Matt and I didn’t have high expectations for Victoria. It was the last stop on the cruise, and we didn’t even get to port until after dinner. We even considered staying on board and going to bed early…good thing we didn’t.
A little background info about Matt before we get into the Victoria details. He grew up sailing, surfing, working on cars, flying (he has his license), and programing computers. When asked what he would want to do if he could have any job in the world, he says he would sail. It is the past time he misses the most and has the highest hope of returning to. For our actual anniversary this year, I rented a sail boat for the day, stole him away from work, and we cruised around on Lake Lanier. When I grew up, we had a few different boats, but they were always power boats. Matt isn’t a big fan of power boats. You see, he didn’t just sail, he raced the sail boats as well. I went on a few races with him while we were dating, and it is pretty intense. I am used to going on boats to relax and tan. Not Matt…it is an intentional, thought provoking process. So who is more serious about this? Matt, duh. Obviously, if we ever buy a boat, it will be a sail boat.
All of that being said, Matt has a great appreciation for sailing, and sail boats. He has high esteem for the craftsmanship and dedication it takes to own and keep up one of these gems. It just so happened that Victoria was having its 35 Classic Boat Festival. AWESOME!
Love this shot because it is a different perspective. Generally when people take pictures of sail boats, they include the whole boat. By chopping the shot in half and just capturing the mast and the sails, you still get the idea of a sail boat, but with a much better picture.
The Empress Hotel is very famous for its afternoon tea. Apparently you have to make reservations weeks in advance and it costs about 60.00 a person. We walked around the tea room and saw all of the sandwiches, scones, and treats they had. It looked delicious!
Here we are…not my favorite picture of us but I thought I’d put it up. The Empress is behind us. There was this really cool craft fair going on at the docs. I love handmade goodies and I love supporting locals, so we ended up going a little Christmas shopping.
We didn’t see the chalk artist, but he had few things on the sidewalk. This was fun because it captured the boat festival. Victoria is a romantic city and we had a blast there. It was probably our second favorite place on our cruise. Who knew?!? We walked around a lot and we tried different foods (including chocolate) that the city is famous for. It was great.
Here is another piece by the chalk artist. There was a sign where I am standing that said, “Stand here and take a picture and it will look 3D.” So, I did it….hmmm…not quite…maybe if you squint. lol Still, pretty cool!
C-3PO (the gold robot from Star Wars) was actually a guy we saw in Seattle. I had to put these side by side because when we were in Victoria we saw Darth…playing a violin none the less. Too funny! Maybe if our next trip is to NYC we will see R2D2 and Princess Leia….
FAVORITE SHOT ALERT! Oh. My. Beautifulness. I love this! Love, love LOVE this! This is literally what we were seeing at this moment. The sun was setting in romantic Victoria and we were watching a real life painting. The blues and the purples here are just gorgeous. Who knew that we would enjoy this stop so much? Who knew that there would be this amazing boat festival? Who knew that we would see one of the most beautiful sunsets ever?!? God did! Thank you for such a precious memory! Just heavenly!
Our last shot is the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. We did not get to go inside because it was closed, but the view from the outside was breath taking. The lights at night were another enchanting part of this city. Our only regret is that we did not get to spend as much time in Victoria as we would have hoped. That’s okay because we will be back some day….it was just too captivating to never return.
Overall, our Alaskan adventure was the trip of a lifetime. We have been many places together over our five year marriage. We have enjoyed many vacations. This by far was the best of them all. Just dreaming about our future and our family, I get excited to think about what God has planned. Can you imagine?!? This much fun and this much love, and it’s only the beginning. I am so incredibly blessed!
