Re: Best Marina and things to do in Victoria, BC
used to live there and be a dj on one of the local radio stations.
imho...place to stay....laurel point in.
its on the quiet side of the parliament buildings, on the inner harbour (where you want to be)...so the action is a few steps away and you can see it but cant hear it, (5 mins walk) but its quiet there.
its only a 3 star due to technicality's of the ranking system....but it is actually a 5....so its cheaper than a five with all the stuff. i get a junior suite facing the inner harbour.
my gf and i lay in bed till noon and watch the float planes come in and out of the inner harbour. it is absolutely stunning.
fishermans wharf is almost right below you.....get fish and chips there. best in the world.
hi tea at the empress is a mandatory thing. in china town......get a pork belly.....its kinda like barbecued pork in a samosa....all of the people in victoriia know and eat these things....fantastic.
big bads is a one hundred year old pub in the strathcona hotel. dollar bills on the walls....peanut shells on the floor....and a must for any visitor.....staple a bill to the wall with your sig and date.
as far as other places to eat......just pick one.....bastion squair, anywhere on government street....just go in....it will be a winner.
beauchart gardens is breath taking. its turn off is on the pat bay hiway from the ferries to victoria.
there is a place called clover point......if you go to the end of clover point.....and the wind is blowing......you can put your tows on the edge of the cliff and lean all the way over, the wind will keep you up....its kinda freaky......as your body is totally over a 25 foot cliff.
if a storm comes up......dont hide....go to dallas road....its a sea wall......dont drive dallas.....walk it with a rain coat and thick winter coat......the water crashes on the seawall. many world class photographs have been taken of dallas road in a wind storm.
btw....if it rains....just dont worry......wait 5 mins.....it will change, victoria is mostly partially cloudy with mostly sunny breaks this just means a few fast moving clouds crusing by. ......
if you are into hockey.......victoria just got a new whl team......go see them, cheap enetertainment at 10 bux stand up. the players you see will more than likely be in the nhl in 3 years....and the 17- 20 year olds play with real passion....no snoozers. the nhl takes 60% of its players form the chl. and out of that....allot are from the whl. (sidney crosby, erik lindross, jerome igilna, jamie benn, luke shenn, shea webber, just to name a few that have come out of the chl, the latter three are form the whl. but the list of super stars goes on forever.
on the water......head north ( i think) to pedder bay...(keep the land to starboard) and go into the marina and get the detailes of fishing from the experts....a guy named danny waters has been fishing there all his life and knows it all. his father is rob waters, the former manager of the oak bay marine group and the old manager of pedder bay.
(rob is my brother in law). drop your lines in near the mouth of the bay, (watch out for the navy ships....due to the haze on the water, you wont see them till you are in collision distance, these are 300 foot ships, and you cannot see them till you are 400 feet away). they sometimes anchor at the mouth of the bay.
world record salmon have been caught there.
out side of pedder bay is the race rocks light house. this is your destination.
on the way....keep you eyes open towards the shore...you might see a killer whale crusing for sea lions. and the chances of you coming up on a pod are very good.
at any one time, there are over 200 large california sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks.....(warning, they are large animals, some weighing over 1200 lbs with the average being 600) you can get very close....touch close.....but if they charge.....they can sink you.
go there at slack tide because the race channel can get very rough VERY FAST you can go from flat calm to 8 foot seas in minits. it IS a real graveyard of the pacific.
but worth the small trip.....it is the experience of a life time.
i can go on forever......victoria is the most beautiful place in all of western canada.....and i will venture to say the most beautiful. even more so than where i live right now.
it is chilly with the ocean breeze....so dont bring your summer skimpys....bring the long pants and long sleeve shirts.
have fun
cheers
oops
