Our Victoria Vacation - Day 1

Alright folks, sorry about the delay but here is our vacay - day 1! Oh, and by the way, I added Canadian Idiot by Weird Al as our #1 song on our playlist here in honor of the fun time we had in Victoria. We loved it there and can't wait to get back!

Here we are waiting for the ferry. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting. The ferry system requires that you arrive at least one hour prior to departure even if you have a reservation (which is highly recommended). So we got to chill for a while. The sun was bright for Gideon so I grabbed Zion's sunglasses. He shied a little when I put them on but once they were in place he seemed to enjoy having them on.

Once on the ferry we hit the cafe for some lunch. The clam chowder was great - but I'm the only one who likes clam chowder. Rob got a hot dog and the kids got cups of orange slices, pieces of the hot dog and half of a Rice Crispy Treat each. Zion had her little dog harness on and it's a good thing because all she wanted to walk around. We went outside and she walked right up to the edge of the railing and looked WAY down into the water. She loved it there. Gabe on the other hand found a spot to sit and watch people. Probably looking for someone to befriend. Gideon slept in the front pack with Rob. The crossing took about an hour and a half but it didn't really feel that long.

Here is the view from our unit. Our first night is in a ground floor unit right on the water with a view of the harbor - this will be perfect for the fireworks later. Oh yeah, the fireworks, the day we arrive is Canada Day. It was evident the moment we got off the ferry as most of the city was walking around wearing white and red. Clothes, face paint, flags... everywhere!

In the unit we get settled and Rob and Gideon check out the guest information book to scope out a place to have dinner. We end up asking one of the ladies at the front desk (always check at the front desk for coupons!) and are informed that Fisherman's Wharf is only a block away and there are some great places there. We head out and find a place to get fish and chips - yum! Rob's order even comes wrapped in newspaper -how authentic! I actually got the shrimp and chips so mine didn't. A guy in line with us tells us that across the parking lot is a park that the kids might enjoy. Boy would they! So while Rob is getting the food I walk them over and grab a picnic table. While there I take the opportunity to shoot some pictures of our surroundings. This boat was moored at the docks in front of the park.

That night Rob and are trying to figure out what to use in place of a tripod because I forgot mine when I realize that, while I may have forgotten to put it in the car, I may have never taken it out of the car last time I used it. Rob runs down and sure enough it's in the back of the car. PERFECT! Once it's all set up on the patio all I have to do is hit the shutter and, besides wishing I had a remote shutter button, I got some pretty OK pictures. The fireworks were beautiful! I got over two hundred pictures. Lucky for you I'm only going to post a few of the best.

The next few days were full of fun for us and I got so many pictures that I'll be posting one day at a time so you (and your computer) aren't overwhelmed. I hope that you enjoy!