Weekend Getaway -- Victoria, British Columbia

The Dude and I did a sweet little weekend getaway to Victoria, the fair capital of British Columbia. Spring was in full bloom, and we enjoyed the pleasant, balmy weather. And the ferry ride there and back is always a treat. The gorgeous scenery we sail through reminds me that I live in a very beautiful part of the world.

We treated ourselves to a night at the Empress Hotel. We snatched a good deal on the internet, and we were upgraded to a bigger room with a harbor view when we checked in. The decor was a bit dated, but hey it's the Empress! Old is supposed to be part of its charm. It was a comfortable, quiet room, but the most luxurious feature was that it had two full bathrooms! No fighting over who gets to use the bathroom first. 

Everything's within walking distance so we ambled here and there. We visited antique shops, boutiques, and yummy eateries. Victoria boasts of terrific breakfast joints so we visited a couple of them. I think the reason I enjoy Victoria so much is because I love eating my way through there. They have a pretty cool restaurant scene. 

I always have a good time whenever I visit Victoria, and I look forward to returning again soon! I think next time I want to go with a truck in order to bring back some midcentury modern furniture because it's a heck of a lot cheaper there than in Vancouver. 

Contributor: sugarpush / laxtoyvr

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Fresh Air: Hornby Island, British Columbia, Pt. 2

The second part of our day on Hornby Island involved a hike (really more like a leisurely walk) at Helliwell Provincial Park. I had to share so many photos of the later half of our day because it was amazing. The hike starts with a nice forest approach that leads to insanely beautiful sweeping ocean views. Mountains and islands, green cliffs, and miles of ocean make it impossible to avoid stopping to take a photo every two steps. The trail leads around a point on the island and into an old growth Douglas Fir forest. Look at the size of some of those beauties. Do I recommend visiting Hornby Island? How could I not! We also found a deer skull (which we brought home) and finished with a really delicious meal and pint at the local pub while we waited for the ferry back to Denman.  By the way, can anyone ID the flower near the top of this post?


Contributor: Sadie Designs.  
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Fresh Air: Hornby Island, British Columbia, Pt. I

The first full day of our island getaway we went to Hornby Island (from Denman, which is where we were staying). These photos are taken at Tribune Bay. The beach is really all sandstone rock formations, which we explored for a long while on this gorgeous sunny day. The tide pools were full of anemones, crabs, and starfish. We all touched some of the starfish, which was sort of thrilling for this East Coast born girl. Highlights of this part of the trip were basically all based around Lola, who scared me when she fell backwards (and in slow motion) down a crack between some of the rocks. What I couldn't see from my angle is that it was totally open on one side and she just walked right out. A few minutes later she had a live crab completely in her mouth and was going to eat it whole, I guess, until it either pinched her or all of us yelling made her drop it. Wait until you see what she did the next day! Dogs are crazy travel mates. Jamie made a great call on taking us to this place. We did so much on Hornby that I'm splitting the day into two posts.


Contributor: Sadie Designs.  
Re-posted by permission from her blog: http://sadiedesigns.blogspot.com/
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