my Dad and the rest of our family, all in neatly organized binders.   His Mom and Dad were like an Aunt and Uncle to me.   He's the first person I've met in a long time that knew my Dad.  It was a great visit other than the fact I couldn't dig up any dirt on my brother.  

He drove us back to the Harbour and we saw this amazing sight on the way to meet Ritchie and Caroline for dinner.  Check out this seal feeding on a bait ball of fish!!  Awesome!!!! One of the most memorable things we've seen on this trip.  

http://youtu.be/uZzFWm9RpEI

We had a great fair well dinner at the Flying Otter Restaurant at the Harbour Airport complete with Pink Shit!

Evidently this float plane airport is the 5th busiest airport in Canada!

Need I say more!

As the sun set on Victoria and our honeymoon, we reflected on what an amazing adventure we've been on for this last month.  

A big thank you to our graceful hosts Ritchie and Caroline who made this portion of the trip the memory that it was.  

Whale Watching

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

We'be been wanting to go whale watching since we arrived here, but we're waiting for the right day.  That was today! 

We booked through Prince of Whales Tours in downtown Victoria.  This is the Ocean Magic II, our vessel for today's trip.  

We left the harbour and after about an hour located the "J" Pod.   There are 25 whales in this pod including 3 calves.  We were fortunate that the pod appeared to be in its entirety (sometimes they break up for periods of time).   They are known as resident Orcas feeding about 95% on Salmon (80% of that being Coho Salmon)   

It was amazing to see them.  We were in U.S. Water when we found them and you are required to be at least 200 yards away from from them. We observed them for at least half an hour before it was time to leave. 

The males remain with their mother throughout their lifetime, only leaving long enough to mate.  J2 in this pod is known as Granny and she is estimated to be the oldest known Killer Whale at 103 years of age!

Here is a neat video of many of the Orcas in the pod.  

https://youtu.be/1WviCys5XCs

This is the area where we located them. 

You get an idea of the trauma for a whale to be removed from its pod and put in an aquarium.  It is now illegal to do so.  

A shot from the rear of the boat.  Puget Sound leading to Seattle is on your left.  Victoria would be off the stern and San Juan Island (USA) is on your right. 

We located some Stellar Sea Lions on the way back.  You could hear their grunts and roars as they positioned for their territory.  

I got some great shots of this eagle.  

The heads you see in the water belong to Harbour Seals.  

It was a great trip and the staff did a great job locating and explaining the background of all these mammals. 

We returned to Ritchie's where he was working from home for the afternoon with a little help from his cat.  

Ritchie had another race tonight, so we went to watch.  

There he is in the middle of the pack as they struggle uphill.  

Making his move.  

He finished 8th in his group of 25.  Not bad given that he was probably the oldest in his group.  

Butchart Gardens

Wednesday, April 14, 2015

We started the day off back at the White Spot. 

I said I'd return!    Smashed Potatoes are quickly becoming my favourite food group. :)

We were off to visit Butchart Gardens.   Ritchie had offered us his Land Rover, but I'm not comfortable enough to drive here, so we took the bus.  

It was an easy ride, made easier by Google Maps!   Moe made me aware of the bus function when we were in Honolulu. 

The weather had called for clouds with sunny periods, but shortly after we arrived it started to rain, and then gently hail.  

Not enough to dampen our spirits though.  The grounds are beautiful and emaculate and even looked great in the rain.  This is the sunken garden which was once a limestone quarry.   Mrs.  Butchart converted it to a garden after it was quarried out. 

This was where the first quarry was located.  The Butcharts owned a Cement company in Owen Sound and came out here to locate limestone and establish a Portland Cement Company.   

This was a beautiful dancing fountain.  

The pictures say it better than I can!!

The Japanese Gardens were the first gardens she established........

.......which lead to this inlet where the boats and later guests would arrive

The gardens are still privately owned by the family.  

It was well worth the trip out to see. 

Lynn had arranged to meet up later with B.J. and her husband Bill.  Bettie Joe is Ritchie's first wife and Lynn still keeps in contact with her. 

We enjoyed a great dinner and some very interesting conversation covering a wide range of topics.