Travel, Wine & Shoes

Downton Abbey’s Dowager Countess of Grantham asked “What is a weekend?”  I thought it was hilarious!  A weekend, especially a long weekend, is a time for FUN with FAMILY and FRIENDS and let’s not forget my favourite F-word:  FOOD!

I spent my Thanksgiving long weekend in Victoria with my young man and life long friends!  I was born on the east coast of Canada and it’s stunning, but I love the west coast of Canada too.  It is the smell of the ocean, fresh fish and the actual ocean!  The really wonderful thing about Victoria is seeing the mountains in the distance.  I may retire here.

One of my great loves is in Victoria – his name is Finlay and he thinks I’m just the best!  Some of his other Aunties “think” they’re his favourite, but it is without a doubt me.

Out & About in Bear Mountain

Bear Mountain is a golf resort and community in Greater Victoria.  It offers all sorts of outdoor activities, the Westin Hotel, golf, a market and Jack’s.  Jack’s is a pub and the food is great, but I just like the name!  If you’re in the area, take a drive up the mountain, look around and have a drink at Jack’s.  I really like the vibe of the mountain and the homes and scenery are beautiful.  We took Finlay out for a stroll with his best friend, Rugby, who lives next door.

There are a lot of trails for hiking or walking or just letting the dogs run free!

 

The colours are absolutely stunning at this time of year and yes that is a snake we saw!

 

There are also many deer roaming around!

Picking Pumpkins

Michell’s Farm is a sixth generation family run farm including a pumpkin patch!  Look at all the pumpkins!  This was my second time at the Pumpkin Patch and each of us picked out one!

 

Gin Distillery

We headed up to Sidney to do the tour & tasting at the Gin Distillery.  Nancy had heard that there is a gin that turns pink so we had to investigate.  The tour was $7 CAD each and interesting.

There is a gin that turns pink!  It is the Empress 1908 Gin and mixed with tonic or citrus changes from deep indigo to soft pink.

 

The Rumrunner Pub

After the gin tasting, food was needed so we popped in next door for the Wild Salmon & Corn Chowder.  It is $7.50 for a cup or $9.50 for a bowl with focaccia bread.  It is very, very good at The Rumrunner.  The pub is located on the waterfront and it’s very relaxing to sit back and enjoy a meal and the view!

GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon

The half-marathon started at 8:00 am on Sunday.  This could be considered too early.  But was this a half-marathon or the best girlfriend catch-up session ever?  Nancy and I have been friends for 40 years and at this point we’re family.  We walked the 21.1 km, so we had hours to chat!  Between living in different cities and social media, those hours long conversations that you have with your girlfriends are very rare.  We made up for it.  I did run parts of it, but with a twinge of embarrassment must note that my run (which is very slow) was on par with Nancy’s fast walk.  We rocked though and completed the half!

The GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon is a beautiful course.  This is the 2nd half that I’ve done here and I’ll be back!  There were ~ 8,000 people participating and 1,500 volunteers!

 

 

Thanksgiving Day

Monday, October 9 is Thanksgiving Day in Canada, but we celebrated it on Sunday.  I indulged with turkey and after moving my body 21.1 km, I earned it!  I won’t bore you with all the exercise, cardio and healthy eating I’ve been doing lately.  It’s just lots of sweat and green stuff and Starbucks tea.

I love Thanksgiving Dinner – both turkey and ham.  The highlight for me is dessert, specifically Costco Pumpkin Pie.  Given a choice between sex or pie, today I choose pie!

 

Victoria is a very beautiful city with many, many different things to do.  I’ve only touched on a couple of the off the beaten path activities to enjoy, there is so much more!

---

Links

• GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon
• Victoria Gin
• The Rumrunner Pub
• Michell’s Pumpkin Patch
• Bear Mountain

Canada