my daughter recently sent me this postcard to remind me how close we are to our big trip…

for my birthday – the big 75 – I decided to take the train through the Rockies and visit gardens on Vancouver Island…

planning started last summer, and we had to book our train trip by December to be able to travel in September… crazy, lol…

next we searched for gardens that we would like to visit, besides the Butchart Gardens, which were first on the list…

then came looking at other spots in and around Victoria that we would like to see… we are going to have as many afternoon teas as possible, lol…

finding accommodations for our stay took a bit of work, but we found a lovely AirBnB close to the Butchart Gardens (and a Butterfly garden)… our second place to stay is a cute little hotel that faces the ocean in Victoria…

and finally, first class flights were booked back home… as I haven’t travelled for ages, the flights were covered by points… how cool is that;-)…

now to think about what I need to pack for a train trip and fall on Vancouver Island…