Over the bounding waves - and pounding flowers

Today we are in Victoria, BC to see the Tall Ships. What a sight to see nearly thirty of them sail into the harbor. Tomorrow we get to go on some of them. My choices are Christopher Columbus' Niña, the Bounty, and the USCG Eagle. The Bounty was constructed in Nova Scotia using the original ship's drawings on file in the British Admiralty archives. It was built in 1960 for MGM's Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando. The Eagle is my husband's choice, maybe because it is huge, nearly 300 feet long. I told him I would go along since all the sailors were so good looking. The Niña is a replica, of course, but it is really a beaut. This is a picture of her, only 68 feet long.

The most unexpected part of all this is we had Admiral's Club tickets (gave us some extra perks) and sat with a couple who just moved to Vancouver Island from Calgary, AB. She wants to start painting in watercolors. I told her about 'flower pounding' and she asked a million questions. She'd never heard of such a thing and even though she is not a quilter, she wants to try it. I felt like I'd made a friend forever!