Empress Hotel

Debra and I are doing a walking tour of the Empress Hotel on Canada Day (tomorrow). Click on the link for info HERE.

Foxglove - tallest ever in our garden

This particular foxglove plant is approximately 8' tall! Amazing!

Hup Holland

On to the Quarter Finals with a match against either Brazil or Chile. We will know in the next 2 hours.

*Editors note: Brazil defeated Chile 3-0, so its Nederland v Brazil on Friday.

The first few out in the Round of 16

The World Cup said goodbye to the USA and South Korea on Saturday and today said goodbye to England and Mexico.

Tomorrow we say "Hup Holland."

Isn't Skype great?

We are speaking with Trista right now on Skype. It is free if you are both using it and it works over your internet connection. You can also use your webcam so you can see each other. Very nice for checking out new dresses/boots/hairstyles etc. If you have not looked into it yet, I suggest learning about it online.

On another note, the World Cup has finished with the group stages so now we are down to two games per day for the Round of 16 from Saturday thru Tuesday. Then two days (gasp!) off before the Quarter Finals starting on Friday. (our anniversary - yay!!)

Robben returns as Dutch stay perfect

Holland win their final match 2-1 over Cameroon. The Dutch top their group with 3 wins out of 3 matches. They now meet Slovakia in the round of 16. Hup Holland.

Fathers Day in Deep Bay

We had a great lunch/bbq at Mom and Dad R's with family. Thanks M&D!!!!

REALLY getting fed up with below average temperatures!

While everyone else in Canada has been getting nice warm temperatures and summer weather, we have been stuck with this!! We need a change.

Garage sale Saturday

Debra and I squeezed in some garage sales this morning between World Cup soccer games. The one we were up at 4:30 for saw Holland defeat Japan 1-0. Hup Holland

Sights of Victoria

Bastion Square

The historic and iconic Blue Bridge. They are planning on replacing this bridge as it does not stand up to the earthquake standards.

Harbour Ferries at rest.

Nice Orca topiary.

I took these pictures while downtown before I attended an Open House at the Regent Hotel hosted by a financial planner who had invited his clients, friends and fellow Toastmasters (I fall into the Toastmasters group). It was an enjoyable evening with good food, drink and conversation.

Swiss shock kings of Europe

This was the first big upset at the World Cup. I thoroughly enjoy it when the underdogs win. Unfortunately, the hosts South Africa, in the last match of the day, dropped their second group match 3-0 to Uruguay (which very likely spelled the end of their World Cup hopes of advancing to the knockout round). Harsh!

Debra is on her way...

Debra left this morning on the train up island. She will be visiting with her sisters (brother-in-law, nephews, nieces etc) for a few days at a cabin in Ucluelet. Have fun hun! (we will be busy watching the World Cup :)).

Hup Holland.

Holland wins their first match against Denmark 2-0. Early (4:30 am) start on the West Coast.

Inside Fort Rodd Hill

Navy 100 at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse

Snowbirds are always a hit.

Flyover. Very cool.

Fisgard Lighthouse is celebrating its 150 anniversary.

The crowd was BIG.

The ships were in formation for the International Fleet Review conducted by the governor general of Canada Michaelle Jean. Nice Olympic mountain range backdrop.

Photo taken from the Lower Battery Fort Rodd Hill

2010 FIFA World Cup is under way!!

Great start to the tournament with South Africa and Mexico playing to a 1-1 draw this morning.

First match for the Netherlands is at 4:30 am PST Monday morning vs Denmark.

Hup Holland.

Canadian Navy Centennial

USS Ronald Reagan

The Canadian Navy’s Pacific Fleet will mark the Canadian Navy Centennial with an International Fleet Review June 9 to 14, 2010. Twelve ships from the Indo-Pacific Region are expected to gather at the Royal Roads anchorage in the approaches to Esquimalt Harbour.

Hilarious - hope Chicago wins tonight!

Love him or hate him, you can't ignore him on the ice.

Chicago Blackhawks win 4-3 in OT to take the Stanley Cup in 6 games.

Great photo

Greenpeace boat in the Antarctic. That is a bit of a big sea for me!

Shamrocks v Nanaimo Timbermen

The Island rivalry heats up.

On May 30th the Shamrocks won 13-9 in Nanaimo. Tonights game was the rematch at home. The subplot is that the coach of Nanaimo and several of their key players are former Shamrocks.

Clayton and I are Twittering for the Shamrocks, giving live game scores and information.

Victoria won the game 15-10.

Thunderstorm

Trista sent me a text to let me know the thunder is a second behind the lightning. Sounds like a great Ontario thunderstorm!! We do not get them in Victoria and after growing up in Ontario, and living there a few years after we were first married, we certainly miss those storms.

Fire in the neighbourhood

This house fire has left 8 people homeless. It was run as a foster home for many years, but for the last year it has been suited and rented. We heard the fire trucks during the night and saw the results on our way to church in the morning.