Better Late Than Never!!

I just realized that I didn't finish talking about the rest of our trip!

On Monday we took the bus to Edmonds.  What a cute town.  The goal was to go to the Rick Steves headquarters.  They had all of their products there to check out, and tons of travel guidebooks and maps.  We spent an hour or so there.  We then had lunch at a place that Jessica had recommended.  It was an excellent choice.  The food was really good and not expensive.  After lunch we wandered around some shops.  We spotted a sign at a place that said they had fresh cannoli's.  Yes please!

 

After a nice day in Edmonds it was time to return to Seattle.  We ate at the pizza place downstairs from our apartment.  The wifi from the apartment actually worked at the restaurant.

Finally it was Tuesday, 9/29/15.  If my dad was still alive it would have been his 90th birthday.  Time to go home.  It's kind of strange.  Usually when we take a trip we would be more than happy for it to last longer.  This time we were ready to go home.  We both felt that way.  It was a good time, but enough.

That's it for this trip.  Until next time...

Sunday Funday With John & Jaime

John and Jaime arrived in the area last Saturday, just in time for us to see them.  They picked us up in the morning and took us to their new apartment in Renton.  We spent the day chatting, watching football and eating.  John barbecued tri tip and corn for lunch.  For dinner we walked over to Panda Express and brought it back to their place to eat.  I loved having time with them.  It had been way to long.  We got home after 10:00.  Tomorrow is our last day in Seattle.  I think I will be ready to go home.

We Love The Locks

We discussed what we should do today, before meeting Jessica for dinner.  We enjoy going to the Chittenden Locks, so that's what we did.  We have always had a car to get there in the past.  We took the bus this time.  We spent hours watching the boats in the locks and watching the salmon making their way upstream.  We stopped for an afternoon drink and treat at the Firehouse Coffee Shop.

We met Jessica at the Brouwer Pub for dinner.  It was great to see her.  We had a lot to talk about.  

Back To Seattle

We took the Victoria Clipper back to Seattle and took an über to our apartment in Belltown.  It's a lively neighborhood with lots of restaurants and bars.  The apartment is nice with a great view.   We settled in and walked around the neighborhood.  We are closer to Pike Place than I thought we would be.

Jim's old work friend, Jim Moore, picked us up after he got off of work and took us to dinner at Chinook's.  It was by a marina and had a nice view.  The food was tasty and most of all it was nice to visit with him.  

We are free tomorrow until we have dinner with Jessica.  What to do?

Last Day In Victoria

This morning it took us awhile to get going.  We took a tour of the Parliament building, then headed to Chinatown for some dim sum.  We went to Don Mee, which had been recommended.  It was good.  The pieces were the size we are used to.  Not big like in Seattle.  We didn't have too many things.  The strangest thing was the pot stickers.  They were fried, not browned on the bottom and then steamed.  

We spent the rest of the day at the Royal BC Museum.  It was very interesting.  They had a special exhibit about the gold rush in BC that occurred after the gold rush in California.  On their timeline of events it said gold in California was discovered in Sutter's Creek.  I made a comment that it was discovered in Coloma on the American River.  That started a discussion with a woman who was listening to me.  I think she thought I didn't know what I was talking about.  But in the next section they had it right, and it corroborated what I had said.  She suggested I tell the museum so they would correct it.  I didn't.  It was a big museum and I wish we had gotten there earlier.  They closed before we could see it all.

We went home, had leftovers for dinner, and finished off our beer/wine.  We packed up our suitcases and are ready to leave in the morning.  It's been a great week here, but I'm ready for Seattle now.

Craigdarroch Castle And More

This morning we stopped by the store for lunch provisions and walked to Beacon Hill Park.  

We walked along the coastline and sat facing the water to eat our lunch, watching the boats go by.  We ended up not even going into the park. 

 We decided we would go to the castle today instead.  So back to the store we went.  We needed a few things to get us through the rest of our time in Victoria.  After we had a chance to change, we took a taxi to Craigdarroch Castle.  It was really interesting.  I especially loved the stained glass windows, the beautiful woodwork and the antique furniture.  

We walked back downtown to have dinner at the Bengal Lounge, in The Empress Hotel.  We decided to have the buffet, which was Indian food.  It was good, but not as good as the afternoon tea!  We walked back home, enjoying the lights on the Parliament building.

Tomorrow is our last day here.  It's supposed to rain, so we will tour the Parliament building, go to the Royal BC Museum, and last but not least have dim sum for lunch.

Butchart Gardens

We chose today to go to Butchart Gardens because the weather was supposed to be good.  It didn't disappoint.  We took the public bus and arrived close to 10:00 a.m.  The flowers were gorgeous and it was a beautiful day.  

We got back to downtown Victoria around 4:00 and strolled around the waterfront until it was time for our dinner reservation at Il Terrazzo.  This place was recommended by some people on the Rick Steves travel forum and also was mentioned in the guidebook we got for Victoria.  It totally lived up to its reputation.  Jim and I both enjoyed our dinners and brought our leftovers home for Thursday nights dinner.  Tomorrow night we have a reservation in The Bengal Room at The Empress.  Yummy.....