Tea and Totem Poles

Dear Charlie and Polly,

Our last day in Victoria was very busy and very fun! We ate a late breakfast in the hotel dining room and then went across the street to the Royal British Columbia Museum. They have a wonderful display of totem poles from the Pacific northwest.



The totem poles were carved by the native people to describe their ancestors and to protect their homes from harm.

The museum has an awesome collection of Victoria totem poles.











This is a model of a Native American village with totem poles in front of the houses. It shows us how the totem poles were used in the Native American communities.

The museum also had interesting exhibits about animals that lived in this area thousands of years ago, like the mammoth...

and the American lion, which has been extinct for 11,000 years!



We left the museum in time to have afternoon tea in the Empress Hotel tea room. Having tea in the afternoon is a very British tradition!

We had tea...



...and all sorts of delicious treats!

Like fresh strawberries,

and cucumber sandwiches,

and little chocolate teacups filled with pudding,



and yummy checkerboard cake with pink icing!



After we finished tea, it was time to go to the ferry to head back to Seattle. Unlike our ferry trip to Victoria which was cloudy and rainy, our trip back to Seattle was sunny and beautiful!

The first thing we saw as we left Victoria was this cruise ship in the Victoria harbor. I thought it looked familiar, and as we got closer, I realized it was the Norwegian Pearl, the ship where Aunt Neely worked for six months in 2010. Doc and I took two cruises on the Pearl, and on the second one we even came to Victoria!



You two visited Aunt Neely on the ship when it was in port in Miami that year. Do you remember?

It was a beautiful day to travel back to Seattle, and as we approached the city we had a great view of Mount Ranier and the Space Needle.

Our boat docked in Seattle, we took a cab to our hotel, and we had dinner in a wonderful Italian restaurant. The next morning when we got up and looked out our window, guess what we saw? A beautiful view of Mt. Ranier! Can you see it in this picture?

We had a great trip, but are very happy to be home! We love you both very much!

Sweetie and Doc

Victoria: Day 2

Dear Charlie and Polly,

Look at this tree in front of our hotel...I think it looks like Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street?

What do you think?

Friday we spend most of the day walking around Victoria. We went to Fisherman's Wharf, which is where all the fishing boats come in and unload the fish they catch each day. We ate lunch at a little place called the The Fish Store.

The fish was fresh, fresh, fresh and delicious!

Doc had the salmon (surprise)!

And I had the halibut (yum)!

After lunch, we were walking around the wharf looking at the boats when we saw this...

A harbor seal!

He seemed very interested in the people standing around looking at him...

I wonder why?  :-)

As we walked around the wharf, we noticed these unusual houses floating on the water.

There is an entire community of floating houses here. Some of them look a lot like normal houses...

And some of them don't!

This one even had a guard outside the front door!

Some of them were big and green...

And some of them were little and green!

How would you like to live in a community of floating houses? I think it would be fun!

On the walk back to town, we saw several seaplanes. They can take off and land on the water.

Here we are on the inner harbor walk. It is a beautiful path that winds around right next to the water.

 When we got back to town, we took a tour of the Parliament building. Victoria is the capital of British Columbia, so this is where the government officials work. It is similar to our state capital in Nashville. Do you see Queen Victoria's statue in the picture?

Inside is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth of England. She was here about ten years ago to celebrate 50 years as queen. She has now been the Queen of England for over 60 years. Only one other British monarch has served 60 years - Elizabeth's great, great, grandmother, Queen Victoria.

On the left of the portrait is the British flag, then the Canadian flag, then the flag of British Columbia, then the Canadian flag again.

There are two stained glass windows that were made in honor of Queen Elizabeth...

and Queen Victoria. Each picture and symbol in the window has a special meaning about the queen and the province of British Columbia. Can you find the moose in Queen Elizabeth's window? What about the orca?

As we walked back to the hotel, we saw Plasterman. He stands very still like a statue until someone puts some money in his bucket. Then he dances!

We love you and miss you very much!

Sweetie and Doc

Victoria: Day 1

Dear Charlie and Polly,

Thursday was a very busy day! We got off the ferry about 10:30 in the morning and walked about ten minutes to our hotel. We thought it was too early in the day to check in, but when we got there, they told us our room was ready! We were so happy because we were exhausted! My presentation at the conference wasn't scheduled until 4:00 in the afternoon, so we had some time to eat lunch and rest before I had to be ready.

We ate lunch at the hotel's Veranda restaurant, outdoors looking out over the city. Victoria is the capital of the Canadian province of British Columbia, and this is their Parliament building.



Victoria is beautiful! Because it was settled by Great Britain, it was named after Queen Victoria, and it has a very British feel about it.

After lunch and a short rest, it was time for my presentation. This is an international conference, and we met people from all over the world. My presentation went very well. I talked about all the changes I am planning to make in my technology class in the fall.



After the presentation, we stopped by the Bengal Room in the hotel. Queen Victoria was also known as the Empress of India, and this restaurant looks like it could be in India! How do you like this Bengal tiger wall hanging over the fireplace? Doc says he wants one just like it for over our fireplace in the living room. What do you think?



After we left the Bengal Room, we walked down the street to Pescatore's where we ate dinner. Check out these fans on the ceiling. Do you see how they are all working off the same pulleys? It reminded me of Polly's Goldie Blox game.

Doc had the Chinook salmon. I tasted a bite and it was delicious, and I l usually don't even like salmon!

I had the mixed grill - grilled ahi tuna, beef, and shrimp. Yum!

After dinner, we took a walk around the city. On the way back, I saw these orca whale topiaries in the garden outside the hotel. Orcas are very common in this area. They are also called killer whales, but they are really not very dangerous to people. Maybe Doc and I will see some whales while we are here!

After our walk, we went back to our hotel and went to sleep. Sooooo tired! Zzzzzzzzz...

We love you and miss you both,

Sweetie and Doc