O Canada

Joe and I got a kid-free weekend (thanks Grandma Kathy and Aunt Melissa) so we took a trip up to Victoria in British Columbia (that's in Canada, Clare). We rode up on the passenger ferry and rented a car when we got there so that we could explore. We drove around the beach and saw various bays and coves. We could see Mt. Baker and the Olympic Mountains across the waters. We also walked around the downtown area and saw the British Columbia Parliament Building (or parliament building, I can't remember). The architecture was heavily Victorian and stunning. We also took a tour of Craigdarroch castle, minutes from the downtown area, built by one of the wealthiest men in B.C. in the latter-half of the nineteenth century. The castle had a fascinating history. The family who built it was plagued by all kinds of drama, mostly of their own making. James Dunsmuir, who commissioned the house, built his empire on coal and mistreating his workers, and actually died a year before the completion of the castle. The castle became a military hospital and eventually a college. They are still restoring parts of it, which was interesting to the process. We had a great time, the Canadians are so friendly we did not want to leaver. More pictures and travelogue to follow...