Victoria

This is a post that has been sitting in my drafts for almost a year.  Somehow, not finishing this blog feels like an unfinished story, so I am going to post as I wrote it many many months ago, before a pandemic, before 10 months of being home, before so much.

Rewind to July 2019:

Not quite ready to stop exploring, we made a trip to Vancouver Island to visit friends and spend time in one of the more beautiful spots in the world.  The trip was memorable for a few reasons.  One was, without question, that we had the chance to spend time with our friends and see how they were settling into their new lives outside Victoria.  Another was that we took our brand new puppy on a big road trip and had the particular stress of crossing an international border twice with a live animal.  (Turns out it was not a big deal at all and the border guards hardly batted on eye). But the biggest reason is that the Pacific Northwest is BEAUTIFUL and after traveling the world seeing amazing sights and grand landscapes it was particularly fitting to end in an environment in our own country that rivals all we had seen.

Many mornings, waking to the glittering blue sky, or in the evening, seeing the ruby red sunset, with the mountain peaks punctuating the horizon, I was struck by the beauty, the serenity, the space and our good fortune to have friends with such an amazing back yard.  It is without hyperbole that I say many people would have searched the globe for a retreat as beautiful and rejuvenating as the one we landed in.

Exploring the coastline and nearby islands and beaches by boat, kayak and via foot were all exciting outings.  Helping drop crab pots and then pull them up with bated expectations was tons of fun. We interspersed our time exploring the nature that was literally out the backyard, with visits to downtown, walks to the beach, playing games and hanging out on the deck soaking in the views.  We were all struck with the beauty of this slice of Canada.

  

We stayed with Lara and Rob, two of our very favorite people, and one of the highlights was getting to see them as parents.  We loved getting to know their sweet little person, even when it made us miss being closer to them in our everyday lives.  But seeing what an awesome set up they have with the beauty of the land and the closeness of their families made it hard to be anything but happy for them.

Our new puppy was an added stress. Yes, new puppy.   I was quite worried about him nipping or biting or peeing.  It was like having a toddler in someone else's space, but with sharper teeth and no diaper.  Not my favorite chosen "challenge" and it hampered my ability to relax.  Probably not a good thing at the end of a long adventure.  But boy is he cute! More to come on him!

As so often on our adventuring, some of the favorite moments were the quiet ones.  The ones reading, or snuggling, or being silly on a ferry.  Sitting in a hammock, or going on a walk that had no big destination except to explore.  And spending time with people we love and enjoy.  These were the quiet moments that bring a warmth to my heart.

Another tooth lost! Lost teeth book ended the trip.

And then in a blink of an eye it was time to leave.  Time to get on another ferry and drive back across the border to Seattle for our final bit of time on the road.  It was hard to say bye to Victoria, because with it we said goodbye to good friends, but we were ready to start the journey home.