October 2012
Fall is in the air
Grandparents House for Thanksgiving
You know the park you always drive past, but
have never stopped in to visit? Rithet's Bog is an example
of such a park for me. It's close to the highway where I
turn off for my parents house I have memories of people skating on
pond in the winter - but I have never actually stopped by to take
a look. This trip we remedied that situation.
The Bog is pretty much the opposite of the Camosun Bog in
Vancouver - Camosun bog is tiny and you walk over it on a
boardwalk. Rithets bog is quite large (it took us two hours
to walk around it) and the trails don't take you into the
bog. It's the end of a very dry summer so we didn't see much
water, or the frogs I wanted to find, but we did have a good time
walking through the various plant zones.
One of my favorite places growing up in Victoria was Cordova Bay -
I could walk there from my house. Even with the tide fully
in, there is lots of beach to enjoy a walk on.
Another favorite haunt for me in Mount
Doug Park. Again, you travel through different bio zones on
your trip - the bottom of the mountain is Douglas Fir - as you get
higher up you see more Arbutus and at the top there is small grove
of Gary Oak's. When the light is right it is a magical place
to watch the sun go down. Taking Nara up is a bit of a
challenge because she doesn't have good insight on the potential
for falls.
My favorite reason for going over to
Victoria is the time hanging out with family. Vancouver
always seems to so busy - small spaces and lots to do.
Victoria is a just a little slower and since it's a vacation, I
don't have as much to do. Thanks Mom and Dad for having us
over!
Sonia and Kevin's Wedding
Of the cousins on my Mothers side, Sonia is
the third to get married - the most recent marriage after
mine. It's been a few years since the last wedding and
everyone was attending so we were really lucky that the even took
place in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, Helen was fighting
a wicked cough so she didn't get to attend.
The wedding ceremony took place early in the afternoon at Heritage
Hall - a graceful stone building that was once the Post
Office. The main floor has high ceilings which Sonia has
filled with curtains and lighting and arbor for the ceremony.
The ceremony was sweet and brief.
The Officiant had a few funny stories to tell and Kevin and Sonia
had made up their own vows. Sonia did a way better job
delivering her vows - you could tell Kevin was nervous and
emotional. Lots of paper signing and we were done!
After the service, a bunch of family went to Denny's for a late
lunch / afternoon snack. I took Nara home for a well
deserved nap and brought Claira out to see people.
Back home again, switch kids and back to
Heritage hall for the reception.
The hall had been
transformed for the evening dinner and events. There was a
large bar setup on one end and buffet style dinner was close
by. I was lucky to arrive just as our table was called so Nara
and I had dinner without a wait. I especially liked the
perogies.
After dinner we had a
few speeches (Kevin's friend from Ireland was especially funny - I
enjoyed his "opposites" observation. "Kevin Burns Houses" is a
great name for Kevin's company). The wedding cake was
beautiful.
This was a long day for Marcus and James
(who didn't get a nap in) so they headed out earlier in the
evening. The kids were having a great time playing, but you
could tell they would crash as soon as the car ride home started.
Nara and I stayed to see the start of the dancing. Again,
Kevin and Sonia had put in the time in preparation and had a
special opening dancing. The dancing showed off Sonia's
dress and their considerable time spent practicing.
Nara was running out of energy and I had a sick wife at
home. I grabbed a few cookies for the wife and headed
home. Thanks Sonia and Kevin for inviting us!
Tags: wedding(4), Mount Douglas(3), dancing(3), atmospheric perspective(2), Cordova Bay(2), stairs(2)
People: Nara(7), Sonia(3), Kevin(3), Marcus(3), James(3), Lexi May(3)
From: John Harvey Photo > Blogs for 2024 to 2005 > October 2012
Last Modified Sunday, January 29th, 2023 at 21:53:31 Edit
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