A September 2001 trip to Victoria by syrene
Quote: We arrived on September 10th expecting a brief stop on the way home (to New York). On September 11th the world as we knew it ceased to exist and we ended up staying over a week.
Overview
Botanical Beach is a nice drive and a fun place to spend a few hours. You hike (watch out for bears!) to these "tidal pools" and at low tide there are these cool, funky marine creatures that can be seen in them. It's also just a quiet nice place to spend an afternoon. I spent over a hour playing on the enormous pieces of driftwood that float in.
Hotel | "The Aerie"
Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 4, 2002
Aerie Resort 600 Ebedora Lane Victoria, British Columbia (250) 743-7115
Restaurant | "The Aerie Restaurant"
Aerie Resort and Spa 600 Ebadora Lane Victoria, British Columbia
Story/Tip
I felt like the people of Victoria adopted us. We could not go anywhere without deep, sincere and beautiful expressions of sympathy. Waiters paid for our lunches, shop keepers gave us clothes, strangers invited us to their homes for dinner. There was no official memorial but people spontaneously brought flowers, candles and cards to a make shift memorial outside the Parliament Building. When we visited, and people learned that we were from NY they were actually waiting in line to hug us! All over Victoria and the surrounding areas there were flags (Canadian and American)flying at half mast and bulletin boards displaying expressions of sympathy.
One day we were at Oak Bay Marina looking for seals and met a guy, Al that runs a nature tour company. He wasn't going out that day but instead invited us to his house for dinner! We were able to leave the next day and never had a chance to go out with him but he's a warm and generous man and a real environmentalist. Check out his web site: http://www.coastnet.com/~blackfish/index.htm.
syrene Mount Sinai, New York
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