Rhonda Bracey: At Random

Today was a free day for each of us to do as we wanted. Some went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Skywalk, but that’s not my thing, so I decided to tick off a bucket list item that I’ve had for 30+ years ever since I first heard about the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia.

No-one else was interested in going, so I jumped in a cab (side note — Uber or Lyft aren’t allowed in BC as yet!) and got dropped at the door around 10:30. The admissions person said that there was a free guided tour by a docent at 11am, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do it. However, I was in the vicinity when she started the tour and stayed until the end, nearly two hours later (the tour normally goes for just over an hour). It was fascinating, especially the information about the potlatch ceremonies, the many uses of the cedar tree (the ‘tree of life’), the various tribes, and how they used what Europeans labelled ‘totem’ poles, but weren’t actually totems because they weren’t worshipped. She also showed us how to identify which animal was which on a pole or in a drawing. I loved it and I’m so glad I went!

This afternoon I need to pack ready to leave first thing tomorrow morning — I’m going out for drinks and dinner with some friends this evening, so I know I’d better pack before I head out!

Bill Reid’s 4-tonne yellow cedar creation story sculpture — after the great flood, raven finds a clam shell containing children. The sand is from Rose Spit in the Haida islands where this story comes from.

We were up early and grabbed our bagged breakfasts from the hotel ready for our 7:15am bus ride to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. We were on the 9am sailing, and our bus was the first one on Deck 2 with all the trucks and other large vehicles — that meant we were the first off! Some of us braved the cold, wind, and rain on Deck 7 (the open deck, with some sheltered areas fore and aft), while others hunkered down inside on the lounge chairs on the much-more-comfortable Decks 5 and 6. Deck 7 was brisk and bracing — just perfect for waking up! We landed at Schwartz Bay, some 90 mins later, and were soon on our way to Butchart Gardens.

It’s been 30+ years since I was last at Butchart Gardens. I think I was there in summer, with all the summer crowds. Coming in autumn was so much better — not many people, the gardens had been washed with the overnight rain (which continued for the first 15 mins or so after we arrived), and it was in full autumn colour. Just stunning. We had nearly 4 hours there, and I walked for close to 3 hours, before having lunch and visiting the gift shop (I didn’t buy anything). One thing that was an excellent touch was the provision of see-through umbrellas for guests — you could pick up a brolly at the entrance, and there were several stations around where you could drop your brolly if you no longer needed it, or pick up one if you did. No extra charge. (NOTE: Many hotels and tour buses also provide umbrellas for their guests — in a city that gets a lot of rain, like Vancouver, that’s an added bonus.)

After Butchart Gardens, we headed towards Victoria, stopping off at a quilt store along the way. Well, what an eye opener that was! This was a random stop, not reconnoitered earlier by our fearless leaders, so they were as surprised as us as to how long it took the person behind the counter to calculate our purchases. Eventually, Michelle stepped in behind the counter and did the cutting while the shop assistant did the money. But it was all so antiquated in these days of point-of-sale/inventory systems! First, she wrote down on a paper spreadsheet each item purchased (one item per line…) — customer number for the day (I was 16), code number of the item purchased, quantity, and price. Then she entered each of those prices into a till from the 80s that was basically an adding machine with a drawer. Mine was easy — just a couple of fat quarters, But for those who bought yardage, she had to calculate the price, then deduct the 20% discount for the sale price, then add the tax etc. all on a handheld calculator and when that failed, on her phone. Then sometimes the till wouldn’t give her the correct change price, so she got all flustered and had to calculate that by hand. One other strange thing — Michelle had phoned ahead at least an hour before to see if they would take a busload of eager shoppers. But when we got there, the other shop assistant held open the door for us, then left, leaving the one person to manage sales for 20 women. Why she left, I have no idea.

After more than an hour waiting for everyone to get served, we were finally on our way to Victoria. We drove through Beacon Hill, and saw the Mile 0 marker for the Trans Canada Highway, and the Terry Fox statue there. Then down to the waterfront, stopping outside the Empress Hotel (now without her coating of ivy!). Back on the bus and through Chinatown, then back to the ferry terminal for the 7pm sailing back to Tsawwassen and on to the hotel, arriving around 9:30pm.

Capt James Cook, Victoria, BC

This morning we had a tour of Vancouver, hitting the highlights. The day was cool and cloudy, and as it wore on, the skies got more and more ominous, but fortunately the rain started just as we were finishing the tour, so we were able to get out at each place and have a look around.

Some of the places we went were Chinatown (and the tranquil Sun Yat-Sen gardens), Gastown, Stanley Park, and the Vancouver Lookout (at Harbour Center). (See if you can spot the seaplane in one of the photos!)

After we got back, we went our own ways for the rest of the afternoon. I walked across the road to the Vancouver Art Gallery and spent an hour or so there. Unlike other art galleries I’m familiar with, this one has 4 floors, each of which is dedicated to a special exhibition — there are no general works from the collection on display. The collection that amazed me the most was Guo Pei’s couture collection — these are totally unwearable garments, but have the most amazing embroidery, exotic fabrics, and sheer artistry embodied in them. And in one of the other collections was a 10-print selection of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe series.

Tonight we have another group dinner, and tomorrow we’re up bright and early for the ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island.

Update: Dinner at Boulevard

What a wonderful meal! Healthy ingredients and portions and sized perfectly so that we didn’t feel stuffed. I had the beets and burrata for appetiser, lingcod for my main, and fromage blanc for dessert. Plus two cocktails — el diablo and gerard. The el diablo had a strange looking piece of fruit on top — in fact it was a dried lime!

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