Victoria

I'm not sure what took me so long, but whatever it was, I'm glad I got over it. Victoria was both easy to get to and fun to visit. We (me, Phil, and 3 other couples) took the Clipper up, which went pretty smoothly. They booked us at the Grand Pacific Hotel, which had both a sweet location and inside gym (bonus for my training.) Since I had picked up our tickets ahead of time, boarding on Saturday morning was cake, and we even had champagne with breakfast on the ride up (although the rest of breakfast is very cookie cutter and you shouldn't expect a lot.)

Unfortunately, our weather Saturday left much to be desired. Both cold and rainy, we checked in to the hotel upon arriving and four of us headed to the Victoria Bug Zoo, which my coworker Nick highly recommended. We loved it! Seriously, I can't gush enough about the place. The bugs weren't of the Janine-thinks-they're-disgusting type, but rather of the Darwin-in-progress cool variety. I got to hold a mantis, a scorpion, and a bug that looks like a leaf. The guides know their stuff and cater to children, which works especially well for holding our "adult" attentions. Plus, the place has only two rooms, so it doesn't overwhelm you. (And you don't have to hold the bugs. In fact, most are always behind glass.)

The eight of us met up for high tea at the Empress Hotel. What a treat when the weather is awful. I've never done high tea before (and may never again, based on the price :o).) We started with strawberries and cream, and then moved on to the tiered foods (sandwiches, scone, eclair, chocolate, an amazing miniature lemon tart, you get the point...) Delicious! Of course, there was plenty of tea. I would highly recommend this, it's so relaxing. Just be prepared to shell out more than you're used to for lunch (~$40 pp.)

We walked around, headed back to the hotel, and I was able to get a quick run in before dinner at Tapas. Tapas places often don't work well for me for lack of veggie / chicken options, but this one had a ton of choices. Between passing around tons of food and ordering pitchers and pitchers of sangria, I was surprised that the bill came to only $35pp. Good deal! Plus, the waitstaff was amazing. Really on top of things. I'm including a nice shot of all of us just because I have to. (Come on - you know how difficult it can be to get a photo of eight people with everyone smiling and no one looking funky...)

Sunday, unbeknownst to us, was the Victoria 10K, so the blocks downtown were a bit crowded. We grabbed breakfast to go and headed out to the Butchart gardens, which was proportionally empty. To get there, we took the Greyhound bus (super-easy, $30pp inc entrance, leaves right behind the Empress.) The gardens themselves were gorgeous and took about two hours to walk through. And luckily, it was sunny!

Muir

If you've never been to Camp Muir, get in shape. Then go. Because sometimes it can really hurt. Especially the next day.

Muir is located at about the 10'K mark on Rainier. It's approximately 4.5 miles (one way) from Paradise (with an elevation gain of about 5'K feet.) Lots of people use Camp Muir as a staging point for a peak ascent. Others use it to train for climbing Rainier. A bunch of people go up so they can ski / snowboard down. And then there are people like me: I go just because it's a fun hike. With amazing views.

Muir in April is entirely in the snow. Paradise was under at least twelve feet, and there's only more snow as you climb. This was my first time up for the year, and I went prepared because the weather can change quickly and drastically. I wore plastic mountaineering boots, thermals, shell pants and a jacket, hat, and gaiters on the way down. Oh, and socks. Socks are nice. Underwear, too.

Let's move on.

The hike was beautiful, but chilly. I went with my friend Mike and his friend Forbes. This being our first time this year, we went up in about five hours and down in about half that. It's a long day! To the right is a photo of how Muir looked when we went up. Not much there, huh? The best part is down (of course) because all the snow allows for glissading.

Glissading sounds like a complicated, technical term, but really it just means sliding down on your bum. You get to go fast and it's a great time. And it gets you down quickly. :o)

Carmel by the Sea

To get away for a long weekend, Phil and I caught a plane on Friday afternoon and met his parents at the San Jose airport. Together, we drove down to Carmel by the Sea, and checked into a quaint hotel his parents had discovered. Our room had a fireplace, which qualifies it for the designation "amazing" in my book, especially with the weather still crisp out.

On Saturday, the four of us enjoyed the famous 17 mile drive, seeing rich golfers and beautiful scenery alike. We also went to Point Lobos and absorbed sun and surf while walking around the park. I'd highly recommend checking out the park if you ever go... it's relaxing and not as crowded as I expected.

The next afternoon, we took a chance on the Ewoldsen Trail in Big Sur State Park. The hike was mainly through the woods, but completed with a sweeping view of the coastline. I loved it, and Phil's parents were total troupers. (It ended up being a little more difficult than the ranger made it out to be.)

We went to a fantastic restaurant Sunday night, where not only did I adore my meal, but I even tried some of Phil's steak. Shocking, I know! But I will admit, it was delicious. The waiter explained to us that many of the million-dollar plus homes in the neighborhood were third and fourth vacation homes. Wow!

Monday we drove into Monterrey and stopped at the aquarium. If you've never been, you should go. It's huge. And amazing. We also took our time walking around, checking out the waterfront and some of the stores along the way.

We lucked out in terms of the weather the entire trip, which made the time away that much more pleasant.