After our late arrival back to Vancouver, Brady had his day with the clients who flew us out for this trip. Once again, I proved I'm a jack-in-the-box, and was up at 6pm to run before he left for his meetings. I think the fact that it is light around 5am and doesn't get dark until after 9pm messes with my system (and I loved it). Brady entertained the group with our Whistler story and we were both reeling from the events of the previous day.
I took the kids to the Vancouver Aquarium when he was gone. I had a hard time committing to this excursion because I knew we planned to visit the Seattle Aquarium as well, but this was an excellent choice. With each display, we played "I Spy" and identified many of the fish. The kids have never seen anything like this before, even counting the time Zachary visited the Oahu Aquarium.
I always laugh at people who post pics of aquariums on their FB pages or blogs because the pictures are terrible. Here I am, though, posting terrible pictures. It was a happy morning and the kids were so impressed and somehow this awful picture of a manta ray will help me preserve that memory.
Zac loves to wear his hoodie. I love it when he takes the hoodie off and his mop of hair emerges.
Kate said the coral looked like "beautiful flowers". She kept trying to smell them through the glass.
The most exciting part of the morning was watching the Beluga whales. What beautiful animals. We are glad we didn't get nailed in the Splash Zone, though, because the people who did were soaked.
There was a piano outside the aquarium that kids were lined up to play with. No one could really play, and after 10 minutes, it was finally Zachary's turn. He played through a recital piece and about 100 people were there listening. I was a little embarrassed but mostly proud of him and his confidence to play for so many people.
After a charming little walk to a cafe with the kids, we met up with Brady to bike Stanley Park. Kate was initially terrified of this bike (and let everyone know it), but warmed right up after 1 minute and 30 seconds. I love how she tied her jacket around her neck and I have no idea where she came up with it.
Goose crossing.
This activity hit my top 3 events of trip. I was so enthralled watching my little family pedal away while checking out the coastal views.
Why, yes, I did take these cell phone pics while riding my bike.
And doesn't everyone tuck their cell phones into sports bras?
A huge crab:
Totem polls:
That night, we went to The Tea House for dinner, and ate fresh, local salmon. So, so good. Second place dining experience of our vacation.
We didn't get enough Stanley Park the day before, so Brady ran through the park that morning, and then drove us up to Prospect Point.
Afterwards, we headed over to Granville Island for the market. The kids shopped for souvenirs and we scouted out a fresh lunch.
Brady won for best lunch with his salmon chowder.
I picked some fancy salads and a fancy dessert. Fancy salads are almost always delicious, but I'm learning over and over again that fancy desserts are often prettier than they are tasty. I mean, what is that on top, glitter???
Next was our ferry ride to Victoria. We passed dozens of tiny islands along the way.
Brady has a picture just like this one from his mission.
This is also where I feel guilty and note that there are significantly less vacation pictures of Brady than there are of me, and I need to get better with his camera.
Victoria! We should have dedicated more time to this place. It was charming and beautiful. We would have loved to take the kids down to the docks and along the 7 miles of coastal boardwalks we both took turns running on. Here is a view from our hotel, which was easily the best hotel we stayed in.
Welcome to Victoria!
Dinner in Victoria at Il Terrazzo also makes the top of our vacation list. I was wary making reservations at an Italian restaurant because a belly full of pasta often gives me headaches and tummy aches later on. However, this place had raging reviews and did not disappoint.
We were nervous when we noticed we had the only kids in the entire restaurant, but had the best compliment ever at the end of dinner when an older man turned to us and said they were the most behaved children he had ever seen in a restaurant. They did really well here and at the other dining experiences we had with them throughout the trip, too. We cherish this moment because in a short 5 months when baby arrives, we won't get compliments like that again for another 4+ years.
Olive tepenade starter.
It was here I had the best salad of my life. It was so good, I will give you the full menu description: "portabella mushroom in a focaccia crumb and herb crust, oven baked with garlic butter, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. Sliced and tossed with baby spinach, crispy capers and balsamic vinegar."
The kids ate a piping hot margherita pizza.
I had an eggplant pasta topped with kale, which possibly sounds less than appetizing, but it was absolutely killer.
Does it seem like this is picture and description overkill? Let me say one more time that this was a highlight of our trip.
Brady had the tenderloin with green grapes, marsala and cream. I'm guessing that picture is on his camera, and I'm pretty overwhelmed with photos right now.
On the walk to the restaurant and back, we caught a few street performers. The kids list that as a highlight of their trip.
We were teeth-chatter cold (it was about 50 degrees), and decided we needed a Walmart stop for more sweats before our 4 day camping trip in Olympic National Park starting the next day.
This vine-covered building is a place everyone books for tea.
How cute are these kiddos sleeping together? Pretty darn cute, except for the 5 nights Kate begged to sleep with us because "Zac keeps kicking me!" I traded places with her several times and I can validate her story.
The next morning, after our crucial Walmart stop for fancy sweats, we visited The Butchart Gardens. We wished the whole time we could trade places with Mom Edwards for the day so she could enjoy this place.
We were not sure how the kids would handle the afternoon here, but we gave them a 10 flower challenge. If they learned the names and correctly identified 10 new flowers, we would get them a treat on the ferry to Olympic National Park.
Fuchsia:
These gardens were meticulously maintained starting 100 years ago. The sunken garden, pictured below, was our favorite part.
Like every other 4 year old girl, Kate loves flowers. She wants fresh flowers at her next birthday party instead of balloons.
"Look, Mom, I can fit my whole head in here."
They told me I could ride on the carousel by Kate for free, and that was nice but also a mistake. This thing really moved fast.
Running around in their fireworks display field.
It started getting crowded.
In the rose garden, Kate loudly exclaimed, "Guys! It STINKS in here!"
We had to get to the port to get checked in by customs a full 90 minutes early, so that was our entire day in Victoria. Wish we spent more time in this exquisite place and we fully expect to come back someday. (You know, on the same trip we go mountain biking in Whister. Who's in?!?)
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