Day 3 of "The Sistas".

On Day 3, we had to get up bright and early to catch the earliest ferry to Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada!! My birthplace. And my Mom's resting place. Love the ferry rides!! We checked into our hotel and relaxed for a bit, and then headed to THE BAKERIES!! The Dutch bakeries are a big deal to my family, as most of us remember going to them with my mom. It's all very naughty, very yummy stuff!!! And we all ate plenty of it!! Cheese buns, cream horns, hot-cross-buns, eclairs...you name it!! I think we went to four bakeries in all.

Then it was on to the real reason for this leg of our journey---to visit our Mom's resting place. Our Mom was cremated--her lifelong desire. Her ashes were paced in a granite box and dropped to the bottom of Brentwood Bay. This is the Bay we used to live right above. I was born while my family lived here. Our house was just behind the thick, tall pine trees above the bay in this picture. None pf those other condos or homes were there back then. We used to walk through the forest to the bay all the time. It is always fun to see the house again. My Mom was so, so happy living here. We chartered a boat. Our captain's name was Les, and he was great. Out in the bay we each read a list of ten memories we had written about mom, and shared stories and enjoyed the beauty. We dropped white tulips on the water. Rachel stayed behind. She was the only family member with Dad when he placed Mom here ten years ago with some close friends. Rachel didn't feel like she wanted to come out with us. It was a peaceful, happy experience. And after talking for hours and sharing so many memories, it made perfect sense that this is where our Mom wanted her remains to be. We had planned to go to Buchart Gardens, which is just above the bay. But it was a very chilly day, and we have all been before. So we skipped it this time. We went to a few places we all remember from years past, and then back to the hotel for naps, puzzles, the pool, etc. Dinner out was a Chinese restaurant, in honor or Mom, of course.