Canada, part two

Okay, so I'll start where I left off.

Day 4 August 4
This is when almost everyone else arrived. Devin arrived from Dallas and my dad and his wife Jenni and Christopher and Heather arrived from Abilene. We all went and ate at Boston Pizza. Earlier that day Fanny and I had run errands downtown together. There is this fantastic store called Silk Rose where they have an entire wall of tea. All the tea is loose in metal containers and you scoop it out into a tin and then pay for it. They had all kinds of blends. It was just so cool. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend hanging out with Fanny, even if we were running errands. After Boston Pizza I seriously needed some time to myself. So when we got to the house I went down the street to the potato/corn field and picked blackberries. I spent about an hour out there and was once again sane when I returned.

Day 5
On this day my mom, Christopher, Heather, and I went to a hotel because Francine and Guy (Fanny's parents) were coming back into town and they were staying at the house. We also had the girl night with the bridesmaids. Fanny, Heidi, and I went and got pedicures. I was quite skeptical at first but decided why the hell not. For those of you who know me, you know I'm not very girly and I don't like strangers in my personal space. But to my surprise, and the surprise of others, I really enjoyed it. It was relaxing and it was fun because all three of us were in the same room so we got to talk. I picked out a nail polish to match my pink hair. Then the three of us went to Rebar, a modern vegetarian restaurant, and met up with Janet. We had fun talking and eating. The food was delicious. I had an almond burger (think veggie burger with almonds, but incredibly wonderful) and I had a date square for dessert. For my drink I had a Herman's Dark Lager. It's not as dark as Guiness, but darker than Shiner. Once again, fantastic. I think I could get pretty close to being a vegetarian in Victoria because there is such a wide variety of wonderful foods there. Then Fanny took me to the hotel and she went home to see Daniel and her parents.

Day 6
On this day Daniel's friends Nate and Michael arrived. My mom, Christopher, Heather, and I ventured out on our own. We went down to the wharf and ate. It was so good. I had a pound of fresh mussels. Let me rethink the vegetarian statement, I couldn't be because there is so much fresh seafood. I'd probably be huge from all the wonderful food there is to eat. We walked around and looked at the floating houses docked to the piers. They weren't house boats, but floating houses. One of them was for sale. It was very interesting. That night we had a BBQ at Daniel and Fanny's house. There was a lot of people there. There was Daniel, Fanny, Francine, Guy, my mom, Christopher, Heather, me, my dad, Jenni, Devin, Nate, Michael, the other Michael, Heidi, Janet, and Matthew. I think that's all. I think this is when I met Fanny's parents for the first time. They are such sweet people. We talked, drank, ate, and generally had a wonderful time. Fanny's parents wanted to get the people in my family something from Quebec so they asked Fanny what each of our interests were. They got my mom a porcelain flower pin (very pretty), Christopher some cedar jelly and pickled milkweed pods (similar to capers), Heather a coffee-print apron, my dad and Jenni a cd of Quebec folk(drinking) music, and me a Celtic triskel necklace made out of nails. My mom had framed a couple of engagement pictures for them. I thought it was extremely thoughtful for them to go to the trouble to get things that each of us was interested in. We stayed up late, then went back to the hotel to sleep.

Day 7
This was the day before the wedding. Mom, Christopher, Heather, and I got up and went to eat lunch at a pizza place, then we headed over to St. Anne's for the rehearsal. The rehearsal took about an hour and was very laid back. After the rehearsal was over we had a little bit of drama, then mom, Heather, and I just went walking around in the touristy/downtown area near the inner harbor. This is where we saw the fiddle playing Darth Vader. Which, by the way, my picture has migrated to a sight owned by one of Sean's friends. That night I stayed with Daniel and Fanny because since we had limited cars I needed to be with Fanny for pre-wedding stuff. Fanny and I stayed up till 1 am talking and drinking wine.

Day 8-Wedding Day
I woke up and helped Francine get the flowers for the wedding ready. Then Daniel, Fanny, and I went and dropped off a few things for the woman who took care of the food for the reception. Then Daniel dropped Fanny and I off at Humboldt House where we ate a pastry. Then Fanny got the room to herself for a little while so she could relax and I went down to the beach with a book and camera in hand. I was afraid I wasn't going to find the beach (leave it to me) but then I saw the huge totem pole and knew which direction to head. I went to the beach and was sitting, watching the water, and smoking when a guy came up and asked to bum a cigarette. We talked for a few minutes and then he went back over to the person he was with. I sat and read for a little while. Then this guy came up and said 'Hello my Yankee friend.' I have never been called a Yankee before in my life!!! He was being friendly so I didn't get mad, but I did inform him that Yankees were from northern US, more specifically from New York. He bought another cigarette off me, talked a little more, and then left. I went down to the water, took a few pictures, looked at the rocks, and sat at the waters edge while enjoying my surroundings. Then as I was about to leave a girl walked up to me and wanted to buy a cigarette. Weird. I walked to the hair salon where Fanny, Heidi, and I had appointments. Talk about frustrating. I told the woman I didn't know what I wanted but she just kept asking me. I started to cry a little but she was messing with my hair so my head was down and I don't think anyone noticed. My hair ended up looking good. Then Heidi and I walked to Humboldt House where we briefly saw Fanny, then we got dressed and had our make-up done. Then we walked next to St. Anne's where were pictures were underway. We did the picture thing for a little while, then it was time to head into the chapel. I really can't tell you much about the wedding. I had to walk down the isle next to Heidi, with people staring. Then as soon as Fanny walked out the spotlight was off us, yea. It was a beautiful ceremony. Daniel and Fanny read some from Song of Solomon, Janet did a reading from John (I think) and another woman sang a song (possibly in Hebrew). Randy (the pastor) gave a wonderful, but brief, sermon, we served communion, the documents were signed, and Daniel and Fanny were pronounced man and wife. During the ceremony I couldn't look at Francine because she was crying. I was trying to keep from crying but when I looked at here it made it worse. (These were all tears of joy, just to make sure we're clear.) Then on to the reception. The reception was beautiful also. The food and cake were delicious. The beer was good. Daniel and Fanny danced. Monty Python was quoted to get the couple to kiss. There was a variety of music played. And a good time was had pretty much by all. We went back to Daniel and Fanny's (they were at Humboldt House) and went to sleep. I talked with Guy a little bit after we got back. He was happy for Daniel and Fanny. He said that he knew that she was very happy.

Day 9
We got up and went to eat at Floyd's Diner with everyone who was still in town. That was basically my family and Fanny and her parents. We had a good time visiting but you could tell that Daniel and Fanny were ready to get on the road to Point No Point for their honeymoon. I thought it was sweet for them to see us all off though. We then went back to the house, packed up, visited, said our sad goodbyes to Francine. Then Guy drove us to the ferry, said goodbye to him, and began the long journey home. I'm sad that Guy and Francine live so far away. I was told that if I ever wanted to come to Montreal, just to call and I could stay with them. They said even if I just show up at their door, I was still more than welcome. I think I'm going to have to try to make it out there sometime in the relatively near future.

We had a long trip back. A ferry ride followed by a night in the Seattle airport. Then we flew to Denver, had a layover in Denver, then flew to San Antonio. We caught the shuttle back to the hotel, picked up the cars, and drove to San Marcos. I was home, but mom, Christopher, and Heather still had to drive to Abilene because mama had to work the next day.

Overall it was a wonderful trip. I'm happy that we got to spend the time with Fanny and her parents. It's fun to add such sweet people into the family, and I welcome them with open arms. Congratulations Daniel and Fanny, and God bless your marriage.