Summer snaps – day twenty!

Today was our last day in Victoria, and it’s my last full day in Canada too! My parents are staying an extra day to run some errands with my sister. I’m so excited to get home and see my husband and cats and get back to regular life, but traveling is so exciting, and I’ll miss my family! We hadn’t been all together since December, so it was long overdue. (Note – Ben would have come too but since he changed his name after the wedding, he hadn’t started the passport application process in time. He was missed!!!)

We had a busy day again – brunch, coffee shops, visiting the Royal British Columbia Museum, more coffee shops, touring a castle, even more coffee shops, the ferry ride back to Vancouver, and a birthday dinner for my sister. Big kudos to my dad for doing all of the driving on this crazy short trip, and for always stopping for more coffee.

I’m suuuuuuuper tired and have to re-pack with all of my acquired (coffee) goodies before my early start at the airport tomorrow, so it’s not the full travel picture dump like usual. Just a little peek into my day:

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The view from the Craigdarroch Castle of Victoria
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Attempting to pack all of my coffee and tea…

Summer snaps – day nineteen

I started the morning off with a bright cup of coffee and a delicious muffin at a coffee shop, Elysian Coffee, by our hotel in Vancouver, and ended the day with a sunset walk along the water in Victoria. #hashtagblessed.

In all seriousness, though, this has been a beautiful short trip. I’m so grateful to get to see so much of the world around me and spend time with my family while I do it.

We took the ferry (with our car!) out to Victoria today, which is the capital of British Columbia. It was a gorgeous day, and the clouds cleared as our ferry scooted through the islands towards Victoria. The downtown here is bright and bustling, with lots to see and lots to do. We did a bunch of walking around the city area, ate lunch on a patio overlooking the inner harbor, explored the shops (and found a bookstore and many coffee shops, as per usual), and took an evening stroll through a different part of the city to the cliff walk by the water. The sun was setting on the bay, and you could even see across the water to the daunting snow-capped mountains. We’ve got another packed day planned for tomorrow, as we leave Victoria and head back to Vancouver in the evening to celebrate my sister’s birthday. I leave Vancouver on Tuesday, which is WAY TOO SOON!!!

And a very happy Father’s Day to this wonderful dad!!!

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Summer snaps – day eighteen

Vancouver day two! It was a super rainy and cloudy day, but we made the most of it and explored our way all over the city. Highlights include: the Granville Island Public Market, looking at cruise ships at Canada Place (and enjoying the fact that there are towns called Moose Factory and Moonbeam in Canada), getting bubble tea, almost going to a cat cafe (too full! sad!), driving around Stanley Park, visiting the Vancouver art museum and seeing a Picasso exhibit, finding some tasty restaurants, and getting lots of lattes. Luckily, my family understand my need to stop at almost every coffee shop! I’ve been so coffee-obsessed ever since I started working as a barista.

It’s been a great trip so far – tomorrow we’re driving/ferrying out to Victoria, and I have no idea what to expect!

Summer snaps – day seventeen

VANCOUVER!

That’s just about all I can type about my day right now – travel and time changes and new places have just about zapped all of the energy out of me. Lots more to come about the trip itself! I’m so glad to be with my family right now and finally see where my sister has been living for graduate school since August!

(Also, I was pretty sure I posted this last night but it turns out that I fell asleep with my laptop open and my fingers on the keyboard, according to my sister. Whoops!!!)