Paul's Victorian Vacation

March 02-05, 2000

So I took a Victoria vacation. It was soooo nice! I left Thursday morning, stopped off at Whatcom Falls near Bellingham, and was surprised to find it was also a fish hatchery! Woo Hoo! So many fishies!!!

Went up through Vancouver, and visited the aquarium. There were lots of fishies, lots of cool plants and frogs, but the killer whale was sick, so there was no shows. That was fine, except for the fact that the whale was sick. One of the cutest things I've ever seen is the couple of newts (She turned me into a newt! I got better.....) who were mating. Actually, they were snuggling! The guy newt kept biting her, and trying to get her to turn over. It was funny! I still chuckle. Anyway, drove out to catch the 3pm Twwassen ferry, which winds through the San Juan islands over to Vancouver Island. It is beautiful up there! Nice boat too. They had a decent restaurant on it, not just a cafeteria. I pigged out because I finally had my appetite back after barfing and eating noodles, jello, and chicken broth. On the way to the B&B, there was a guy in a big brown dog suit waiving to traffic, and I had to see what it was about. Canadian beer! Waddling Dog Beer & Wine. So, I had to get some, because I like beer. Beer is good. Beer is nice. Beeer!

The place was in Colwood, just about 15 minutes from downtown Victoria, and it was on a lagoon created by the Straits of Juan De Fuca and Georgia. Lotsa birds! A shitload of ducks and geese and loons and swans and other types too.

This is a Monkey Tree. Cool name, cool tree.

The house was beautiful, and since we were the only ones there, we got upgraded to the premium room with a huge bathroom and private entry to the hot tub, TV/VCR, and a fridge. They had a huge common area with games and a couch and table and a piano and a fireplace, and nice soft plush red carpet. I could have not left the house and been very happy. Very comfortable, very good breakfasts.

Anyone up for a game of Trivial Pursuit? Heh heh heh...

The weather was rainy and cloudy on Thursday and Friday, but clear on Sat & Sun. Soo...

I did the tourist thing. Went into Victoria and visited all sorts of shops, and I bought so many penguin things!

Amazing. I went into practically every gift shop in downtown Victoria looking for a damn big pencil for Beanie, and ended up with penguins out the ying yang!

Visited the waterfront, the museum, & Crystal Gardens.
		This was a score!!! My family name sells Italian leather in Victoria!!! Woo Hoo!!!

Crystal Gardens.

I think this tree looks like an octopus tentacle. Ya think?		Flamingoes!!!
What's an iguana? :)
		If I could deal with birds, I would love to own one of these Blue Macaws. They are kewl!

Also, a Bug zoo, which was reaaallly cool. The lady ('The Bug Girl') who gave us the tour was a riot, and really knew her bugs. And the stick bugs were a riot. In one display, we got to see some 'hot stickbug action', and in the other one, there was this little stick bug that kept swaying back and forth. Hillarious!

Also, visited the Fisgard lighthouse and Fort Rodd Hill park area, which was 5 minutes from the B&B.

Click on this one to read the sign.

On the way back, had to stop back at the Dog beer place on the way out and stock up on the Canajin beer. I bought about 5 sixpacks of various local Canadian brews. One of them was a Hemp ale, which is superb!!! Anyway, it was sunset, so I got to see the Canadian Cascades for the first time, and they were painted pink from the sunset. Stopped at Dock Marlin's pub in Vancouver on the way out for food and beer. It's the place near the airport with the big red PUB sign.

It was a nice trip, definately what I needed. If you need a place to stay near Victoria, I recommend the Birds of a Feather Bed & Breakfast. Go there. Now.