SeanDaniel.com / Ramblings

Things to do in Victoria

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Wed, 01 May 2013 23:55:00 +0000

So, I have a few posts like "Things to do in Seattle" and "Things to do in Vancouver", and given that I live in Victoria, BC now, I have lots of people coming to visit and asking me what they should do. Remember that when you live somewhere, you tend not to do the touristy things. So keep that in mind with the list below.

Downtown Victoria
Lots of people come into town by boat, plane, or walk on ferry, and don't have a car, so here is a great set of things you can do downtown.

Walk around the Inner Harbour and check out the parliament buildings and Empress hotel. Make sure you also try it at night, things light up well!
Right in the side of the Empress Hotel is Miniature world. This is one of my personal favourites. As you walk through the smallest scale stuff, be sure to see how much nudity you can find. I've found at least 6 models showing nudity.
If you have kids of the right age, a fun thing to do is the Victoria Bug Zoo, it's a real hands on experience that you'll want to delegate to your kids!
Craigdarroch Castle is also just east of downtown. Think of it as a really old large mansion, half of it restored, and half of it in it's utilitarian ways from wars.
Take a water taxi out to Fisherman's Warf and feed the seals, 6 fish for $5, be sure to watch out for the gulls!
Check out the break water, and have lunch at Ogden point
Take a stroll through Beacon Hill Park, and stop at the petting zoo.
Stroll along the water front on Dallas Road, if it's windy, you might even catch some parasailers and sail boarders
Stop for a cup of Moka House Coffee or a beer in the Beacon Hill Pub in Cook Street Village and take in the culture that oozes out of this place.
Going north from the downtown core, check out the stops on Government Street
If you can find a weekend when there is live music at Market Square, it's fun to walk around there as well.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday there is a public market in Bastion Square.
Be sure to also check out the Old China Town, oldest one in Canada! And while you're there, don't be afraid to explore Fan Tan Alley, it's one of the neatest alleyways you'll ever find!
Visit one of the oldest pubs in Victoria, on the Esquimalt short (yes you can take a water taxi close to it) is Spinnakers pub.

While I'm not a "foodie", and food chains change all the time, I thought I'd throw out a few places that I like to eat.

Ebizo Sushi - If you can get a table, great sushi here
Chorizo & Co - Great sandwich spot, may I recommend the Richons?
Varsha Sip & Nosh - Always a seat, and delicious Indian food.
The Mint - Has an upstairs (lunch) and downstairs (dinner) and is a great place to eat, or hang out at the end of the night.
Meat & Bread - A Vancouver classic finally made it to the island. Exactly s the name implies.
RedFish BlueFish - Your chance to eat a-mazing seafood served in a unique outdoor dining experience on the inner harbour.
Tre Fantastico - great coffee, and a very delicious and healthy place to eat
Tacofino - A great little place to pick up some awesome Mexican food.
Hanks Unconditional BBQ - Southern BBQ, served a little unconditional.
Bin 4 Burgers - amazing custom made burgers, and there is one in the lower island as well
Canoe Club - While the food is typical pub food, you can't find a better patio in town.

Lastly, Victoria rocks for good coffee... some unique places I like are Hey Happy, Habit, and Heist

Lower Vancouver Island
If you have access to a car or bike on the island, or feel like renting one from the many downtown rental agencies, here are some things you can do outside of town.

One of my favourite things to do is start on Dallas Road as mentioned above, and drive the scenic Marine drive all the way out to the University of Victoria.

This has plenty of great stopping places along the way, don't drive too fast!

Speaking of the University of Victoria, this used to be a fantastic place to go see rabbits, lots and lots of rabbits, but not anymore as they were shipped to a rabbit reserve, but it's still a great place to walk around if you like architecture.
On the scenic drive, just before you make it to U Vic, you may consider stopping at Gyro Park, one of the great beaches of Victoria. Especially if you're in the summer time.
If you like a good walk or drive up to a good view point, check out Mount Doug Park, great for walking and driving, you can drive all the way to the top if you choose not to hike it.
Going north up the peninsula, you can also check out the Butterfly Gardens, which are always better if it's warm out and the sun is out (as butterfly's seem more powered by sun than anything else)
Right near the Butterfly Gardens is Buchart Gardens, a world known botanist dream! one of the reasons many come to Victoria in the first place. You can visit this place multiple times / year and see different flowers in bloom each time. They also have special events, buy tickets early for these.
If your trip is timed perfectly, Heritage Acres is a great place to go if the VI Model Train engineers are running. Such a unique model train ride through the woods.
Visiting the small quaint town of Brentwood Bay, it's kind of neat to walk around there and check out the little shops and the harbour.
While we're talking of small towns, why not visit Sydney, where the mean age is 70+, but man is it a cute little down with a two fantastic fish and chips restaurants. One on the pier, and one called fish on fifth!
Going out the other side of Victoria, you'll want to check out the filming location for X-Men, Xavier's school for the gifted, or as it's known on the island as Hatley Castle. It's on the Royal Roads University campus.
Just behind Royal Roads you can find Fort Rodd Hill & the Fisgard Lighthouse, both with one low entrance fee, you can see a piece of war history, and check out the historic lighthouse while you're at it.
A nice ocean side walk that's easy to get to is the Esquimalt Lagoon. Just pull up and you're on the beach
If you're looking to connect with nature, Goldstream National Park will be a great stop. Humungous trees, a natural salmon run, a learning center. Best of all, there is a west-coast Niagara Falls as well if you like a 20 minute hike straight up hill, you can see the Goldstream train trestle,
If you're into hiking, you might also want to check out Mt. Finlayson.
A good hike to (or drive to) a decent beach with an amazing view of the Olympic peninsula is at Witty's Lagoon. A ways out from Victoria, but worth it if you're already going to Hatley castle.
Once you start headed up island, there are some great places to stop on the Malahat drive.
And while you're thinking about the Malahat, you may want to consider the Kinsol Trestle, one of the oldest and largest train trestles in Canada.
If you're up for a trek way out to town, and it's a hot summer day, a great place to hang out is the Sooke Pot Holes. Be sure to bring your own lunch, there isn't much around here.

Up Island
I don't have the time to go up island as much as I'd like, but here are a few places that I have been to and enjoyed

Take a stop in Cowichan Bay, and make sure you try the Udder Guys ice-cream!
Summer time? looking for a relaxing float down a river? Cowichan River Tubing has you covered.
If you have time to visit Parksville, it's a great beach town, specifically Rathtrevor beach!
If you are up in Parksville, a quick trip out to Coombs you can check out the Goats on the Roof, an island favourite.
Lastly, if you happen to be up island in the winter, you can actually ski and snowboard here. Just point your GPS to Mt Washington.

Brit Complains about Lost Luggage

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:22:00 +0000

So, I'm about to get onto a plane today, and my father pulls this up:

Thanks Dad, that makes me feel great about checking in my luggage!

In Vancouver, Canada for a while, here are some things to do!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 18:53:00 +0000

It turns out my things to do in Seattle blog post was very popular. Lots of folks are also making a trip up the coast from Seattle to Vancouver and curious of what to do in Vancouver. Below are a list of things that I enjoyed when I did them. Enjoy!

Downtown area / peninsula

Walk around the sea-wall of Stanley park
Sit on the patio and have food at Milestones in English Bay
Vancouver Aquarium is one of the best in Canada
There is a ton of shopping and stuff on Robsin between Burrard & Howe, and of course the Pacific Centre just north of Georgia (Use maps.live.com and you can see the area)
There is a fancy restaurant called the Stone Grill, if you’re looking for some upper class dining, it’s under the Grandville bridge on the city side
Gas Town – old part of Vancouver, similar to Pioneer Square in Seattle, but they have a Steam Clock!
Yale Town – upper class neighbourhood with some shops…
You won’t want to go past (east of) Main Street on E. Hastings… it’s not that safe… if you see bars on the windows of stores, go the other way. J It’s probably fine during the day, but it’s not really that nice of an area any ways.

South of downtown / Kitsilano area

Walk from Kitsilano beach to Grandville island
- Kits beach has volley ball courts
- Pass a small maritime museum
Grandville Island – Market/shopping area, can be related to Pike Place market.
Jericho Beach Park – has some amazing views of the city
On Oak St, there is the Vandusen Botanical Garden’s if you like Flowers, etc.
There is a ton of shopping on 4^th street between Burrard and MacDonald
For Eating, I like the following places
- Earl’s – American food
- Rugby Club – quality steak house (at Broadway and Oak (or close to there)
- Cactus club – American food
- Hell’s Kitchen – Pizza
- Nevermind –night club, but they have awesome Yam-fries!
University of British Columbia – On the west of this campus, there are some incredible views of the mountains, especially at the “Point Grey” area

North Vancouver

Capilano Suspension Bridge a suspended bridge, costs money, but pretty cool to do that and the tree-tops thing they have there
One exit to the east, there is a free suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon, and this one is free!
Grouse Mountain, there is tons of stuff to do here in the summer (it’s a ski hill in the winter), like zip lining, and mountain climbing etc.

Spending the day at Robby Gordon's

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:26:00 +0000

Today I spent the day at Robby Gordon's primary race car shop. The two cars in this picture weren't even finished yet! They have a bit more work before Robby runs them through their paces.

Taken in Charlotte, NC, USA.

Meet up with Robby Gordon!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:48:00 +0000

I’m actually in North Carolina this weekend, hanging out at the Team Gordon headquarters. Robby has been in and out, but he was doing a photo-shoot and I managed to snag a few, with his helmet on!

Taken in Charlotte, NC, USA

Charlotte Sky Explosion

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:49:00 +0000

I'm currently travelling in Charlotte, and looking out the window of the building i'm in, the sky had just exploded in color!

I'm sure the picture doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea.

Picture taken in Charlotte, NC, USA

Unlucky Ferry Disembarkment

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:04:00 +0000

Living on the West Coast, I find myself taking plenty of ferries. This past weekend it become apparent to me that I am unable to get off the ferry in the first 25 cars. In fact, it's pretty much like I'm always in the last 25 cars.

Here is what's weird to me. You can reserve on a B.C. Ferry. This reservation lets you get onto the front of the ferry, and is supposed to get you off first. This is not what I find.

As the cars start to disembark the boat, there is always the ferry traffic controller, all smug in their reflective coats and ear protection who points at me, and tells me to stop. Myself, and the entire line of traffic from me to the back of the boat, gets to wait until everyone else is off the ferry. This has happened to me the past 4 times I've taken the ferry, whether I pay for the reservation or not.

Seriously, I've had to stop being angry, and just laugh at the situation, because how can you not with it being 4 times in a row, being told to wait.

Shocking.

Viral Video's of the past 5 years

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 05:53:00 +0000

I'm sure you've seen plenty of forwards, but the question is, have you seen them all in one video!?

Someone has too much time on their hands, but I'm glad they do, this one is awesome!

Canada's Military

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:43:00 +0000

Today I was talking with some friends/co-workers about two great articles that I find absolutely hilarious about the Canadian military. The first one is a hoax from SatireWire.com. Back in 2002, there was a huge forest fire in Quebec, and lots of the smoke poured over the border into the USA. Naturally, the joke newspaper took it a step further. Copied below for your convenience. I am still looking for the second, I will post it when I find it.

"Propelled by strong winds from the north, the fires have created a plume of smoke from Michigan to Massachusetts that's visible as far south as Washington, D.C." — National Post, Canada, July 8, 2002

OVEREAGER, CANADA SENDS SMOKESCREEN OVER U.S. BEFORE CANADIAN INVASION PLANS FINISHED
Canada Also Discloses It Has Invaded U.S. 113 Times, But No One Has Noticed

Ottawa (SatireWire.com) — Embarrassed Canadian generals today conceded an overzealous officer defied orders and started fires in Quebec to shroud the eastern seaboard in smoke before Canada had finished preparing its full-scale invasion of the United States.

Canadian smokescreen blinds eastern U.S. (Source: NOAA)
As a result, the classic war maneuver of blinding the enemy in advance of an attack — the smoke now blankets American skies as far south as Washington, D.C. — was wasted, said Canada's Defence Chief, Lt. Gen. Ray Henault.

"We were supposed to line up on the border, then start the fires," said a clearly disheartened Henault. "It's not like we can do it again. They'll know it's us. I had a cute little house in the Poconos all picked out, too."

However, several members of Canada's Parliament were furious, and demanded to know why, despite decades of secret planning, the invasion forces were not ready. In response, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley explained that the Canadian military was waiting for approval.

"Whenever we engage in a military operation, and certainly one of this magnitude, we look to our U.S. allies for guidance," said Manley.

"But... but we were going to invade the U.S.," said Toronto MP Tony Ianno.

"Oh, ah," said Manley.

With the botched invasion now public, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien scrambled to diffuse anger in Washington. Fortunately, his explanation to President Bush has so far succeeded in deflecting American ire. "He told me the smoke wasn't from Quebec," said Bush. "He said it was from al Quebec. Damn, those guys are everywhere."

Despite the lack of surprise, many Canadians have urged the military to push on, arguing that if they can't take the U.S. by force, they can at least sneak into Detroit and take back the Stanley Cup. Gen. Henault, however, urged restraint, noting that Canada has only 70,000 people in its armed forces, while the U.S. has 2 million. That revelation raised eyebrows among several MPs.

"So, if we are short by about 1.9 million soldiers, how, exactly, were we going to pull this invasion off?" asked Ontario MP John Godfrey. "Were we just going to use smoke?"

"And mirrors," said Henault. "Lots and lots of mirrors."

"Well, like I said, the plan wasn't finished," he added.

Meanwhile, Stan Keyes, MP for Hamilton West, suggested Canadians use the ash cover to hide from Washington until relations return to normal. Godrey, however, argued such an effort was unnecessary. "We're in Canada," he said. "Most Americans can't find us now."

Copyright © 2002, SatireWire.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:12:00 +0000

With your hands...

It's Official

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:57:00 +0000

Ask a Ninja Strikes again!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:28:00 +0000

Over on Ask A Ninja, the mystery Ninja talks about Ninja phrases that are used in every day common language.

Definately a great episode!

Having Trouble with Life?

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Thu, 10 May 2007 20:54:00 +0000

No seriously, Ask A Ninja! People send in questions to Ask a Ninja and he answers them, Ninja style. Are you going off to College? check out his College Tips video.

Sometimes he doesn't take questions, but rather meets celeb's like the folks in Blades of Glory (This one is awesome), or the Myth Busters.

Most of the Episodes are really good. Check them all out here.

It's not every day you hold a Croc!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 00:36:00 +0000

So, I'm down here in Florida, and my wife and I took a day trip out to the everglades. We went for an airboat ride, followed by getting to hold a baby crocodile. You can tell the difference between an Aligator and a Crocodile by the way their snout is. if it's rounded, it's a croc, if it's v-shaped, and pointy (like the "A" in aligator) then it's a gator.

So we ventured down to the "glades" where they filmed Just Cause (great movie) and hopped on our airboat. I've never been on one of those before, and those things can MOVE! I kept thinking that the sticks pointing at us out of the water would stop the boat in it's tracks, but we just sored over top. Very sweet.

We followed up the day by holding a 3 or 4 year old Croc.

This big guy was way more relaxed then his younger brothers, apparently he'd been doing this for years! I also learned on this tour that you can't tell what gender a croc is, without surgery (or size apparently). Female Crocs grow up to about 10 feet, and Male crocs grow as large as they want (largest reported in FL was 23 feet!) If a the space between a crocs eyes and end of the nose is 8", the croc is 8 feet long, that number always matches.

As my wife said "This Croc was cool!" and not just because it's a cold blooded creature.

Wow, this is a smart dog..

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 18:53:00 +0000

Check out how smart this dog is!

I agree with Ellen, clean your pool people!

Oh, speaking of dogs... Chico was sniffing a bunch of bushes the other day, and my neighbour said "oh look, he's reading the newspaper"... and when he started peeing on the bushes, I was like "nope, he's a wiki editor!"

A Large Pad

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 20:29:00 +0000

When Nature's Food Chain get's messed up.

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:59:00 +0000

Got this in an email this morning.... A rabbit vs a Snake.

Rabbit 1
Snake 0

10 Signs You're Too Stressed

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 20:36:00 +0000

So, one of the benefits of being married is your wife leaves Cosmo, or US magazines in every bathroom. Usually I just look at the pictures, but this one article caught my eye...

Your co-workers beat afternoon energy slumps by downing candy and soda, you chase antacids with antianxiety meds.

You stay at the office until 11 every night so the nosy cleaning staff won't tell your boss you "cut out early".

After you get a massage, you notice that your pants are now high-waters because you're actually 3 inches taller. (I'm not sure I actually get this one)

The last time you took a real lunch break, your mom made you the sandwich and even cut off the crusts for you.

On your last birthday, your friends all chipped in and got you your very own portable defibrillator.

Even though you don't have a kid, you find yourself commiserating with new parents: "Only an hour and a half of sleep? Cloths all covered in slobber? Constant crying? Hoo, man, tell me about it ...".

On the driver's license you just got renewed, your eye color is now listed as red.

Downing a superventi, triple, espresso, mocha ultimate extreme ice coffee is something you do to "even yourself out."

Your voice mail greeting is "What!?!?!?!"

When you suddenly have to take off work because of a funeral, you're psyched about the vacation."

So the sign says Only in Cosmo, so this is my lame attempt to get flamed for looking at pictures (and reading 1 article) in Cosmo, while attempting to give the writer credit for his work. Giving credit where credit is due is more important to me... Flame on!

Sean's Guide to Better Traffic ...

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 17:38:00 +0000

Sitting in Traffic this morning, it occured to me that if everyone drove the way I did, getting to work wouldn't cause so many grey hairs. Granted this is a self centric view on driving, but hey, I'd be willing to make some adjustments for the greater good myself.

In my opinion, driving in traffic is like trading on the stock market. If we all worked together, we could make a lot of money. The problem is usually someone wants to go against the grain, because the outcome for a single individual is better than the whole. This is probably true in driving too.

Instead of having one person get to work on time, why don't we all show up 1 minute late!?

Here are my tips

If the speed limit is 45mph, and you happen to be travelling 48mph, and no one is really close to the front of your car you do not need to use the brakes, just take your foot off the glass and slow down. Or even better, take the gamble that a cop isn't going to waste time on paperwork for a measly 3mph.

When merging in traffic, make yourself go the same speed as an open gap, merge into the gap as if you've always been there. Do not use the brakes to slow into a gap.

Watch all the cars around you, if the person in front of you taps their brakes because they are getting just a little bit too close to the car in front of them don't slam your breaks because you think they are going to grind to a halt.

Use your rear-view mirror. If you want to change lanes, look in the rear-view mirror for people who are travelling faster than you. Do not merge into the lane and not speed up to match their speed.

Actually, when I really think about it, it comes down to two things:

Your car "wants" to slow down, it's simple physics, don't use the breaks if you don't really need to

Pay attention to the cars around you, go with the flow, don't travel 40mph if everyone else is travelling 45, use your mirrors and judge speed of fellow drivers

... Oh, and of course. GET THE HECK OUT OF MY WAY! :o)

Ghost Ride the Whip!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 17:42:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, a co-worker asked "Do you know what a Chinese Firedrill is?" to a meeting room we were in. I of course answered yes, it's when you pull up at a red light, everyone in the car jumps out, runs around like crazy, then gets back into the car. I got kudos as the only one in the room that knew that.

Then comes the next question: "Do you know what Gost Ride the Whip is?" No one knew, so we spent the first 10 minutes of the meeting on a on the You Tube search for Ghost Ride The Whip.

Well, it seems local law enforcement has put the gangsta Ghost Ride the Whip to great use:

Yes, I have the Ghost Ride the Whip stuck in my head today...

Oh how I loved the Croc Hunter...

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 03:26:00 +0000

Steve Irwin was probably one of the greatest entertainers ever. I was sent this video on YouTube which is just awesome!

Cleaning an SLR lens

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:50:00 +0000

Wow. Microsoft has a do it yourself guide!!

The snow is finally gone

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 19:35:00 +0000

... At least for now.

I for one am glad about that. My car is dirtier than it's ever been. I'll have to wash it on the weekend. :)

I'm also sure the folks in Portland are happy the snow is gone, as you can tell from this video. Keep in mind that there is no salt on the roads out here, because the road drain systems empty into streams, and salt isn't good for the wildlife.

After watching that Video, I'm glad I worked from home a few days...

Yet Another Snowstorm

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 07:42:00 +0000

One of the things I like the most about living in Seattle is the ability to drive to snow, not to live with it. That apparently isn't the case today. Just in my backyard, there is a foot of snow, and it's still coming down.

Apparently traffic was terrible. I wouldn't know because I looked outside (someone else's) window and saw the clouds extremely dark over my house. I bailed at 4pm today and when I was half way home, I was in a soft hail-storm.

Those who left work at 5pm today, text-messaged me at 9:30pm to tell me they were home.

I think the proper word for tomorrow is "Snow-Day"... Just don't tell my manager.

Chico's Nightly Mission

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Daniel) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:18:00 +0000

Every night that I'm home, Chico appears to be on a mission. A mission to move his entire toy box from the kitchen, to underneath the coffee table in the TV room.

I place all of Chico's toys in a little bin in the kitchen. He's kenneled in the kitchen during the day so I like him to make sure he has lots of entertainment, although I doubt he uses any of his toys during the day.

Once I get home, one by one, Chico will bring me a new toy to play with, be it tug of war, toss and fetch, or just chew it to death, each toy must have a bit of Chico's time. In fact, there are so many toys that I'm concerned that if we get him anymore, all of his time will be spent carting around each of these toys and he'll be too busy to do anything else.

Chico is definately on a mission each night to move all of his posessions into the living room. This picture is a picture of the pile of toys I had to move back to the kitchen tonight.