Oh Canada! Third Period.

Day 5, Friday night
With a 12 hour layover in Seattle I planned an all nighter to cram all there is to see for this short amount of time. Here's the plan; Get into Seattle at 7:20pm head to the REI flagship store before it closes at 9pm. Then head to Pikes Market for some dinner and get some shots of the original Starbucks and see the rest of downtown Seattle. Perhaps see a late movie afterwards then head back to the hotel. This is what really happened. Got in at 7:05pm (15 minutes early. Way to go Alaska Airline)! Checked into the hotel found out what bus we needed to catch to take us near REI. Got on the bus @ 8pm and 10 miles and an hour and 20 minutes later it was to late! So scratch that plan, next downtown. Continued on the bus until we saw the Space Needle and watched it go pass us. Somehow we missed our stop and went a few miles out of town. By now its 9:30pm and we're starving. We found a restaurant called Blue C Sushi. Out of all this, this was a fun experience. All the food is prepared and put on a carousel and as it rotates by your area just grab what you want. Fun times! We then hung out with one of the waitresses and the manager and talked a while. Before we knew it it was 10:30 and we were wiped out and still fearing the excursion back to the hotel. So we scratched the rest of the plan and called it a night.

Blue C Sushi dishing out the goods.

 Oh California, Over Time.
Back in the States and reunited with the little ones. On our last day in Northern California we drove into Chico and spent some time at Bidwell Park. Played on the playground, drew on the b-ball court with chalk and waded in the nearby creek. Kids are tuckered out and with the car packed we started the 8 hour drive back home.

Noah finely gave in and came out of the water.

Grandma great, mimi and papa chillin' in the shade.

Oh Canada! Second Period.

Day Four, Thursday
One of the ladies at Safra Day Spa recommended that we rent scooters for an hour to zip around downtown Victoria. Well we one upped her. We rented them for the whole day from Cycle BC! Need I say this was my 'favoritest' day. We strolled around and saw the Governors House, Craigdarroch Castle, Chinatowns famous Fan Tan Alley, and Hatley Castle (where they filmed X-Men 2 and 3).

                                                                Not an easy shot to get while driving and holding the camera in my left hand

Just in case you get lost in the Alley, they put this sign on this ground so you know where you're at.

Back side of Hatley Castle. Audrey is the 'X' and I'm pointing to myself, a man =  X-Men.

Some of the hiking trails around Hatley Castle.

 Some of the beauty within Hatley Castle and all of Victoria. From left to right; Mossy tree stump. A babbling brook. A Monkey Puzzle Tree (it's as inviting as a cactus).

Little waterfall along a trail near the Castle

Later that night, in front of the Parliament building. We tried several times for a self-portrait but without a tripod and light stand it just wasn't happening. A fellow photographer couple passing by helped with this shot and flash. Canadians are the nicest people on the planet!

Day Five, Friday
Last day in Victoria. We didn't want to plan anything crazy so it was a day of shopping for us, family and friends. We tried to stay away from the souvenir shops, but we did pop our head in a few, and buy only local or Canadian made stuff.

During our stay, Victoria was hosting the International Buskers Festival. Jugglers, comedians, magicians, and musicians. But this guy wins it for me! Fiddling Vader. He even played some Star Wars songs. Great way to end our vacation.

Even away from work I still see fire hydrants and sewer manhole covers. Which gave me a great idea. Every city or town I/we vacation at I'm going to find a manhole cover with the city name on it (not sure if this would make a good post card though).

    Getting ready to board the plane.              Inside Victoria International Airport. I believe it's even smaller than Ontario   Airport. Other than 1 and 2, this is the airport.

From here we flew into Seattle for a 12 hour layover. But, I'll save that for the third period.

Oh Canada! First Period

When September comes around it will mark our 10th year married. And for the last 4+ years my wife and I haven't had any sort of extended break from the boys. So, we devised a plan. Drive up to the in-laws and leave the little ones with them, while Audrey and I fly up to the Great White North. Victoria, British Columbia to be exact. We left Friday night and drove through the night (Perfect time. Kids are asleep) arriving in Orland at 3 am. Spent some time with Audrey's parents and helped them prepare for the longest week of their lives!

Day One, Monday
Monday morning we flew out of Sacramento, had a lay-over in Seattle and finally arrived @ Victoria International Airport by 3:30pm. Checked into the Hotel Grand Pacific and just rested for the rest of the day- planning the small details of our week.

Mt. Saint Helen's from the air (Audrey took this shot, but only because she had the window seat).

Day Two, Tuesday
What better way to start the week long trip off than with a massage. I got a Groupon for a massage at Safra Day Spa. It was much needed after we walked there from our hotel. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel, got ready and planned to catch the public transit to Butchart Gardens. Our plan was to do as the locals do and have an afternoon tea. Not really my sort of thing, but this week was about trying new experiences. We had a few hangups in the process- first one was finding the closest bus stop. We eventually found it, but we didn't have a ticket to get on so we scurried around looking for a convenience store to buy some tickets. We bought the tickets and waited for the bus, only to watch as bus #75 drove past us.  We missed the last bus that would get us there on time for afternoon tea. Our detailed plans went to the wayside. So plan B was to walk around downtown Victoria and just do some window shopping.

Checking-in for our massages.

I love how they're called washrooms, not bathrooms.

Even in Canada I can find a camera store.

Canada's version of an REI. It's a pretty cool store. You should check them out Here.

Day Three, Wednesday
Take two for Butchart Gardens. This time we planned a bit better. I love it when a plan comes together.

Some of the beauty @ the Garden

The middle of the Rose Garden.

Afternoon Tea. Starting from the bottom, you work your way up the tiers!

The coolest plant or is it a flower? Whichever, it makes for a dainty hat or a brain sucker! Mines the hat ; )

 There's the first period of our trip. Time for a short intermission then the second period will be posted.