And an angel's kiss in spring. My summer wine is really made from all these things." These are the lyrics of a Lee Hazelwood song and came to me as I thought of how we spent our summer feasting on strawberries and cherries. British Columbia is famous for its fruit and we enjoyed both local and Okanagan produce while in Victoria. Once a week, we'd stop at Galey Farms for strawberries which we missed when we had to return to Calgary at the end of July.But after three weeks in Calgary, we were again on the road to British Columbia. Our motel in Salmon Arm was booked solid so I book in the newly built Best Western in Sicamous. We had to take a more expensive room but "beggars can't be choosers". It had its own jacuzzi and a modern walk-in shower. Sicamous is billed the houseboat capital of Canada and whenever we have driven over its bridge, you can see the reason why -- there are always houseboats coming or going. Access to the Shuswap Lakes begins in Sicamous if one drives in from the West and it's the place most rent their boats. Over 200 houseboats are leased out throughout the summer but the lake is also home to other water sports including fishing, water-skiing, and wind-surfing.
Next door to our hotel was Joe Schmuck's Roadhouse, a restaurant associated with a small motel and campground. It was a hot night when we arrived so sat out on their patio. They had set up an industrial fan to cool us while we enjoyed deep fried dill pickles and chicken wings, washed down with Mt. Begbie's Attila the Honey Ale.
Back in Victoria, we returned to our weekly routine of golfing at Mt. Doug with Janny on Tuesdays and Cedar Hill on Thursdays. I still limped with my sore knee but icing it daily allowed me to play golf and by the time we left, I improved my score.
We decided instead celebrating our 42nd anniversary on one day (August 25th), we'd spread it out over a weekend. So Friday we went to Finest at Sea and bought some oysters and mussels for supper. Saturday, we spent time at the driving range then had a lovely meal at The Marina restaurant in Oak Bay. I had Tuna Tataki as a starter and Glen had Duck Confit. Both were delicious. The Chef's special was halibut done to perfection. We had a window table and so could admire all the boats in the harbour.
Sunday, we headed west to China Beach (see photo). We left early and were lucky enough to get a parking spot (after a brief detour into the campground by mistake). If you go, it's best to get to the beach before lunch during the summer otherwise, you may not get parked. It's an hour and half drive from the condo but well worth the effort. Part of Juan de Fuca provincial park, the beach stretches for a kilometre or so. There is no swimming due to 'rogue' waves but for wading and walking along its sand, it's perfect. We spent an hour and a half on the beach (you reach it after 15 minute walk through old growth forest) and returned to the parking lot just as a park volunteer arrived. He encouraged us to give a donation to the park's upkeep. We then drove to our favourite restaurant in Sooke, The Stickleback Eatery. We enjoyed the patio right next to the inlet where many come to rent kayaks and canoes. I had a smoked chicken club and Glen a pulled pork, macaroni and cheese sandwich. We enjoyed a couple of Stickleback Lagers and lingered until mid afternoon. The eatery is a family dining experience and we had discovered it with our grandkids a couple of years ago (see Sooke, Puke and Spit)
Monday was our actual anniversary and Glen had booked a tee time at Cordova Bay Golf Course. We were paired up with another couple (a rare occurrence), Janet and Mike. They were members so could help us navigate the course. It was a lovely experience. We rented a cart to ensure we didn't hold up other golfers but we didn't need to worry. The course organizes its tee times 15 minutes apart so as one group finishes putting the next is teeing off.
The next day, after golfing with Janny, we met Tony and Diane and drove out to the Blues Bayou Café. By this time, I couldn't look at another large lunch so had a small bowl of Gator Gumbo and the fried green tomatoes appetizer. Glen had his usual of crab cakes and Big Easy Melt. The cafe's patio is on stilts over the water of the bay and for the first time, we were able to enjoy eating outside on it.
By this time, my knee had had enough golfing but I still wanted to hit that white ball around so we headed to the Ridge to practise putting. We bumped into Janny and Robert and enjoyed coffee with them. A couple of days later, we had another coffee date with a Calgary friend, Monica, this time at Serious Coffee on Oak Bay Ave. Very good conversation and excellent Chai Tea latté. Serious Coffee is a Vancouver Island success story which began in 1994 in Duncan (up island).
I had hoped to do letterboxing this summer especially when I discovered a group of dedicated boxers from the US had planted several in Beacon Hill Park. As the summer moved into fall, Glen and I did a trek to the park and found two of the boxes. We also planted one of mine giving me a total of 10 boxes.
In 1882, Victoria created the park (62 acres) as a recreational oasis within the city. The Hudson's Bay Company had erected two beacons on Brotchie Ledge (a submerged reef near Victoria's harbour entrance) which gave the park its name. Apparently, Captain William Brotchie ran his ship into the reef so the HBC named it after him.
Two thousand trees and shrubs were planted in the landscaped area of Beacon Hill Park but much was also devoted to native Garry Oak meadows (now protected as they are an endangered species). Paths crisscross the park and a flag pole dominates the hill. That's where we were headed and emerged from the dry grass meadow to a wonderful view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
After finding the boxes and doing some photography, we had lunch at The Beagle on Cook Street. I had an delicious fisherman's stew with mussels, shrimp, halibut, and salmon while Glen had fish and chips. We drank Thirsty Beaver Ale made by the Tree Brewing Company from Kelowna, BC.
The following day we were back at Cedar Hill for our last golf game in Victoria. We weren't paired up and so relaxed and had one of our best games. Glen broke 100 so we celebrated by going to Smuggler's Cove. I had French onion soup and mussels while Glen had their cheesy sandwich special. The server remembered us and asked who had won our golf game. Turns out she had just taken up golf and played the Ridge. We encouraged her to try Cedar Hill.
On our final day in Victoria we met Diane and Tony for afternoon tea at Adrienne's Tea Garden on Mattick's Farm. Bill Mattick was from Saskatchewan and after working farms in the Victoria area decided to go out on his own. He created a market to sell his produce then added a tea room to the building (Cordova Bay and The Ridge golf courses are also on the farm's property). Diane and I had scones and Devonshire cream while Glen and Tony enjoyed ice cream. None of us had tea although I came close with my chai tea latté. We sat on the patio to enjoy the warm sunny day.
We were up early on Sunday to get the condo cleaned and last minute items packed. We wanted to catch the 11:00am ferry. As we paid for our ticket, they advised us to stay in the car as we could board at any time. Turns out the 10:00 sailing didn't sail. When the Vancouver ferry arrived, those who were waiting for the 10:00 ferry we boarded then they began adding the 11 o'clock lines. We crept forward until they stopped us. We'd be first in line for the 12:00 sailing. I was disappointed but that's what happens sometimes. Then they waved us forward. We were the penultimate car on the ferry and had to park sideways to fit.
We stayed in Salmon Arm with plans to golf at Shuswap golf course the next day. While eating breakfasts, we received a text from Meg saying it was snowing in Calgary. We decided to head straight home. We drove through some torrential rain until we reached Lake Louise. After having lunch at the Mountain Restaurant (mountain burger, Glen and chicken burger, me), we left as the snow began. At times it was pretty hairy driving as no one, including us, had snow tires but we made it home safe and sound. We met Meg at Scotman's Well for supper. I had chicken gumbo soup, Glen, meatball sliders and Meg had mussels and potato skins (which she shared).
The snow fell for three days and the temperatures hovered around the freezing mark. A very abrupt end to summer!!
