victoria felt like a deep exhale

Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, I feel incredibly fortunate.

No wonder I’ve always had such a deep desire to be near water, trees, and mountains. It calms me down in a way I can’t fully explain — I feel safe, grounded, protected.

This trip back home felt really meaningful because my intention was simple: to be present with the people I love. I didn’t want to overbook my days or rush from plan to plan. I just wanted quality time with family and friends.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was a weekend getaway to Victoria with my beautiful friends, Summer and Ashley. They had visited me in Miami before, so it felt overdue that we finally planned a little trip together.

Just a ferry ride away, we arrived in Victoria — and honestly, I don’t remember it being this beautiful. The universe truly gave us unbelievable weather. I can’t wait to share more from the weekend.

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Summer had a timeshare, so we stayed in a cozy little two-bedroom condo right by the water. Every morning and night, we’d walk along the waterfront. Slow mornings, ocean air, golden sunsets… it felt like exactly what I needed.

Looking into the ocean, the sun reflected across the water like Edward Cullen’s skin in Twilight. We started daydreaming about owning one of the lakefront condos nearby. Every cabin trip somehow turns into us joking about owning a lake house together someday.

I often wonder what my life would look like living away from major cities. I grew up in Richmond, then moved to Vancouver, and now Miami. With every move, I think I’ve been slowly searching for quieter neighborhoods, slower living, and more nature.

Before checking in, we made a detour to this hot dog spot tucked inside a grungy little mall. It immediately brought us back to our high school mall-ratting days — meeting friends after school, wandering around aimlessly, eating food court meals for hours.

The poutine slapped. The hot dogs were just okay (Costco still wins), but the pineapple Dole Whip tasted exactly like Hawaii.

After settling in, we quickly got ready for dinner. Summer was excited to bring us to a cozy wine bar downtown. One thing I immediately appreciated about Victoria was how walkable it is. Everywhere felt calm, quaint, and surrounded by water and trees.

Ever since getting my Apple Watch a few weeks ago, I’ve been way more motivated to track my movement. I think we walked over 30,000 steps in two days.

While waiting for our reservation, we wandered into a non-alcoholic bottle shop nearby called Softer Drink. I loved everything about it — the branding, the atmosphere, the concept. Ashley committed to no alcohol for a year, I barely drink anymore, and Summer takes Pepcid whenever she does, so it honestly felt perfect for us. They had non-alcoholic wine, champagne, beer, spritzes — literally everything. There was even a DJ in the corner, and families with kids hanging around inside. It felt so modern and intentional.

Once our reservation was ready, we headed over to Tourist Wine Bar. The space was cozy and intimate without feeling overly crowded. The decor leaned chrome and orange, and I couldn’t stop staring at the speakers embedded into this mirrored chrome wall installation on the ceiling.

Family-style is always the move when I eat with friends. We ordered anchovies, a beet salad layered over whipped butter, and steak frites with skinny fries. Every dish came out warm and comforting.

After dinner, we wandered into an ice cream shop called Better Acres. I got milk chocolate in a fresh waffle cone, and it satiated our sweet tooth.

The walk home was unreal. We looped around the pier near the dock while the sunset turned the sky pink, purple, and orange. None of us could stop talking about how beautiful it was.

Back at the condo, we watched Marty Supreme, which officially confirmed that the Safdie brothers’ style just might not be for me. I felt the same way watching Uncut Gems — my anxiety was through the roof the entire time. I know people love their films, but my brain genuinely cannot relax during them.

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The next morning, we woke up early and walked to grab coffee and breakfast before starting our day. Saturday was our only full day in Victoria, so we wanted to make the most of it.

We had breakfast by the water: little breakfast sandwiches and iced almond lattes from Duo Cafe, while kicking our feet and laughing because we already knew it was going to be a good day.

We wandered through a park, picked up Empire Donuts, and made our way toward a small animal farm. It was one of those perfect spring days where everything feels alive — trees dancing in the wind, flowers blooming, animals roaming around freely.

Lately I’ve started filming more in horizontal. I think it just feels more natural to me. Films were never meant to be vertical.

I love capturing moments because they last forever, but I also try really hard to balance filming with actually being present. When I’m with people, I mainly use my camera instead of constantly being on my phone.

At the petting zoo, we saw miniature pigs, alpacas, peacocks opening their tails, and a giant goat area where everyone was feeding and petting them. Admission was donation-based — around $7 suggested per adult.

After aggressively double-washing our hands, we continued toward the trails and ocean. The entire walk around Finlayson Point Beach felt like staring directly into the colors of Earth — deep greens and blues everywhere.

As we climbed down toward the water, we became obsessed with all the smooth tumbled rocks along the shore. At one point I accidentally led us through a fenced-off path and we all hopped over together, laughing like little kids again.

Eventually, we made our way back into the city for pizza, photo booth pictures, and browsing through a beautiful bookstore nearby. It was one of those days that felt easy and slow, so before dinner at the Flying Otter Grill, I suggested we spend some time by the water.

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On our last morning, we grabbed brunch, found a hidden coffee shop, and wandered into a floral store nearby where I met the sweetest man named Dean.

He was wearing a UBC sweater and had the calmest energy ever. He told us about his love for Asian food and culture, how much he enjoyed island life, and proudly shared that he had completed his master’s in landscape architecture and now teaches and writes courses on the island.

Before we left, he wrapped my Mother’s Day flowers in soft pink paper and gave us one final piece of advice:

“If you want the ice cream, eat it. You’ll never have a metabolism this good again.”

He also told us your 40s are the best years of your life.

It was a king reminder that life never stops and you should continue doing what makes you happy.

We ended the trip with one last long walk by the pier facing the mountains before heading home.

Short and sweet — the kind of weekend that reminds you how important it is to slow down.

See you in the next note,

Janice

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