Our trip out to the island was similar to those in the past stopping in Golden for lunch at the Whitetooth, staying at the Best Western in Salmon Arm, and enjoying the Hideaway Pub. We ate at Christies' Pub when we arrived in Victoria and met an Edmonton couple who had just found an apartment for their son who was attending the University of Victoria. It brought back a few memories of our first sojourn to the island.
Meg and Mike arrived for their holidays the day after Glen flew back from Québec. It was Mike's birthday so the next day we celebrated. First, they went to Shine Café for breakfast then we walked to the Ross Bay Cemetery. They found my letterbox, the Green Dragon (who was popular that week as it was found by 4 others) and visited Emily Carr's grave. We had lunch at the Ross Bay Pub where the food was excellent. I enjoyed a delicious vegetarian pizza and Meg's beef dip looked mouth-watering. We faced a TV screen and that's when I learned both Glen and Meg had become World Cup football fans. We drank an extra beer while watching the end of the game. That evening we went to Christies' to celebrate Father's Day and Mike's birthday.
Sunday, after M and M had a Shine Café breakfast (pierogy eggs benedict and monte cristo sandwich), they walked to Willows Beach. We followed about a half hour later and met then on their return. They headed to Pennyfarthing while we went to the butcher in Estevan. At the end of the beach, we met a couple we had golfed with a few years ago. He had had a heart attack and stroke the month before and was doing a short stroll. He'd have died had he not been so fit. Janny, his wife, needed to golf so we arranged to meet up with them.
Monday, Meg and Mike did their famous pub crawl (second iteration). They planned to begin at Bartholomew's Pub, but it was closed for renovations so they went to Smith's Pub instead, about a 45 minute walk from our condo. They then worked their way around Victoria, ending at a pub near the Belfry theatre (20 minute walk from our place). At each pub, they enjoyed one local beer. I've lost track of what they tasted but the pubs were The Sticky Wicket, Bard and Banker, Garrick's Head, Irish Times, Yates Street Taphouse, and the Fernwood Inn. It took them 7 hours so they also ate along the way. Meanwhile, Glen and I played golf at Mt. Doug and scored our personal best.
Tuesday was board game day for M and M at Interactivity Board Game Café (Glen had a teleconference that day) The café is an interesting gaming concept for people of all ages. You pay $5 and can play any of their 500 games for the entire day. Although they are not licensed, they do serve good food. M and M played 4 games and bought a couple (it's also a store).
We met them at The Tartan Toque for supper. This used to be a fish and chips restaurant (not very good) in Stadacona Centre. It is now an 'order at the front' place with excellent food and good beer. We each had their 'famous' wings and I requested mine in a sauce called 'inferno'. Usually the hottest wings are never hot enough for me but I met my match with these. I sweated so much my glasses fogged up. Very funny!
We met them at The Tartan Toque for supper. This used to be a fish and chips restaurant (not very good) in Stadacona Centre. It is now an 'order at the front' place with excellent food and good beer. We each had their 'famous' wings and I requested mine in a sauce called 'inferno'. Usually the hottest wings are never hot enough for me but I met my match with these. I sweated so much my glasses fogged up. Very funny!
Glen had to sit on a Master's defense on Wednesday so Meg, Mike, and I walked down to Gonzales Beach. We were taking the long way to a sushi restaurant on Oak Bay Ave. The beach was empty and the tide low so we explored the tidal pools. M and M had never walked Foul Bay Road so we took this winding street to Oak Bay Ave. Meg had researched the best sushi restaurants in Victoria and learned the best, on Fort Street, had suffered fire damage in April so the second best was Osaka Sushi. We had a huge Kirin beer (650ml) each, served with chilled juice glasses. It reminded me of the time I was in Tokyo and had returned to our hotel after walking around the Edo Castle grounds. I didn't feel like lunch so went to the hotel vending machine and bought a 500ml can of Kirin beer. It was my first 'liquid' lunch.
Sticking with the Asian theme, we walked to Chinatown on Thursday for dim sum at Don Mee's. This restaurant has served Victoria for 80 years and even though we arrived before noon, it was busy. It has become our tradition to eat lunch but order enough for supper. We finished full and happy because all our favourites appeared on the dim sum carts. I made hot and sour and egg-drop soups to augment our supper fare. We spent the afternoon playing Eldritch Horror, a complex, cooperative board game involving cards, dice, and strategy. It took 2 hours to play and we didn't 'beat the monster' until the third game (played on Saturday).
We were going to join Meg and Mike on their trip to the Royal BC Museum to see the 'Vikings' exhibit but Glen had a lab meeting so I opted to stay home, too. We were to meet them at The Beagle Pub on Cook Street for lunch. Glen's meeting went long so we ended up driving down instead of walking. Just as well since it was pouring rain when we finished our lunch (I had a delicious lamb burger). Neither Meg nor Mike had umbrellas as the morning had been fair.
Saturday we headed 'up the peninsula' to Brentwood Bay. Our friends had introduced us to Blues Bayou Café, a funky place with excellent New Orleans-type cooking. We arrived just as they opened and most of the tables sported reserved signs. We nabbed the last table for four inside and since it was raining, this was a lucky chance. Next time, we'll make reservations. I started with mussels (see photo) then had the Oyster Po'boy while Glen and Mike had the Big Easy Shrimp Melt. Meg ordered the Mississippi Seafood Cannelloni which looked delicious. Afterwards the rain had let up so we walked down the public dock to check out the eagles and geese.
Sunday was a lazy day. Meg decided that with packing etc, there was no point walking downtown to the Flying Otter for lunch (the final pub on her must-do list). Instead, she and Mike went to Christie's and watched the football game while enjoying the great food this pub offers. We drove them to the airport in time to check in and then eat at the new Spinnakers restaurant there.
We spent the next day doing laundry and cleaning house. You can't have four people living in a small apartment and not generate dirt. Tuesday, Canada Day, we were off to play golf with our Dutch friends, Janny and Robert. He was still not able to play so caddied for her. Noel joined us. He was also an immigrant (each came to Canada in the late 50s) but from Ireland. We had a great time golfing and I parred a hole I've never parred before (aways nice).
Wednesday, we met up with our British ex-pats at a Thai restaurant for lunch. It was a lovely day so we sat out on their patio. Thai Lemongrass served large Singha beer but instead of us each having our own 650ml bottle, our server filled our glasses from one before opening the next. True sharing. We also shared three plates of food and a bowl of coconut rice. Tony is not a fan of seafood so we had ginger lamb, chicken (mostly bamboo shoots) curry, and chicken and cashews. Diane wasn't well so ate very little. The placed closed its doors at 2:00 but they allowed us to chat until 2:30.
Thursday, we were off golfing at Cedar Hill. I was a bit nervous as I hadn't played the course in a while and we are often paired up with very good golfers. It was no different this time as Guy (a chef) and Mike (retired) joined us. However, I hit a nice drive off the first tee and almost hit the green on the second hole so I felt I could keep up with them. I did get stung by a bee while putting the second green which became quite painful on the third fairway. I had no first aid kit but hand sanitizer worked to cool the sting. I was fine after that and hit a personal best score when the round ended. We enjoyed a beer in the clubhouse with Mike who turned out to be a RMC classmate of Glen's brother-in-law, Randy. He also graduated from our alma mater, Carleton but 20 years after we did.
After a couple of days of doing chores, we decided to golf again. This time at the par 3 course, The Ridge. It was a dreary day Sunday which kept the crowds away. It rained partway through our round but it wasn't cold. It did make the sand wet so both Glen and I struggled getting our balls out of the bunkers. However, it was a good round with me getting 4 pars and a birdie and Glen getting 2 pars. We were working on our iron play so the pars were bonuses. We celebrated by heading 'up the peninsula' to Sidney. Our favourite pub, The Rumrunner, sits on the pier and gives us great views of the boats coming and going. We both had their crab and shrimp sandwich. Glen's salad was a DIY, the lettuce standing straight up in a curl of cucumber (see photo). I had roasted red pepper soup which was excellent. As well as great food and the view, we go to the Rumrunner for Dead Frog Nut Brown Ale. "Nothing goes down like a cold dead frog"! The brewery now sells some of their beer in Alberta Co-op stores so I'll check that out when we get back to Calgary.
That's been our summer so far. Stay tuned as the summer isn't over yet and perhaps we might get some sunny weather, too!
Sticking with the Asian theme, we walked to Chinatown on Thursday for dim sum at Don Mee's. This restaurant has served Victoria for 80 years and even though we arrived before noon, it was busy. It has become our tradition to eat lunch but order enough for supper. We finished full and happy because all our favourites appeared on the dim sum carts. I made hot and sour and egg-drop soups to augment our supper fare. We spent the afternoon playing Eldritch Horror, a complex, cooperative board game involving cards, dice, and strategy. It took 2 hours to play and we didn't 'beat the monster' until the third game (played on Saturday).
We were going to join Meg and Mike on their trip to the Royal BC Museum to see the 'Vikings' exhibit but Glen had a lab meeting so I opted to stay home, too. We were to meet them at The Beagle Pub on Cook Street for lunch. Glen's meeting went long so we ended up driving down instead of walking. Just as well since it was pouring rain when we finished our lunch (I had a delicious lamb burger). Neither Meg nor Mike had umbrellas as the morning had been fair.
Saturday we headed 'up the peninsula' to Brentwood Bay. Our friends had introduced us to Blues Bayou Café, a funky place with excellent New Orleans-type cooking. We arrived just as they opened and most of the tables sported reserved signs. We nabbed the last table for four inside and since it was raining, this was a lucky chance. Next time, we'll make reservations. I started with mussels (see photo) then had the Oyster Po'boy while Glen and Mike had the Big Easy Shrimp Melt. Meg ordered the Mississippi Seafood Cannelloni which looked delicious. Afterwards the rain had let up so we walked down the public dock to check out the eagles and geese.Sunday was a lazy day. Meg decided that with packing etc, there was no point walking downtown to the Flying Otter for lunch (the final pub on her must-do list). Instead, she and Mike went to Christie's and watched the football game while enjoying the great food this pub offers. We drove them to the airport in time to check in and then eat at the new Spinnakers restaurant there.
We spent the next day doing laundry and cleaning house. You can't have four people living in a small apartment and not generate dirt. Tuesday, Canada Day, we were off to play golf with our Dutch friends, Janny and Robert. He was still not able to play so caddied for her. Noel joined us. He was also an immigrant (each came to Canada in the late 50s) but from Ireland. We had a great time golfing and I parred a hole I've never parred before (aways nice).
Wednesday, we met up with our British ex-pats at a Thai restaurant for lunch. It was a lovely day so we sat out on their patio. Thai Lemongrass served large Singha beer but instead of us each having our own 650ml bottle, our server filled our glasses from one before opening the next. True sharing. We also shared three plates of food and a bowl of coconut rice. Tony is not a fan of seafood so we had ginger lamb, chicken (mostly bamboo shoots) curry, and chicken and cashews. Diane wasn't well so ate very little. The placed closed its doors at 2:00 but they allowed us to chat until 2:30.
Thursday, we were off golfing at Cedar Hill. I was a bit nervous as I hadn't played the course in a while and we are often paired up with very good golfers. It was no different this time as Guy (a chef) and Mike (retired) joined us. However, I hit a nice drive off the first tee and almost hit the green on the second hole so I felt I could keep up with them. I did get stung by a bee while putting the second green which became quite painful on the third fairway. I had no first aid kit but hand sanitizer worked to cool the sting. I was fine after that and hit a personal best score when the round ended. We enjoyed a beer in the clubhouse with Mike who turned out to be a RMC classmate of Glen's brother-in-law, Randy. He also graduated from our alma mater, Carleton but 20 years after we did.
That's been our summer so far. Stay tuned as the summer isn't over yet and perhaps we might get some sunny weather, too!
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