Weekend in Victoria

Last weekend was our National Championship Event for Play On!  We spent a fantastic weekend in Victoria BC.  This was my second time visiting this beautiful city.  The first time was about 20 years ago.

The weather was great, although it did drizzle almost all day on Saturday.  Not the best for an outdoor event, but at the same time, amazing considering it was, on average, about -20 degrees everywhere else in the country.  We were fluctuating between about 6 and 9 degrees.

There were 30 teams total (26 in the Men's Division, 4 in the Women's).  For more details on the event, you can visit the Nationals page on our website here and more news on the website here.

Also worth reading is an article here, and be sure to click through the pictures.  There is a great one of Commanding officer Chris Ellis dropping the "puck" during the Celebrity Game (more about him later).

CBC did some live coverage as part of Hockey Day in Canada.  If you click here and go to minutes 4 and 44, you will see the interviews that were on National TV.  

Here are some more highlights of the trip:

Flying out to Victoria was a long trip.  I had 2 stops totaling 11 hours of travel time.  Not having kids with me made it seem relaxing instead of long.  I read books, watched a movie on the longer flight, and enjoyed eating airplane snacks without anyone spilling them on the floor.

Our partner hotel was the lovely Hotel Grand Pacific.  They put Scott and I up in a fancy suite.  It had a huge entry way with beautiful hardwood, an over-sized bedroom and ensuite complete with jacuzzi tub, a living room with fireplace, and a dining room with more counter space than I have in my kitchen at home.

We got to see my little brother for the first time in almost two years.  It was great to see him and catch up a bit.  Miss you, Sami!

We also got to see Scott's brother, one of his sisters (and brother-in-law), and two of our nephews, who all came out from Alberta. It was so good of them to all come out and help us work all weekend.  Especially Parker & Matt, who couldn't be dragged away from the rinks on Saturday to eat lunch or get warmer clothes.  They were awesome! 

After the event was over, Commander Ellis invited us to come down to the Naval Base to have a tour of the HMSC Victoria, one of only four submarines in Canada.  This was absolutely fascinating! 

To explain a portion of the things I learned about submarine life or to tell you how much I loved the tour would require another blog post of it's own.   That's not going to happen, so I figure giving it two mentions on my list would be the next best alternative.  It was an incredible, once in a lifetime experience.

I found the people in Victoria to be very friendly.  I don't think I've ever met a friendlier group of people other than in Newfoundland. I guess Canada has friendly coasts... ?!

On the way home we flew through Seattle and I got to see my dear friend Shaunie for the first time in years!   Shaunie and I became friends when our husbands started their MBAs together (back in the good old days, as I like to call it).  We were first time Mom's with baby girls the same age and we got together at least once a week to scrapbook and share recipes and talk about our babies.  It was just like old times, visiting at the Dish D'Lish in the Seattle airport, and it was so good to see her!

My Mom & the Puddicombes took such great care of our kids while we were away.  I don't even think they missed us being gone. 

Lots of work.  Lots of fun.  Great memories.