My friend Stuart, whom I work with, got married at the beginning of September. It was a small, family-only event, held at the family home near 100 Mile House (see our recent adventures...). He and his wife Jo, decided to hold a party/receptions for friends and family that couldn't make it to the wedding, and so last weekend we found ourselves on our way to Victoria on Friday night to spend the weekend celebrating their wedding!
We gambled on the ferry - no reservations - and won! The very last car on the ferry Friday afternoon!
We managed to get out of work a little bit early, and headed to the ferry in Tsawwassen to catch the ferry to Victoria. As it happened, another friend from work, Ben, was also on the ferry, so we chatted on the trip over.
Once across, we headed towards Victoria. Stuart and Jo had planned a little beach party Friday night, and we were early enough to catch the last bit of sunset, and got to hang out a bit on the beach. It was a nice night, and we even got away with having a fire once the sun set.
Some nice colour in the sunset that night.
We managed a nice fire on the beach that evening.
We hung out until a little after 9:00, when Justine and I decided to head out and get checked into our hotel. Justine managed to find us a place right downtown Victoria, which was nice. We got checked in, then headed down to the bar for some food and a few drinks, before calling it a night.
The next morning I let Justine sleep in, and went for a run along the water. It was a beautiful morning, and I was feeling not too bad. Running has been a bit tough of late, so I hope I'm turning a corner. After I got back, Justine got up and we found some breakfast at the pub next door. From there, it was time to explore!
The Phillips Brewery.
Our first stop was at MEC where Justine found a new coat, then we proceeded a few blocks up the road from the hotel, at the Phillips Brewery. Like the rest of BC, Victoria is going through a craft beer revolution, and Phillips was one of the originals. We sampled, then bought some beer, before heading back to the hotel to drop off our purchases.
The beautiful Inner Harbour at Victoria.
The Empress.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering Victoria. Its a beautiful little city, with lots to see. We spent some time near the museum, where they have a great totem pole display. Before too long it was time to head back to the hotel to get ready for the evening's festivities!
Totem poles outside the Royal Victoria Museum.
The Victoria Horticultural Centre, where the reception took place.
The Wedding Party
The wedding party was a lot of fun, with good friends, good food and great beer. As you might expect. It didn't go that late - about 10:30 and the venue had to throw us out - and we continued the party downtown, at a bar that's run by one of Stuart's friends. It ended up being a fun, late evening.
Sunday we got ourselves organized and headed home on the noon ferry. We made a stop at Reifel on the way home, but I'll cover that and the "Super Moon" on another post.
