Brad surprises me almost every year for our anniversary . . . and my birthday. The funny thing is, that I am truly surprised EVERY time. I don't know if I'm just dumb or what! I just always think he can't keep it up every year. This year for our anniversary in July, he surprised me and said that we were going to Canada! Which was a shock to me, considering I had broken my big toe and sprained my foot earlier in the month. I wondered out loud if it would be worth it since I couldn't walk so well. He said that he had it all planned out. He was gonna push me through the airport in a wheelchair, and then we would do a lot of "driving" sightseeing and just plain old relaxing. The airport on the way there was quite an adventure, as in really difficult - but the rest of the trim was fantastic! The first day we flew to Vancouver Canada and spent the night there.
The next day we had a lunch at a great little place recommended by Guy Fierri :) and then drove to the ferry to Victoria Island. We had never been on huge ferry like that. I couldn't believe how many cars were on it! We had always wondered how a ferry could sink so fast and so many people could die . . . like the horrible stories you see in the news from other countries. Well, after seeing how many cars were on that thing, we could understand a little better. It was a lovely day and we sat outside. It took something like 2 1/2 hours and it was beautiful!
It was getting later on in the day, so we drove through Victoria to the little town of Oak Bay that we were going to stay in. The town was adorable. It was really quaint and there were pots of flowers hanging all down their main street! Our hotel and the view was spectacular. Brad did good! We ate at a dinner at a cute little pub that night.
The next day, we were planning to drive over to the famous Butchart Gardens. On the way there, we took a detour to a little farmer's market and bought some crabapple jelly! It reminds me of growing up so much! Grandpa and Grandma Patterson had 2 crabapple trees growing next to the swimming pool and the apples would fall into the water and we ate so many of them. I would always help my Mom make crabapple jelly. It is really hard to find now, so we are excited!
My manly man rented a wheelchair for me and off we went. Thank heavens, because as beautiful as it was, there was noooo way I could have walked that thing. Brad's muscles sure got a workout though. The gardens were breathtaking. I am going to post a LOT of pictures that won't do it justice, but oh well - it's for my "family history" book for MY family, so who cares! When we walked through the part called the "Sunken Gardens", Brad and I couldn't imagine even the Garden of Eden being more beautiful.
The next day we had a lunch at a great little place recommended by Guy Fierri :) and then drove to the ferry to Victoria Island. We had never been on huge ferry like that. I couldn't believe how many cars were on it! We had always wondered how a ferry could sink so fast and so many people could die . . . like the horrible stories you see in the news from other countries. Well, after seeing how many cars were on that thing, we could understand a little better. It was a lovely day and we sat outside. It took something like 2 1/2 hours and it was beautiful!
It was getting later on in the day, so we drove through Victoria to the little town of Oak Bay that we were going to stay in. The town was adorable. It was really quaint and there were pots of flowers hanging all down their main street! Our hotel and the view was spectacular. Brad did good! We ate at a dinner at a cute little pub that night.
The next day, we were planning to drive over to the famous Butchart Gardens. On the way there, we took a detour to a little farmer's market and bought some crabapple jelly! It reminds me of growing up so much! Grandpa and Grandma Patterson had 2 crabapple trees growing next to the swimming pool and the apples would fall into the water and we ate so many of them. I would always help my Mom make crabapple jelly. It is really hard to find now, so we are excited!
My manly man rented a wheelchair for me and off we went. Thank heavens, because as beautiful as it was, there was noooo way I could have walked that thing. Brad's muscles sure got a workout though. The gardens were breathtaking. I am going to post a LOT of pictures that won't do it justice, but oh well - it's for my "family history" book for MY family, so who cares! When we walked through the part called the "Sunken Gardens", Brad and I couldn't imagine even the Garden of Eden being more beautiful.
These 3 pics are of the front and back of the old Butchart home
These Tiger Lilly's remind me so much much of home and my sweet Mom :)
Here are some of my favorites of the Sunken Gardens and the rest of the place:
The Sunken Gardens were built in an old limestone quarry. It's so amazing
to me that they could turn something so ugly into something so beautiful!
After a day of all that beauty, we drove around the city of Victoria for a while. I loved the capitol building. It reminded me of Paris. We didn't get our of the car because of my foot, so these pictures are taken while we were driving.
Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!
I read that this is the 2nd largest Chinese community in North America - 2nd to San Francisco
Stay tuned for the rest of the trip!
