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This past week my sons and I travelled to Victoria to spend a few days with my parents. I'm so happy that we were able to have this trip. My boys hadn't been with their grandparents since December 2022. Finding a time in their busy schedules can be a challenge. C had 3 weeks of Christmas break. As an aside, I was amazed to hear that one of his friends who goes to Dallas Baptist University has 5 weeks off at Christmas! My oldest son has now completed his classes and has a "free" schedule. He continues to work for Action Studios and hopes to find additional work.
We drove up to BC on Monday Jan 6th. Christopher drove through some heavy fog near Bellingham. C left his passport back at school so I was nervous about him crossing the border. I had him do the driving through the border, both ways. Thankfully, we got through using his birth certificate and his drivers license.
On Monday night we ate dinner at the Penny Farthing in Oak Bay which is one of my favourite spots in Victoria. While we were in Victoria, we heard that Justin Trudeau resigned. I'm not a fan of his so I was pretty happy to hear that news. I bought some newspapers for posterity.
On Tuesday, I spent time helping my mom. The boys explored downtown Victoria on foot. Mom and I were able to buy her a new (used) walker. We tried to buy a lift chair but experienced some road blocks.
I found these deer roaming a few blocks from my parents' building.
On Tuesday night the boys and I ate at Village Taverna (a Greek restaurant) in Cook Village. I was happy with it and would go back again.
On Wednesday, again, I helped my mom. The boys spent the morning with my dad getting to know each other better.
Mom was able to buy a lift chair from Rexall Home Health Care. It was delivered the very same day! The men that delivered the chair also took her old recliner away for a reasonable fee. I ran into them at the front door of the building and they said that I should be very proud of my boys and that they are kind to their grandparents.
On Wednesday afternoon, I needed a break from working so we went downtown. The first stop was Murchie's Tea. C and I both had pots of tea. He had tiramisu and I had lemon shortbread to go with our tea. A kept us company.
We went to Munroe books where A bought a TinTin book. I bought a Valentine's Day card. Later we found this tiny little shop filled with tea. The store is called "Special Tea" which is quite funny.
Apparently it had been around a long time. I bought a collection of Rooibos tea for a girl we know who has lived in South Africa. We observed that downtown Victoria has many niche stores such as a store selling flags. We spent some time in a comic book store. We found Russell Books on Fort Street where we took these photos.
I convinced my parents to join us for supper at our rented condo. We had pizza from Willows Pizza. C managed to squeeze us all into this photo.
Before they left, my dad prayed for the boys and their futures. What a sweet moment.
I am very happy with our accommodation. We stayed at World Mark by Wyndham. The rate was good and I especially appreciated the underground parking. There was a pool but I didn't bring a swim suit. They had DVDs to borrow for free so we used that. There was ample space. The boys had their own room with separate beds and their own bathroom.
The view was fantastic.
There was a Murphy bed in the living room so even more people could have stayed there.
Another thing to which I'm thankful is that it barely rained when we were in Victoria.
On Thursday we headed back home. We caught the 11 am ferry (we reserved a spot) and had only a 13 minute wait at the border. I appreciated having C do the driving from the ferry until home. We stopped in Ferndale, WA, for gas. I noticed that they have pretty garbage cans!
The boys left in the Jeep to return to California on Friday morning. I'm looking forward to C's "Spring" Break at the end of February and A's graduation in May.
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