Canadian Fourth of July

Again this year we headed to Canada for the Fourth of July. Perhaps it seems strange to some, but it works for us on a couple levels: we have a quick getaway and we take our 9 year old who is deathly afraid of loud noises away from the pyromaniacs of Washington. This year we visited Butchart Gardens. We were all tired and not sure what to expect. In the end I am split on the Gardens. The bones of the place are lovely, the parts that have been there a long time and perrenial plantings are so seamlessly, beautifully done. On the other side is the annuals and certain plantings that look thrown together. Below are the sunken garden and a trellis of sweet peas, a fountain and a planting of geraniums.

G by the sturgeon fountain; who creates a fountain in homage to sturgeon? Sturgeon? Really?

We spent our time walking around Victoria, through Chinatown, riding a harbor ferry to fisherman's wharf for fish and chips (no seals this year), and touring Parliment.

Munro Bookstore: what a book store should be.

D and E on the way home.

M on the way home.
Some people think it's strange that we leave the country for Independence Day, but freedom is the reason we can sit in a restaurant in Canada with the kids listening to jazz watching the sunset and waiting for the lights of Parliment to come on before the kids go to bed. We observe Independence Day in a way that makes sense for us. Isn't that what America was founded on? People looking for a way to live that fit them instead of living in a way that fit others.

love and hugs, B