garden on overdrive, promised meal, aggressive eating

Ticket bought, the race was on.

We hurried through the gates at Butchart Gardens after we bought our tickets.  Remember we were pressed for time and the kids were dead set on eating at a real restaurant.  Challenge accepted.

We raced through the gardens.  Saw it all, I assume in record time.  It was magnificent, but our crew can only handle so much beauty . . . Especially when they know a restaurant meal is in their near future.  Hot food exiting a RESTAURANT kitchen on a tray is a thing of beauty to them.  

This is the map - not a
 small place, but if you run
and agree to refrain from
 the standard million photos,
 it can be done in under an hour.

We ended up being forced to eat at the cafeteria on the grounds at the garden.  I grabbed a salad from the line and started eating it while the rest of the gang waited for their specific, hot meals to be brought out.  There was not a lot to choose from, so there was some groaning from our deprived children.  

I admit that I, too, was incredibly disappointed.  This place had almost no options for my gluten free butt.  Yeah, a salad.  I had my heart set on eating at a restaurant that we passed when we first got off the boat, but I didn’t understand the logistics at the time.  That place was now an hour in the wrong direction.  

It really was spectacular.

While I ate, Coach’s blood pressure skyrocketed.  He had paid.  For a real meal.  Yet, he feared that we would need to race to the bus without having eaten said meal.  It was a tense time.  I made all the kids use the restroom while they waited for their meals, so nothing else would slow us down after the dinner.  

I got up to use the restroom when my wimpy salad was ingested.  I made a beeline for the cashier first.  I pointed out that my husband my stroke out if they did not bring my family their food.  PRONTO.  The kids were pointing at other tables noting that those people sat down AFTER us.  I informed the guy of our bus conundrum.  ‘Please do not wait to serve everyone at once, just BRING OUT FOOD AS IT IS PREPARED.’  Cashier guy to the rescue - a few plates started to magically appear from the kitchen.  

I walked behind our crew and took a
 few pictures here and there in
 hopes of not being scolded.

I wish I had a video of my family eating, but on the other hand - you might not be interested in my fam doing their best imitation of competitive eating.  It was a unique style of bartering, begging, threatening, and inhaling.  If memory serves, and it usually does, it went a little bit like this:  

‘Do you want those veggies?’  

‘Are you done with your chicken?’  

‘Can I finish your - whatever that is?’ 

‘Touch my plate again and I will break your fingers.’  

My children:  do NOT deny them
a restaurant meal after it has
 been promised.  EVER.

‘I think you are drinking from my water glass.’  

‘Where did you find the butter?’  

‘You know you are never going to finish all of that.’  

‘I just want one bite.’  

And just like that, in a matter of 6 or 7 minutes our meal was complete.  The busboys had nothing to scrape from our plates.  Their work had been done.  We ran like the wind to the bus.  I decided that we had 3 minutes to spare and I stopped in the bakery and bought a few of the priciest treats known to man for the kids to share/ fight over on the long bus ride.