Goldstream Park, Coombs, and Parksville

Matt’s friend, Shane is leaving Victoria soon, so Matt and I decided to take him places he’s never been to! It was a long day, but it was tons of fun. Here’s what happened:

We started off at Goldstream Park where we showed him the waterfall – Niagara Falls. This is a cool area because from the parking lot, you have to cross underneath the highway via a tunnel. You follow the riverbed for a little bit, and then you’re greeted by a waterfall.

The riverbed and waterfall looked lonely, so we built an Inukshuk friend. Hopefully there will be more next time we go there.

Next we hiked up to the trestle. There’s Mt Finalyson! We didn’t have time to show him the top of it, but oh well…

We kept following the tracks, and we came across a second trestle.

And a tunnel.

We walked back to the car and started driving towards our second destination – Coombs. The next two pics are from random lookout points along the highway.

Coombs!! A big tourist trap, but they also have a lot of cool stuff here! Shops, markets… And random stuff.

Coombs is known for the goats on the roof. Yup… They just hang out on the roof of a building. Sometimes there’s a lot of them, and sometimes they’re all hiding. Can you find the goat??

One of my favourite things about Coombs is the market. They sell a lot of cool things from smoked salmon, cheese, and other foods from all over the world. It is also pretty expensive, but there’s a lot of unique foods and stuff you can get here.

Last stop was in Parksville. We went mini golfing! … Do I need to say more?

Three Convocations!!

This past week and a bit, I was invited to a few of my friends’ graduation ceremonies. They were all on the Lower Mainland, and it was some good times.

The first one was Brenden’s. This was at the Fraser Valley Adventist Academy (FVAA). All the grads are on the left. I got there and realized I knew a couple of other people, so that was pretty cool.

Pastor Dauncey giving a speech.

Brenden got a bunch of awards!

Kelly was one of the grads as well and got a bunch of awards as well.

Go Bo!

The second convocation was Lori’s. Her’s was held at Simon Fraser University (SFU). The venue was a bit different from what I’m used to. It was held outside. I couldn’t imagine being there for the winter convocations. But it was a nice change in scenery!

The SFU pipe band started the ceremony off. It was awesome.

Lori walking across the stage! There were sooo many grads!

The last convocation was Shannon’s. Her’s was at the Abbotsford Events Centre. She gradded from the Fraser Valley University (UFV). They had an awesome live band playing!

All the graduands.

Red Robinson got an honoury doctorate.

Shannon about to walk across the stage!

Stay classy, grads.

So it’s been a pretty long 10 days – a lot of watching people convocate, running around, etc etc. But it was great seeing everyone graduate! Congrats everyone! So happy for you all!

Butchart Gardens in June

Matt and I had annual passes to the Butchart Gardens. Throughout the year we kept saying “yeah! Let’s go to the gardens!” But we would either be really busy or we’d forget about it. Since our passes are nearing the expiry, we decided to finally go. Matt’s friend, Shane came along too. It was his first time at the gardens, and I think he had a good time!

The weather wasn’t the greatest, but it was great to us because:
a) cloudy days = great shooting conditions
b) not crazy busy

Here’s a shot from the lookout point in the middle of the gardens. It was awesome!

Some of the old equipment. The Butchart Gardens used to be a limestone quarry. It’s really hard to believe that it went from that to a beautiful garden.

Shane’s first carousel ride EVER. It was magical.

The venue where they have live concerts everyday during the summer.

What can I say? I love symmetry.

I also love reflection shots.

One of the few roses that are trying really hard to bloom. It’s still too early for 95% of the roses.

This next shot is near impossible to take on a nice day because usually it’d be filled with A LOT of people.

Japanese gardens!

Not sure what it is, but I really like this shot. Maybe because of the tree? The colours? I don’t know.

So here’s hoping I’ll be able to visit the gardens at night because that would be awesome! And maybe catch a fireworks show in the summer.