Wisteria

I keep trying to get a good picture of the beautiful purple wisteria flowers in the back yard......but something......keeps getting in the way.Must be something to do with that new trampoline.

Parade

One of the features of the Victoria Day Weekend is high school marching bands - about 40 of them perform and march in the Victoria Day parade. This year almost all of the bands were from the states of Washington, Oregon and California. These kids put on a terrific show and helped to make this weekend a success. I'll probably be posting pictures of some individual bands and performers over the next week or so but for now, above is a sousaphone's view of the parade.

Victoria Day Weekend 1

Victoria Day is a nation-wide holiday in Canada, now celebrated on the last Monday before May 24th, which was Queen Victoria's birthday. Probably nowhere in Canada is it celebrated with such fervor, however, as here in the city that bears her name. There are so many events that it is difficult to know where to go or what to look at and photo opportunities are everywhere. Today we have the Highland Games and to celebrate that as well as to doff my hat in memory of Queen Victoria's long time Scottish companion, John Brown, I offer a photo of a bagpiper playing above the Inner Harbour Causeway. Click the video below to hear a sample of his music.

Joggers

The Ogden Point Breakwater marks the start of Dallas Road waterfront walkway and protects a deep water port capable of harboring those big cruise ships such as the Infinity. The mountains in the background are on the Olympic Peninsula in the USA.

Retirement

A very hot afternoon (at 7 pm just now it is still 26 degrees C - about 80 degrees F) and I took a long bike ride along Dallas Road, which follows the coastline all around Victoria. The ocean is just behind and below the trees in the background. This peaceful scene, on Dallas Road a few minutes from downtown, suggests all that is best about retirement.