Cowichan Bay Moto Date Part 2

 Back in the early summer hubby and I escaped on a moto date to Cowichan Bay.  It is a quaint little village on the Island.  We used to live there on our floathome and regularly ate at the Rock Cod Cafe, the food is delicious and filling.  

The Bay is usually packed in the summer and finding parking is an onerous task.  We wandered through the village and I was happily snapping pictures to share.  Their is an eclectic group of little shops and usually something for everyone.  The village is picturesque and quite charming.  If you are on the Island it really is a great place to stop and have a wander. 

 Who could resist taking a picture of  stiletto with flowers in it.

Grocery shopping scooter style

My car is sick right now, so I am 2 wheeling it. Quite often I take the scooter on shopping trips, its amazing how much you can bring home on it with creative packing. I can easily bring 5 bags of groceries.  The only thing that poses a challenge is bringing home toilet paper, the packages are a little big and cumbersome, but I seem to make it work.  Today is a beautiful hot summer day in Victoria and we had a hankering for burgers for dinner, so I decided to get the rest of the weekend shopping done while out. I picked up a really nice fresh sockeye salmon filet for tomorrow nights dinner.  It was so cheap that I actually got a wee filet for my little doggis, its her fave.  (It was actually cheaper than her dog food)  Another good reason for scooter shopping is I don't bring home all the junk food like chips and stuff, so actually I have lost weight!  As we speak my wonderful teenage daughter is in the kitchen creating gourmet burgers.  Yum! I can hardly wait.

  Here is what my scoot looks like after a light shopping foray.  

I brought home 4 bags of groceries & had room for at least 2 more.
BTW  The little cubby holder on the scoot fits a bottle of vino perfectly.  ;)

If you live in BC you may want to scoot to Save-On the sockeye salmon was such a
screamin' deal I got a little piece for my wee doggis.  Salmon is her fave!

How can you resist that little fuzzy face?

Friday night scooter tootle

Two Friday's ago I headed out on Vixen, it was a gorgeous night and the sun had graced us with her presence that day and hadn't set yet.  It was fairly breezy with a hint of summer to it.  The best thing about scootering on Vancouver Island is no matter how many times you take the same route there is always something different to see, its just taking the time to notice.  I headed down through the Inner Harbour to gawk at the tourists.  I envy the tourists because everything they think is great about my city I take for granted, because I am too wrapped up in the daily grind.  So I took time on a Friday night to stop and smell the proverbial roses.

Inner Harbour

Ogden Point Cruise Ship dock

Parasailors off of Dallas Road (not sure I could take the leap of Faith)

It was breathtaking to watch

I am now up at the top of Mount Douglas overlooking the city towards Port Angeles

This is now from Mount Tolmie off in the distance
is Ogden Point Cruise ship dock

This is coming down from Mount Doug, the potholes are ginormous & almost swallowed up Vixen.

Sorry about the fuzziness I was playing with the ISO settings on the camera

The Parliament Buildings at night

Moss Street Market & 2011 Paint In

Every Saturday during the summer there is a farmer's community market on Moss Street in Fairfield.  Artisans from all over come and display their eclectic wares.  There is everything from yummy preserves, veggies, handmade soaps, pottery, clay sculptures, knit wear, clothes of all varieties and handcrafted jewellery.  It is really quite the little market to come and visit.

The Moss Street Paint In was also held along side the Moss Street Market.  This annual event was sponsored by the TD Bank and the Victoria Art Gallery.  Moss street is closed to all vehicle traffic and Artisans from all over display their beautiful masterpieces and foster the love of the arts. Musicians are along the route adding to the ambience of the Paint In.  It is a great family event and kids are encouraged to show their creative side by partaking in art activity stations along the way.  It was amazing to see so much talent in one place and it was a great way to spend a humid albeit grey afternoon wandering up around soaking up the art.  Hope you enjoy.

We begin at the market

Ribbon winning preserves

Gorgeous bouquets

I love the little angel piggies and the interesting little building sculptures
 (I am going to have to get a little piggy for my collection - see pigs really do fly......)

Now onto the Paint In

The Super hero band

Hand strung web

Eclectic Art

Kids creating chalk art

As you can see by the crowds this is a popular event

I always find it interesting to watch artists create, it amazes me that they take a blank canvas and create beautiful images.

The end of my journey back to Vixen in the perfect scooter parking spot.  Oh look Vixen has a friend!  It was a great afternoon and the crowds appreciated the work of the artists and it was a wonderful family event.  So if you are planning a trip to Victoria we have a great deal of family friendly free events and they are scooter friendly! Victoria truly is a city built for scootering.  

Hope you have enjoyed my little ramblings on a muggy kind of grey summer afternoon.