Lest We... Uhh ... I Forgot: Remembering Remembrance Day

We went to Sidney to check out Laura's marching and all the Remembrance Day Festivities. Cousin Jacob, in uniform, was doing a lot of saluting as we paid our dues. A Sea King Helicopter made a low fly by during the moment of silence. That was pretty cool.

It was nice to spend Remembrance Day with two people in service and see this day from 'the military point of view'.

A Where's Waldo Kinda Game: Can you spot Laura in the marching picture?

Autumn In Victoria

Autumn in Victoria is truly a strange and unnatural Autumn.

It is long.
It started to show its first signs at the end of September. In October, it was in full swing and as I write this today bright yellow leaves still cling to the scrawny birch outside our window although most of the leaves have fallen.

It is rainy.
The summers in Victoria are dry. In July, August, and September the grass stops growing and turns a soft yellow and brown. The beginning of Autumn in Victoria means the start of the rain again. It has rained everyday for at least the last 2 weeks.

It is green.
With all of the rain the grass springs to life in vibrate, fresh tones of green that we don't even see in prairie springtimes. The contrast of bright green grass littered with vibrant yellow and red fallen leaves is so beautiful yet strange and so unnatural.

For the most part we have enjoyed this type of fall although we have both worked long weeks and overcame the midterm hurdle.

As you can see the old heritage home that we rent was for sale and was sold in just a few weeks. Also, the young couple that rented the front suite moved back to Toronto. Educated and with a newborn baby they just couldn't find stable, full time employment with their Psych Degrees. There seems to be a lifeless vacuum left behind from their departure. The energy of a newborn baby seemed to radiate through the wall separating our suites. With their departure there is also a quiet peace.

This peace I revel in now as I type these words. Staring out the window at the scrawny birch outside dropping its yellow leaves on the bright green grass below.

Autumn in Victoria is truly a strange and unnatural Autumn.

Our Own Thanksgiving With Cousin Jacob and Laura

It was fun putting together our own Thanksgiving meal. Normally, we just eat it but never prepare it. It had a whole different meaning this year. Besides, it was our first Thanksgivng in 4 years that we spent back in Canada!

Our menu was ridiculous!

Matt & Alissa made: An autumnal goat brie, Auntie Brenda's traditional cream corn, anju pear baked rutabagas, harvest sugar beets, mashed sweet potatoes and Japanese noodle salad.

Jacob & Laura made: savory pumpkin seeds, herb stuffed turkey, spicy sausage stuffing, the gravey, and homemade pumpkin pie.

A few friends came by and partook in the feast!

Happy Late Halloween!!!

5 Eateries, A Castle, and A Lot of Conversation and Good Times with Fuchs and Cori

Fuchs and Cori made it down at the start of the month. The weather was just under 20 degrees and we didn't hesitate to take advantage of the clear sunny skies.

Starving from a long (not that long) trip from the mainland we stopped at Canoe Pub. Our food was late but we manged to sample all of their house microbrewed beer during the wait (how convenient). The view of the marina was chill on such a nice sunny afternoon.

From there we went back to our place and where we drank and ate more. After 'feeling it' we headed down to Fernwood pub in Fernwood. It's located in a 100 year old inn. Very chummy, very local feel.

We finished a few drinks there before heading down to Irish Times Pub. Ole' Irish Times is located downtown in the old Victoria Fort built in the late 1800s. We listened to live Irish music while making hard choices with the longest draft beer list in town.

The band went off stage and we stumbled out of there to the posh, D.J spinning Sauce. We chowed down on some appies in this very, Victora-like-Earls. We decided to leave and try to make it into our favorite cocktail bar, The Mint, before the end of the night. With the DJ spinning relaxing grooves, we just squeezed into a spot just before last call.

Bottoms up to a epic night in Victoria that will be hard to top!
We quelled our hangovers with a trip to Spinakers late next morning. They make all of their own beer and wine and the food is mostly local. The view is even better than the food! We decided to walk the harbour path our way back to inner harbour. One of the highlights of the trip was watching three Sea Otters just meters away, chowing down on some shellfish. They were so close it was unreal! We caught a cab in front of the Fairfield Hotel to Craigdarroch Castle (by the look of Fuchs in the picture he was still hungover).

It was a fun celebration of our resent engagements! An amazing 24 hours with the Fuchs'!

James Bay Art Walk, Classic Boat Fest, and Great Canadian Beer Fest

The James Bay Art Walk at the start of September was awesome. Alissa and I both agree that it was our best morning in Victoria thus far.

The local artists of James Bay open there homes and studios to the public to display and sell their art. The houses were marked with brightly painted yellow shoes and they were all within a walking distance of each other.

It was super cool to drink coffee and chat with the artists in their ridiculously gorgeous homes.

On our way back we checked out the Classic Boat Festival in Inner Harbour from a far.

The next weekend was the Great Canadian Beer Festival . Cousin Jacob managed to wrangle up some free tickets to this mega popular and difficult to get into event.

It features ONLY microbreweries from around the globe. No big names here. No wine, no coolers, just the real deal!

Brooklyn Brewery- Pennant 55 Ale (USA), Farmhand- Cellar Dweller Cast Conditioned Ale (Victoria), Steamworks Brewing- Great Pumpkin Ale (Vancouver), Salt Springs Island Ales- Golden Ale (Salt Spring Island).

There were probably more that we liked but the night kinda got out of hand...

Graeme's Visit To Victoria!

Before we meander onto PEI were are going to fill you in on what we've been up to since we got back...

Really its been mainly school and work but we managed to squeeze a few fun times in.

Graeme came down for a few days at the end of August and we got silly like old times.

Meandering In The Maritimes: Downtown Halifax Harbour

We were totally choked that Theodore Tugboat was hiding from Hurricane Bill.

Meandering In The Maritimes: The Alexander Keiths Brewery Tour

The tour took place in the same old building used by Keith a hundred years ago. The Keith's Brewery has the bragging rights to the oldest working brewery in North America. The tour was more of a full out production with the guides playing the part of characters from long ago. Singing, sipping, gambling (sort of), and a bit of learning. It was a real fun time!

Meandering In The Maritimes: Hurricane Bill A Bust

A few branches on the road, a few power lines down...

No biggie.

Meandering In The Maritimes:The Wedding Part IV: Mini Golf, Bull Riding, Dancing, And, Of Course, Lots Of Drinking