Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Drinks with friends at the Penny Farthing to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!

Tonight I baked a batch of lemon cranberry scones

While Kyle watched the hockey game

Gowlland Tod Highland Trails

The second time we tried to conquer one of the Gowlland Tod Highland Trails, we chose a steep route to the hilltop summit.  The trail wasn't very long, but we knew it would be tough.  Add to that the rain, mud, slippery rocks and very low cloud coverage that made any views nearly impossible... well, it wasn't our best hike.  But we made it to the summit (as evidenced by the above picture of Kyle and Keora) and had a very fast picnic lunch at the top before making our way back town the trail. It took almost three hours total, and I was pretty proud of us for making it all the way to the top.  Gowlland Tod has tons of trails - Maybe we'll wait and try this particular one again in the summer when the weather is better!

Island Anniversary

March 3rd marks a whole year that I've been living on Vancouver Island. Kyle and I arrived to our new home from our Costa Rica holiday twelve months ago, and we celebrated this milestone by having a cookout dinner with good friends and fun kids.

Parker and Ty ready for a ride to collect wood.

Like father, like son.  Jordan shows his boy how to roast hot dogs over the fire.

Me: Enjoying the chilly air and warm fire.  Tria: Not so much.

 Kyle enjoys dinner by the fire.

Bonfire baby.  Get used to it, Tria - We do this a lot in the summer!

Tria

Tria is three and a half months old, and a very happy little girl. 

Lately she is smiley every time I go visit her!

Gowlland Tod Highland Trails

Even though this Sunday was rainy and overcast, we set out for a hike with Keora to beat a case of cabin fever.  Gowlland Tod trails are pretty close to home, and we spent a couple of hours exploring one of many trails in the park.

 

 

The landscape by the water was gorgeous.

Keora spent a while running around on the beach.

 

 We got to the beach at low tide, and got to see the hundreds of mussels attached to the rocks.

 Kyle and Keora had a great time playing fetch - She kept running in and out of the water like the cold didn't bother her one bit!

 

This waterfall was near the bottom of a steep climb back to the start of the trail.

This isn't even the steep part!  My legs were hurting pretty bad by the time we reached the top!

Blending into my surroundings.

Kyle gives Keora a quick pat down before we head home.

 I think she had a good time!

Birds of a Feather Bed and Breakfast

When I left the Ontario Hospital Association my colleagues gave us a gift certificate for a local bed and breakfast as a wedding gift.  We finally got around to using it for an anniversary celebration.

After hiking at East Sooke Park we headed over to check in.

This place caters to vacationers, and the room had a big selection of local area maps. This one was especially informative.  Kyle says "so THAT'S how to get to Whistler!"

There was a telescope in the room, which was actually really neat for checking out the great view of Esquimalt Lagoon and Harbour.

 

We checked in rather early in the afternoon, so we decided to splurge on a movie and dinner out at a local restaurant called My Chosen in a town called Metchosin. 

We enjoyed a bottle of champagne when we got back to the B&B - In the lovely plastic wine glasses that were provided in the room.

 Kyle took some long-shutter photos of the lagoon when it got dark - The view was gorgeous!