A Midsummer Night's Dream

Saturni - Saturn's Day - August 4

Saturday morning found us on the road to Victoria, just The Mister, The Critter and Me, floating down Island on a perfect summer's morning in Ace.  Top down, tunes up, bugs in the teeth.  And what a fine weekend it was!  It began with a decadent facial at Aveda.  Some of you may recall, this was my long-awaited Natittivity gift from Bee on treatment day #2.   Sixty heavenly minutes of pampering, fragrant sprays, lotions, potions and ten tiny little fingers whispering their way around my jowls and wattles while I tried hard not to grunt out loud or succumb to a drenching hot flash.  I left there in a state of ravishness too profound to describe.

We dined at The Roadhouse that evening, and this is my second shout-out to this awesome pub on West Saanich Road.  If anyone out there is looking for a great place to go for a delicious meal at a decent price, this is a double thumb's upper.  As an added bonus, there is live entertainment - usually very down-home, West Coast type faire.  This pub just opened their doors about 6 months ago and is a real treasure.  Check out the ambience if you are in Victoria:

Bee had a wonderful after dinner surprise - a trip to Butcharts to take in the fireworks display.  We settled into our camping chairs at the top of a grassy knoll after enjoying watching the sun fade away.  But first - a short wander through the amazing gardens just before sunset -


An impromptu angel emerges from the Ross Fountain



Begonias in the evening light

The fireworks began as the last rays faded from the sky, and they were exhilarating.  They were accompanied by beautiful, musical scores that made them seem even more dramatic.  This was my first attempt at filming pyrotechnics and I nearly gave myself a breakdown trying to remember my F-stops from my ISO speeds while simultaneously trying not to knock over my tripod.  Seven or eight seconds waiting for my shutter to close had me in a full dither, but it did produce some passable shots:

This one was called "Angry Bees"

                             KABOOM!  A fitting way to end a beautiful summer night.


Sunnenday - Day of the Sun - Aug 5

Happy Anniversary to us!   We had breakfast with the orangutans and elephants at the  IMax "Born to be Wild" presentation, which was a heartwarming way to start off the day.  (Mental note: Next year I really want an orangutan for my birthday, Internet.  And maybe a large supply of Pampers.)  This was followed by lunch at the Rum Runner's in Sidney which was excellent, as was the stroll around the floating playground of the rich and famous.   Note the gorgeous hanging baskets next to the each boat slip!  Now that's classy.

And just for the record, I will drive to Sidney pretty much on a moment's notice for one of these:

Faceplant time

The day rushed by, as all good ones do, and by early evening we found ourselves in the lobby of the Royal Theatre in Victoria, excitedly anticipating the final performance of Mama Mia!  This was performed by the New York cast, and even though our seats were almost at the very back of the theatre, the fabulous acoustics and excellent lighting helped to make it an outstanding performance.   You know that, "glass half empty/half full" adage? Just about fifteen minutes into the performance, RJ whispered that he had a most pressing need to pee.  "Too bad!" I hissed back at him, "You shouldn't have drank that entire bottle of water!"   He settled back into his chair with a look of desperation.   The play was so excellent that I was instantly swept away by the music, and managed to ignore the foot shuffling and constant crossing and uncrossing of legs that was happening beside me.  And here comes the half-full part.   When those intermission lights flicked on, RJ bolted like a crazed superman to the aisle and shot to the washroom.  He was finished before anyone had even risen to their feet.  He returned much relieved and wisely shunned the second bottle of cool water for the duration of the performance.

Here's the glass half-empty part.  Remember I mentioned that our seats were almost at the back of the theatre?  Row X.  The only row behind us was an extra wide one for wheelchairs.  And there were a few back there, and as I settled into my own seat I noted that two of them were accompanied by nurses and a few emergency supplies.  A surreptitious glance behind me revealed that one poor fellow actually had a breathing tube in.   What the hell?  I said a couple of quick Hail Mary's, hoping that this event would not be their particular final curtain,  and then the lights dimmed, the music swelled, and we three became captivated.  Unfortunately, not long into the performance there came a few alarming sounds from behind us.   An undeniable howling sound, some strange whistles, and grunting.  These were accompanied by the sotto voice, soothing tones of the nurse. Although many people in front of us turned to stare,  I dared not look around, and I noted that both Bee and RJ stared fixedly ahead.  As much as I admonished both ears to tune into the stage, one persistently revolved backwards to capture the ongoing distressing sounds of gutterations, hissing, more groans and the occasional sharp squeak.   Eyes fixed front, unblinking,  I could have qualified for the honor guard for the Queen.   During the musical numbers it was possible to completely block out the sounds and the accompanying worry and sadness that I felt for these poor souls. Should I turn around and offer to help?  Or not?  Should I catch the eye of the nurse and make sure she was paying attention to her patient, who sounded very much like he was either suffocating or doing something quite naughty?  It was agony.   Finally, the play ended with a thrilling rush of music and dancing,  and the thundering standing ovation given by the wild audience produced three more fabulous musical numbers.

I, for one, had sternly admonished myself not to speak of anything negative that may have affected our enjoyment of the show.  We three chatted happily all the way back to the car, extolling the remarkable talent that we had just been so privileged to see.  However, not long into our journey home, Bee cleared her throat and innocently asked if anyone else had noticed a bit of distraction behind us.  Turned out all three of us were unable to look at each other or acknowledge in any way the scary things that were going on, else it would have opened that Pandora's box of uncontrollable hysteria that Bee is particularly prone to.  Thankfully, it waited to descend on us in the car, and the more we discussed our own genuine empathy and sense of respect to those who were simultaneously, but inadvertently, ruining the performance for us, the more hysterical we became.   It's truly a wonder we made it home in one piece.