A walk through ice and shadows...

Even though we now live near the city, we sometimes have to remind ourselves to

take advantage of those 'city things' like going to a movie.

I know it sounds silly but when we lived in Sooke it was a big ordeal

to drive 50 minutes in, an hour for something to eat, 2 hours for the 

movie and another 50 minute drive home. 

It may not be a big deal to some but we found it to be a bit of a slog just to go to a movie!

Anyway yesterday afternoon we went to see 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.

Its a J.K Rowling story with ties to 'Harry Potter' and was well worth seeing it 

on the big screen! Great special effects and the imagination of that woman...wow!!

Before the film we took a walk around our Government Legislature.

Mostly I wanted to take photos of the frozen fountain! 

It's rare in these parts to have weather cold enough to freeze a large fountain solid...

The wind had been howling for 3 days before so one side of the fountain was 

pure ice where it had blown and frozen the windswept water...

I got as close as I could, even sneaking under the 'DO NOT CROSS' tape!

Photographers sometimes break the rules you know.

It was indeed magic!!

I wanted to shrink myself and put on tiny ropes and cramp-ons.

Wield a wee pick axe and climb through the chasm of icy blues...

Ice fantasy fulfilled, we strolled around the back where the sun was doing it's winter afternoon magic

She's a grand old building that's iconic of the Victoria Harbour scene...

Built in 1898 in the Neo-Baroque style, it's fascinating to poke around inside and out.

That's a gold Capt. George Vancouver on the top of the dome...

Around the back is another smaller fountain surrounded by bronze sculptures of 

some of our native wildlife.

It too had been encased in an icy cloak...

My favourite was The Wolf...half of him shadowed by the icy waters

 stopped in time by the previous days wind...

It was like he was protecting the fountain with his frozen armour...

A tiny field of frozen bubbles...

I believe this is the back of some old carriage stables which also housed the Motor Vehicle Branch.

I got my first drivers license there back in The Dark Ages!

As the sun started to go down it cast the most beautiful light on the building...

“I thought the most beautiful thing in the world must be shadow.” 

~Sylvia Plath~

“All shadows whisper of the sun. ” 
~Emanuel Carnevali~

“We find beauty not in the thing itself but in the patterns of shadows, the light and the darkness, that one thing against another creates.” 
~Jun'ichirō Tanizaki~

So for now I bid you a fond New Year...keep warm, play safe, spread love and hope to the world...

Riding off into the sunset...

Have a look at this bad boy!

Actually her name is Tikka and we were lucky enough to take a little trip on her on Wednesday night.

It was a gift from BC Whale Watching to the folks who

 work with my husband at Hosteling International.

It was a beautiful evening on the Inner Harbour in Victoria...we headed out...

past the float home community at Fisherman's Wharf...

...past the breakwater at Ogden Point...

Our destination was Race Rocks....

Here's a little info about this Ecological Preserve...

Located just over one nautical mile from Rocky Point, the southern most point on Vancouver Island, Race Rocks is the most southerly part of Canada on the Pacific Coast. The extraordinary tidal flow, one of the strongest on the coast, is not surprising when one considers that the entire flow of a one or two fathom tidal change for all of Georgia Strait, Haro Strait and Puget Sound rushes past Race Rocks twice each day. At the narrowest point in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, with only 12 nautical miles separating it from the American shore, Race Rocks is swept not only by the strong tides but also the surging waves of the Pacific ocean. 

So in a nutshell, it can be a really dangerous spot for ships, therefore that's

why the lighthouse was built and began operating in 1860, continuously 

flashing it's powerful light uninterrupted until 1997...

I've always wanted to take a little trip out here and this night was the perfect night; warm, good company and the most extraordinary sunset...

Race Rocks is an Ecological Reserve with ongoing scientific research studies and

educational programs managed by Pearson College. 

It's a designated Marine Protected Area.

 It is a haulout area for California and Northern sealions and a birthing rookery for Harbour seals. It is also the most northerly birthing colony on the Pacific Coast of North America.

As an Marine Protected Area there are rules about how close boats can come in contact with the wildlife.

We were lucky enough to catch some great sights of the Sea lions on the rocks and 

I snapped a few shots, although the current was quite strong and rocking our boat pretty good!

From the looks of this guy, I'd say he was the King of this harem!

Their beautiful golden fur was brought out even more with the sunset...

A happy and proud moment for the Shah...

Sigh....what an evening it was....

The crew from the hostel and our pilot in the back there...don't worry...the boat was NOT in motion for this shot! He was great and even let us all take a shot at driving the boat for a while...

And so the sun sets on another perfect day on the coast...