When Marcus had some things cancel at work last week, we jumped at the chance to go to Canada for a few days. It was so spontaneous, we even forgot to pack our passports! Luckily, we only got 40 min out of town before we realized it, and Marcus’ mom was happy to meet us halfway so we could get back on the road. But we also quickly knew we weren’t going to make our reserved ferry, and there were no other ferries leaving out of that port that day. We were scrambling when at last we decided to just drive as far as we could and catch the British Columbia ferry going across.
The Buthchart Gardens were at the top of our list so we decided to go twice! Once during the day, and then again that night. During the day it was gorgeous and the girls loved being outside running around. But what I didn’t think about was that they’d wear themselves out and not be ready for the Round 2 a couple hours later! Total parent fail on our part…that night, we rounded the first corner and it was literally, breathtaking! And then Elle started crying. And I mean, CRYING. Marcus picked her up out of the stroller and she REFUSED to go back in. I asked Harper if she wanted to see the lights and after about 2 minutes she was back in her stroller, cranky, refusing pictures (except if she could be by herself-ha!), and trying to fall asleep. Marcus and I just looked at each other and rolled our eyes as we realized we brought our kids to one of the most beautiful places-and neither were having it! But it happens. Especially, with young kids.
By the end of the gardens, Harper was begging for something to drink. So we paid for the way overpriced hot chocolate and gingerbread cookie and $20 later she was the happiest kid on the planet! We were kicking ourselves for not doing it sooner in the night.
We also had the chance to walk through the Festival of Trees where they have more than 50 different Christmas trees decorated by different families and businesses in the area. They were gorgeous! Our favorite, of course, was the Nightmare Before Christmas tree. We followed it up with a visit to the Gingerbread Showcase that is similar but with, you guessed it, gingerbread. It was pretty amazing the talent that some individuals have. I am not one of them!
The Christmas lights at the Empress Hotel, the Parliament building, and downtown were pretty impressive as well. Victoria has the best location sitting right on the Puget Sound, and has a complete European feel. Since many speak French, it’s so cute to hear everyone talk in their accents! Visiting Fan Tan Alley, the smallest street in the country, was like we had gone straight to Diagon Alley (from Harry Potter, but I'll pretend like you didn't have to ask that-ha!) I could easily touch wall to wall-and I have short arms, so that’s saying something!
This totally helped kick off the Christmas season for us. We also were able to help Light the World a few times along our way. If you want more information on how you can help “Light the World” this Christmas season, click here!
Post a Comment