family

I am still working on Thursday on the blog, but in actual fact I am in Edmonton for a quick overnight visit for my son Chad's opening of the Treasury Vodka Bar and Restaurant. That will be next entry. I will finish up Thursday's adventure first...
We were up earlyish for a trip out to the airport to pick up a van for the day to fit everyone in. It was a full size Suburban, and just for the record, I don't want one. The guests were all bright and perky waiting outside the hotel for their 10 AM Pick up...


Dad was tour guide and we started with the city and shoreline portion..






Followed by the "holy crap there are deer EVERYWHERE in the city limit tour" Mostly eating flowers in yards.


We went to see the Seals down at the wharf...


And was reminded one more time that I could feed my charter guests poultry for years and have plenty of leftovers with the size of these here on the island...


But back to the seals, mom and Nancy fed them and we took pictures.


There was a mom and baby wandering around....


And then George bought me my very own seal. I don't even have to clean up after it, although I would think a live one would work fine for me, after all it would not stray to far from the back of Promenade cuz we have lots of lovely charter food left over and it would be an unique marketing opportunity in the charter market I would think....


Had to laugh, dad took us to see one of the most expensive waterfront properties up for sale and we noticed that it has now been sold...


...To the government of Saint Kitts and Nevis for a consulate! OK...I am just going to not say anything at all here.


My obligatory one flower picture...


This is a much better flower picture. More deer eating more flowers...


He does not care at all if I film him and very quickly ignores us to go back to his lunch. He is having to start to reach higher for flowers.


A random scenery and people shot...


There are many good captions for this below picture, but if dad was JUST lean a bit more......If it was someone I did not like or if there was water underneath instead of blackberry bushes, I might be tempted to trip....


Out to My Chosen Cafe at Mechosin for lunch, always a nice spot to visit...and I made them hurry taking the picture as I was STARVING. Everyone laughed at my carrots in the car but I think by the time we hit lunch Don was looking longingly at them! THe guys had a open faced meatloaf sandwich on top of a piece of garlic bread, with fried onions and mushrooms on top and covered with gravy served with fries. Unfortunately, it did not fit into my calories allotted for the day, but it did look amazing....


And some random scenery shots.


And the tour ended up at the Empress Hotel, where we left our friends to have scones, tea and probably beer for some. It was nice to share some time with everyone who over and we think we were very lucky to have so many friends in Victoria the same time as us...


Friday it was off up to Duncan. (I know, the life of a social butterfly never stops now does it?) In another meal that looked amazing was Bazza's hamburger. I had a veggie burger and plain salad. Enough said about that. Sigh.


We met up with a couple that we had met down in Tortola at the May Boat Show. They are in the process of chucking it all away to go sail for a living, and we had updates on courses they are completing etc, just in case you need a good crew they are ready to go! We had a great couple hours gabbing with Cam and Rhonda. They have started a blog to share their adventures, and once (and if I suppose!) I get permission to share that link I will pass it on cuz I know many who read this like following those types of journeys...



That covers Friday, up early Saturday AM to get out to the airport to fly to Edmonton, so until next entry....

We had a treat this week as our friend Margot was over making bank life's miserable doing her job so she came for dinner and a visit at the house. She brought nice flowers, which, yes Sydney, mother loved! I would have preferred frozen blended bushwackers personally!! We had a nice visit though and she already has some of her trips planned to the boat for next season. She already knows how to sort and fold the laundry on the boat and put it away, next we will be working on teaching her how to do DISHES!!!!



Bazza woke up with a totally seized shoulder, which entailed a trip to the acupuncturist and the doctor. First time I had seen this procedure, not sure what I think about it. Not sure what is happening with it, but Bazza is not a whinger so I know it was painful.


I loved this flyer though in the doctors office for prostrate checks....



Watched the neighborhood cats in the back yard. They sit very calmly pursuing their buffet options...


Why do I say buffet options because this is what they sit under. They must be waiting for one to fall from the sky!


We were getting dressed to go out for dinner and my mother and I actually took a decent picture, so I thought I would put it up. The weight loss is starting to show on me now I think.


It was out for dinner at Vic Steak House tonight...I was teasing Margot that she was ordering a caesar to drink so it would look like a salad on her expense accounts! She assured me that it was not so!


We had more friends in town tonight. Dan and Nancy and George and Jane, also known as the "old folks from St Marys" just came off a wonderful cruise up to Alaska with perfect weather (it must be only the BVI they bring shitty weather too..) So along with my parents and Margot, we all had a nice visit. George mentioned that he did not think he had ever seen me before with Make up on. Probably true!


It is MUCH MUCH more fun to visit when I don't have to cook the meal and do the dishes let me tell you. I could see a theme for that happening on the boat...I truly think that Bazza could throw out the long tables in the cockpit and put in round ones as well as it is so much easier to visit that way.


steak....


hamburgers...


pork chops...


and fish and chips were on the menu tonight. The food was "ok" The restaurant was short staffed and you could sure tell that. Service was slow and lacking. Really do you guys have cocktails up here with only 1 oz in them? What in the world is the point of that? That 1 oz does not seem to last very well when it takes you 20 minutes to get the next oz! We had a great visit though and sat and talked for a few hours...


I was not ultra crazy about the public swimming pools with the bandaids floating in them, so opted for a walk the next morning, which apparently I should do more often as it got my heart rate up higher then the swimming does...but I enjoyed it....




My niece will hate me, but doesn't she look cute in her cheerleading outfit? She looks more like my sister every day! And obviously more of a girl then Sydney and I were with being in cheerleading...


In the other big news in our world, my oldest son Chad's new Restaurant and vodka bar opened last night in Edmonton. The Treasury. I am sure it was a schmozzle as those kind of openings always are, in my experience. I still remember my first ever charter I did not being able to get dinner out until 1130 at night! I just kept on giving them more liquor......


This is Chad and his girlfriend Christina, I wish them all the luck in the world...


Once I get new pictures of the opening weekend I will post them.


That is it for today's online diary, time to get ready as we are heading up to Duncan to have lunch with a couple we met at the spring boat show in Tortola, Cam and Rhonda. Cam and Rhonda are a bit younger then us and have done the proverbial sell their worldly possessions, quit their jobs, train for chartering and are planning on doing charters in the BVI. I feel so old, it seems like such a long time ago that we did that!

In Canadian Speak the temperature here in Victoria was 32 degrees. I did not know it ever got to that temperature out here! Apparently the Inland Empire back home is in the triple digits too, so there is heat everywhere..
My dad went to march in that heat in a parade. I cannot even tell you what it was for! He mentioned something about old uniforms not fitting...Go figure!


We made the Saturday afternoon trek with the parents to the Legion...


One of their friends brought their grandson who was visiting from Australia, who brought his voting papers with him for Bazza to countersign (In Australia if you don't vote you get a $200.00 fine! Bazza has been gone ten years.....Yikes!

In Australia you don't just put a X beside the one you want, you also have to RANK them all in the order you want them in, it is all very complex. What was not complex was some of the names of the parties...The sex party (apparently they promote escort services) the fishers and shooters party ( I hope they hunt and fish but i am not sure!) Some were more understandable, the aboriginals, the greens...but I did not see the Pot Party!


Bazza drank vodka (i think he was trying to work up the courage to ask me to dance but he never did!) and it was pretty warm in the building too...


i am not sure what I was up to here, being a bit loopy I think!


Sunday we went over to look at the car show at Oak Bay...Nice and early in the morning before it was hot and busy. You can see Bazza still happily found fresh donuts to munch on....


We saw shiny cars, which don't interest me too much but it was a nice walk...


License Plate...


After that it was off to see Eat. Pray. Love. The boys went whether they wanted to or not. ONe second before I snapped this photo my father was fast asleep! He obviously was in self preservation mode and sensed when I was close with a camera...I think the girls liked it better then the boys..


Then cuz it was hot as can be we decided to heat up the kitchen to bake potatoes in the oven for an hour (just like being on the boat..) But steak and potatoes was yummy...



And so ends the weekend up on Vancouver Island