Christmas Eve, and more importantly, sunshine! Glorious sunshine! It wasn't expected to last all day, so we ate our breakfast and rushed outside as soon as possible to soak up as much of ol 'Sol as we could. Even though high winds were in the forecast, we plotted a route toward the "Height of Land", our favourite lookout in Walbran Park in Oak Bay.
The route took us past Gonzales Bay beach, although the beach was totally gone. Between high tides and a logjam, we couldn't even get down to the beach, let alone walk along it. So we watched the waves crash from a higher vantage point, then pressed on to King George Terrace for a bench and a snack.
It was a glorious, warm day, so long as we stayed out of the wind. There were clear blue skies all around us, although the blue didn't extend to the mountains over the water. We'd get a peek of a peak, but that was about it.
It's been ages since we challenged ourselves to take the stairs up to the Walbran lookout, so today was the day. We made the hundred-plus stairs with only one break to pet a dog who was coming down, then scrambled on the rocks to the lookout tower. It was gusty and downright cold up here, but we bundled up and spent a few minutes getting a 360 degree view of the city, the water and as much of the Olympic Mountains we could see through the clouds. Mount Baker was a no-show, but it didn't matter. We watched a bald eagle soaring above us, riding the wind without moving a muscle, before the cold won out and we scrambled down to lower ground.
The perfect christmas tree. Happy holidays!