the big wide world

Hubby took this week off from work so we've scheduled a bunch of adventures. First up is a trip to Vancouver Island and more specifically Victoria - the capitol of BC. We got up super early to catch the ferry over to the island. This is the boat that we will be boarding.


The weather was awesome for the ferry ride and I convinced hubby to sit outside but it was pretty windy/chilly so we didn't last out there for very long.


Our first stop was Craigdarroch Castle - very 1890s. It was full of oak wood panelling imported from Arkansas. Sadly, the owner (net worth of $20M) died shortly before the house was completed.



For the longest time, the castle was the highest point in Victoria as it stands 4 stories tall. These are views up and down the main staircase. Very impressive.


On our way into town, we stopped for a late lunch. We randomly picked Floyd's Diner (the building is painted pink) while driving down the street. It was a great place. Hubby ordered a burger and the patty was handmade and huge. I ordered the Mahoney which translates into "whatever the kitchen feels like cooking" and they'll charge you whatever they think is fair for it. You have the option of paying that price or flipping the waitress for it - double or nothing (i.e. if you win, the meal is free and if you lose, you pay double the price). I was served the largest omlette ever. It tasted as good as it looked. And no, I didn't flip for it. Afterwards, we stomped around downtown Victoria and visited some lovely shops. A yarn store, Knotty by Nature had a bike out front sporting some fine knitwear.


We splurged and spent a lovely night at the Empress hotel. It sits right on Victoria's Inner Harbour.


The hotel is huge and you can't see our room in this picture but it's one of the ones with the window (with the green caps) sticking out of the steeply pitched roof.


Our room was gorgeous with a spectacular view. The weather turned nasty on the second day which was fine because we spent most of it inside the Royal BC Museum enjoying the Treasures exhibit. Wow! It was quite interesting to see all these artifacts from so many civilizations.

The cats were very happy to see us when we got home. It was the first time that we'd left them home alone for so long (36 hours) and we were a little worried that Ricky would eat all the food, Phoebe would starve and try to kill him. Normally, if we're gone for a short amount of time, we'll seperate them so that they each have their own food, water, litter box.


Ricky sez, "I missed you sooooo much!!!!"

Phoebe left us a 'welcome home' hairball. Ick!

I took some knitting with me but I didn't get much done. There was just too many things to see. Oh and I did buy some yarn and fabric but I think this post is done so I'll hit publish and save the rest for another day.