Tea anyone?

This weekend I went out to Sequim, Wa for my anniversary. The wife and I stayed in a caboose of all things. Thursday after class the wife picked me up and we went out for Pho, and then to the place where we got our wedding (cup)cake to have a mini in celebration of our anniversary.
Thursday night was lifting and packing.
Friday I went to class during the day, and we headed out to the peninsula. We took the ferry from down town and went out to a nice dinner in Sequim.
Saturday we got up early.. too early.. Damn early.. Hopped the ferry to Victoria, BC. We walked around, I had a milkshake. We went to the Undersea gardens. We went to the Royal BC Museum (very cool, interesting to see a corresponding history, with a slightly different perspective).
Then we went to the Maritime Museum of BC. This was very cool. I am a total pirate nut and they have a couple cool exhibits on them. They also have some pretty boring exhibits on ferries and stuff. Still the pirates were well worth it.
Finally, I put my Sunday goin' to meetin' clothes and we had high tea at the Empress. Now those who know me know that: I love tasty food, but I hate tiny food. I love tea, but generally prefer it iced. I hate to dress up, but I like to people watch where rich folks are. Needless to say I was conflicted going into this, but it was well worth it. First off we get seated and look over at the table next to us, and my cousin Flora is there with her dad. Bizarre. We're in another country for Christ’s sake, and we get seated next to my cousin. So we pull the tables together, and start to chat. Second the food is good, beyond good. Rich little sandwiches, scones and butter, all manner of sweets. Not exactly the nutritive ideal, but phenomenally tasty.
We got back on the ferry after tea. On the ferry I finished reading Paddy Whacked: the untold story of the Irish-American mob. This is a great book, violence, history, Shakespearian betrayal, and my cultural heritage. Good times. As the ferry steamed towards the Washington coast it made me think a lot about what it must have been like to flee Ireland in desperation, and try to make your way in the U.S. I thought of my wife, and I imagined having kids to feed. Spending weeks in the hold of a ship, sea-sick and hungry. I don't blame those guys for making their way any way they could. It's a great book, I recommend it to any paddy, or crime buff.
EC linked my review of his products on his blog. Sweet! I like to make it a point to email folks (if possible) when I review their products. To do otherwise seems dishonest. Fortunately I generally just post reviews of things that I find helpful.
This week the OLYMPICS!!
Mahalo.