Thirty.

I turned 30 last weekend and Chris had a surprise getaway planned for me!

Let me tell you about my weekend...

...Friday we caught the 11 am ferry to Salt Spring Island.

...our first stop was at the Oystercather for fish & chips and rasberry beer. 

After lunch we walked to the Gulf Islands Spinning Mill.

 ...where Amy and Vivienne so graciously gave us a tour. 

 

  { Fibre Drying in the Sun }

 Amy walked us through the entire process, each step required another piece of machinery, it was fascinating. I think Chris had just as many questions as I did.

 ~ a side note ~

The first design I ever published was the Mustard Scarf. The yarn I used, 100% Wool from the Gulf Islands Spinning Mill, was purchased from their booth at the Cowichan Fleece and Fibre Fair (my first fibre festival!). Since then I've always wanted to travel to Salt Spring to take a tour of the mill. 

 On our walk back down the hill I bought two little tomato plants from the Chorus Frog Farm stand,

happy birthday to me!

 ...Then onto our B&B, Monivea, where we picked up our room key and had a quick tour of the art gallery. Wendy, who showed us around, also painted the beautiful piece hanging in our bedroom!

We walked into town for supper. The Tree-House Cafe had awesome live music and incredible food (and a tree growing right through the center of the restaurant). The open air construction made me feel like we were somewhere tropical, it was so relaxing. 

 { Flourless Chocolate Torte }

The weather over the weekend was the best we've had all year, the next morning we opted to have our breakfast in the garden among ponds and streams...

 { Gardens of Monivea }

...doesn't this look amazing?

...After breakfast it was off to the Saturday Market (which has quadrupuled in size since our last visit maybe 5 or 6 years ago). It was so wonderful, if you're local I highly recommend taking a day trip just to wander this market. There is something for everyone and anything sold at the market has to be made on the island by the vendor so everything there is highly unique. 

...all in all I had the most wonderful birthday weekend, it was such a surprise and a treat, I hope you enjoyed my little recap :)

Thank you Chris.

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Interested in taking this trip? Here is a map of some of the places we visited during our stay...

View Salt Spring Island in a larger map