Hello there.
I have a confession to make.
You know that whole surprise-summer-vacation-thing that I do for my family every year and that tons of you have told me you love reading about because you enjoy being surprised too?
Well, we're not going to do it this summer.
No, no, please don't cry.
You see, the reason we're not going to do it this summer is because...
...we did it over Spring Break instead!
That's right! Any anticipation that you felt building up over the issue is about to dissipate. Any curiosity shall now be quelled.
Why did we do it now instead of later? A combination of reasons, really. First of all, it's difficult for Jeff to get time off of work in July and August because that's when everyone wants time off. Also, between the kids having summer camps, Tobias wanting to go on a mission trip and have a job, it looked like it might be difficult for us to all have a week together when we could go.
Thus...the timing.
There was one other difference this year about the whole surprise trip: Jeff knew the "where", or at least one of them. Although most years, neither he nor the kids have any idea where we're going, how we're getting there, who we'll see or what we're going to do, there was some reason (which I can't even remember now!) that I felt compelled to discuss the destination with him a few months back when I bought the tickets.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you this year's surprise vacation:
Read the next post, silly. :)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Day 1
Here's our yearly we're-about-to-pull-out-of-the-garage-and-begin-our-merry-tale shot:
The very first stop we made was not by my choice.
If you don't know how I feel about doughnuts, click HERE.
The kids did not share my hesitation at beginning the day with such confections.
Chunky waistlines and jiggling thighs come in all shapes and sizes:
The first one's free:
Once those empty calories were consumed and on their way to fortify our lipid cells (and yes, I did have several bites), we set out for the long term airport parking.
In the past, this has meant either one of two things to my waiting-to-be-surprised family: A) We're about to get on a plane or B) We're going to park our car, go rent another car to drive somewhere and then fly back home.
This time around the kids had no idea which of the two was the case as they rode on the shuttle to the terminal.
I LOVE these quadruplets. Aren't they handsome?
Air time:
The following shot wasn't actually taken on this trip, but it's just too cool to not include with all of these from-the-air pics. Have you ever seen an aerial of Yosemite?
Well, now you have. That's the backside of El Capitan in the high center and Half-Dome to the left of the center.
Once we landed in WASHINGTON (that was the big reveal in case you didn't catch it) we headed straight for the first of MANY beauty spots.
I know it's hard to believe, but this place is within city limits. Amazing, no?
Suddenly, something began to pull at our stomach-strings, so we heeded the call and went to...
Does that say Man Pies? Why, yes it does.
This, my friends...
...is a Man Pie, a seasoned veggie Man Pie to be precise.
In England, savory pies are a staple food. Some guy wanted to bring the delectable experience to the great northwest so he opened Man Pies, and we are so glad he did. To this date, I've tried the lamb, roast chicken, beef and veggie and they are all excellent, especially the chicken and veggie.
The fillings are delightfully filling and the crust is scrumptious.
It seems that only cute girls work there. After Tobias's first visit, he concurred.
Here's a pretty young woman with a pie:
Here's another one who is actually in the process of making a pie:
She fills pastry with an undeniable eclat that few could muster.
Mm, mm, mm...I heart Man Pies.
That evening saw us visiting with our Washingtonian friends who prefer to remain unnamed.
My kids were invited to join their daughters (henceforth known as: the Elder and the Younger) at a martial arts class that night. Delaney declined, but Tobias donned his most appropriate garments and got ready to sweat.
I know he looks like Harry Potter casting a spell, but it really was a martial arts move.
He also got to step into a harness with the help of the Elder and attempt a back flip:
A full day, no? We slept well which was good because we needed lots of rest for Day 2.
The very first stop we made was not by my choice.
If you don't know how I feel about doughnuts, click HERE.
The kids did not share my hesitation at beginning the day with such confections.
Chunky waistlines and jiggling thighs come in all shapes and sizes:
The first one's free:
Once those empty calories were consumed and on their way to fortify our lipid cells (and yes, I did have several bites), we set out for the long term airport parking.In the past, this has meant either one of two things to my waiting-to-be-surprised family: A) We're about to get on a plane or B) We're going to park our car, go rent another car to drive somewhere and then fly back home.
This time around the kids had no idea which of the two was the case as they rode on the shuttle to the terminal.
I LOVE these quadruplets. Aren't they handsome?
Air time:
The following shot wasn't actually taken on this trip, but it's just too cool to not include with all of these from-the-air pics. Have you ever seen an aerial of Yosemite?
Well, now you have. That's the backside of El Capitan in the high center and Half-Dome to the left of the center.Once we landed in WASHINGTON (that was the big reveal in case you didn't catch it) we headed straight for the first of MANY beauty spots.
I know it's hard to believe, but this place is within city limits. Amazing, no?
Suddenly, something began to pull at our stomach-strings, so we heeded the call and went to...
Does that say Man Pies? Why, yes it does.This, my friends...
...is a Man Pie, a seasoned veggie Man Pie to be precise.
In England, savory pies are a staple food. Some guy wanted to bring the delectable experience to the great northwest so he opened Man Pies, and we are so glad he did. To this date, I've tried the lamb, roast chicken, beef and veggie and they are all excellent, especially the chicken and veggie.
The fillings are delightfully filling and the crust is scrumptious.
It seems that only cute girls work there. After Tobias's first visit, he concurred.
Here's a pretty young woman with a pie:
Here's another one who is actually in the process of making a pie:
She fills pastry with an undeniable eclat that few could muster.
Mm, mm, mm...I heart Man Pies.
That evening saw us visiting with our Washingtonian friends who prefer to remain unnamed.
My kids were invited to join their daughters (henceforth known as: the Elder and the Younger) at a martial arts class that night. Delaney declined, but Tobias donned his most appropriate garments and got ready to sweat.
I know he looks like Harry Potter casting a spell, but it really was a martial arts move.
He also got to step into a harness with the help of the Elder and attempt a back flip:
A full day, no? We slept well which was good because we needed lots of rest for Day 2.
Day 2
Our second day started quite early because we had a border to cross...
...and a ferry to catch.
The ferry is an amazing form of transportation. Somehow, those cagey Canadians figured out a way to pack hundreds of cars onto one ship.
Our passage took about an hour and a half, so we left our car down below and got comfortable on the cushy passenger deck:
We took the time to go out on the open deck and feel the invigorating (AKA freezing) wind:
Okay, geography lesson time: Just as the country of the United States has states, the country of Canada has provinces. We drove from the U.S. state of Washington into the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Canadian city called Vancouver (not to be confused with the U.S. city of Vancouver in Washington) in British Columbia is on the mainland, but there is an island which is also part of British Columbia that is called Vancouver Island.
That island was our destination.
Once we landed there we drove to a place that my grandmother (remember Pretty Hazel?) said was the most beautiful place she had ever been.
I won't regale you with the 1oo year old history of this place. I'll just show you the pics we took:
I love me some trees:
...and some flowers:
...and some other plants, too:
Doesn't that second one look like a tree of rabbit feet?
What a crazy looking hedge, huh?
My little beauty amongst the beauty:
My family was particularly impressed with this fountain. If you look closely, you'll see the boar is "drooling":
We actually visited the Butchart Gardens a bit early in the year. When Spring has thoroughly invaded the place it is bursting with color, but I wasn't disappointed. As you can see, it was gorgeous enough.
When we had had our fill of flora for the day, we continued south to the city of Victoria where we would be spending the night.
I'm not much of one for cities but I must say that Victoria is probably the nicest city I've ever visited. It is beautiful, clean, easy to investigate, safe and the people are friendly.
This is the famous Empress Hotel:
...and these are the parliament buildings:
One funny thing about Canada are the "washrooms":
I guess it actually makes more sense than when we Americans refer to them as "restrooms" or "bathrooms" since we visit them neither to rest nor bathe. You truly do "wash" in them...or at least you should.
And, yes, we heard a lot of people ending sentences with "ay?". I chuckled every time which probably didn't do much for international relations.
I had to include this picture Jeff took at dinner because it's one of the very few in which Tobias is actually smiling!
One less-than-stellar thing about Canada were the portion sizes. Behold:
Although the above meal was positively delicious, I left the restaurant quite hungry. (I think they gave me more tartar sauce than coleslaw.) I consoled myself with the promise of a few bites of an ice cream covered Belgian delight, but once we walked back to a place we'd spied earlier called Wanna Waffle? we saw that they were closed! But we wanna waffle! It was only about 6:15 pm! What was going on? It was like the Canadians were conspiring to keep us from gaining weight on vacation.
Honestly though, there must be something to their eating habits because I didn't see any obese people anywhere. Seriously. Us gluttonous Americans could learn a thing or two from our neighbors to the north.
A few times, Jeff has been told that he bears a recognizable likeness to Bert. Here they are, together at last:
A funny phenomenon I've noticed in motels, both Canadian and American, is the tendency for the interior decorators to put two copies of the same print up in one room.
I guess they get a good deal on a piece and just go with it. I had to wonder if every single room in the motel had two copies of this print in them. Depending on the size of the place, that could be about 1000 copies!
No, I didn't lose sleep over it. I just fell asleep to the sounds of The First 48 Hours which Jeff was watching.
...and a ferry to catch.
The ferry is an amazing form of transportation. Somehow, those cagey Canadians figured out a way to pack hundreds of cars onto one ship.
Our passage took about an hour and a half, so we left our car down below and got comfortable on the cushy passenger deck:
We took the time to go out on the open deck and feel the invigorating (AKA freezing) wind:
Okay, geography lesson time: Just as the country of the United States has states, the country of Canada has provinces. We drove from the U.S. state of Washington into the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Canadian city called Vancouver (not to be confused with the U.S. city of Vancouver in Washington) in British Columbia is on the mainland, but there is an island which is also part of British Columbia that is called Vancouver Island.
That island was our destination.
Once we landed there we drove to a place that my grandmother (remember Pretty Hazel?) said was the most beautiful place she had ever been.
I won't regale you with the 1oo year old history of this place. I'll just show you the pics we took:
I love me some trees:
...and some flowers:
...and some other plants, too:
Doesn't that second one look like a tree of rabbit feet?
What a crazy looking hedge, huh?My little beauty amongst the beauty:
My family was particularly impressed with this fountain. If you look closely, you'll see the boar is "drooling":
We actually visited the Butchart Gardens a bit early in the year. When Spring has thoroughly invaded the place it is bursting with color, but I wasn't disappointed. As you can see, it was gorgeous enough.When we had had our fill of flora for the day, we continued south to the city of Victoria where we would be spending the night.
I'm not much of one for cities but I must say that Victoria is probably the nicest city I've ever visited. It is beautiful, clean, easy to investigate, safe and the people are friendly.
This is the famous Empress Hotel:
...and these are the parliament buildings:
One funny thing about Canada are the "washrooms":
I guess it actually makes more sense than when we Americans refer to them as "restrooms" or "bathrooms" since we visit them neither to rest nor bathe. You truly do "wash" in them...or at least you should.
And, yes, we heard a lot of people ending sentences with "ay?". I chuckled every time which probably didn't do much for international relations.
I had to include this picture Jeff took at dinner because it's one of the very few in which Tobias is actually smiling!
One less-than-stellar thing about Canada were the portion sizes. Behold:
Although the above meal was positively delicious, I left the restaurant quite hungry. (I think they gave me more tartar sauce than coleslaw.) I consoled myself with the promise of a few bites of an ice cream covered Belgian delight, but once we walked back to a place we'd spied earlier called Wanna Waffle? we saw that they were closed! But we wanna waffle! It was only about 6:15 pm! What was going on? It was like the Canadians were conspiring to keep us from gaining weight on vacation.
Honestly though, there must be something to their eating habits because I didn't see any obese people anywhere. Seriously. Us gluttonous Americans could learn a thing or two from our neighbors to the north.
A few times, Jeff has been told that he bears a recognizable likeness to Bert. Here they are, together at last:
A funny phenomenon I've noticed in motels, both Canadian and American, is the tendency for the interior decorators to put two copies of the same print up in one room.
I guess they get a good deal on a piece and just go with it. I had to wonder if every single room in the motel had two copies of this print in them. Depending on the size of the place, that could be about 1000 copies!
No, I didn't lose sleep over it. I just fell asleep to the sounds of The First 48 Hours which Jeff was watching.
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