Royal British Columbia Museum - Originally Published 2009

As noted on a previous entry, thanks to a misread bus schedule, we managed to burn some time we could have used to take in some sights in Victoria.  When we arrived at the Royal British Columbia Museum, we had exactly one hour to tour the entire place.  I can report that while it’s not the most leisurely way to see it, it is possible to get it all in.

The Royal Museum is three stories that tell the history of British Columbia.

They have everything from stuffed animals to rooms devoted to the history and culture of the First Nation people. I recommend that you give yourself considerably more time to take a look at it than we did.  While it is possible to see the whole place in an hour, it’s kind of like driving a car with your feet.  Yes, you can do it, but it’s really not a good idea.

Victoria Butterfly Garden - Originally Published 2009

Every saint is in charge of something.  Jude looks over hopeless cases and policemen.  Anthony takes a look out for animals.  For the unindoctrinated, think of it like this:  Saints all have very specific super powers.

Saint Tupin-Upon-Avon is an obscure saint.  Tupin-Upon-Avon is in charge of Americans who do not pay attention when they travel to foreign countries.  I have become connected to St. Tupin-Upon-Avon because she has seen me through a few scrapes, most recently at the Victoria Butterfly Garden. 

You see, in order to get to the Victoria Butterfly Gardens, you need to take a bus.  Without bogging you down in the details about my experience, let’s just say I didn’t so a good job of paying attention to the bus schedule.

We toured the gardens leisurely spending just over an hour among the lush, green foliage and the colorful insects.

Now here’s where my personal patron saint comes into play.  I figured that this bus, like all buses runs every fifteen minutes.  Wrong!  It runs every hour.  We just missed the departing bus and our reward was fifty-five minutes in the warm Victoria sunlight.

Thankfully, after a few prayers to the patron saint of American dumbasses, she sent a bus along so we could enjoy a few hours in Victoria.

Portrait of the artist waiting on a bus.

Japadog - Originally Published 2009

My sister-in-law recommended this place, not because she had eaten there, but because she saw Anthony Bourdain eat there.  I’m not much into celebrity chefs [this portion edited out in 2018.  Please see note below]*

Well, once again yours truly was wrong about something.  It turns out that Bourdain was on to something.  This place is great.  It was one of the more original places I have eaten at in a while.

Japadog offers up grilled hotdogs topped of with Japanese style condiments.  Imagine if a sushi chef ran into a hotdog salesman.  Two great tastes that taste great together.  This is a must do while in Vancouver.

*The portion of this post was written in 2009 when I was a younger man and had a much smaller outlook on life.  I made a cheap joke about Anthony Bourdain's drug addiction. Now that I am older, I would like to believe that I would have taken the higher road.  Rest in peace, Anthony Bourdain.

The Fish House - Originally Published 2009

The odds were stacked against the Fish House in Stanley Park.  It’s a seafood restaurant near a body of water.  It’s an elegant looking place in the middle of a busy park.  I was thinking that it might be like Tavern on the Green in Manhattan, an elegant place that specializes in fleecing the tourists.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.  After wandering around the park, the Fish House offered up a mellow place to site back and watch people on the putting green.  The food was elegant, but it wasn’t stuffy or pretentious.  The wait staff was friendly and had plenty of information for us tourist.  It’s worth a stop, especially with the early bird special.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.  THE FISH HOUSE - WE SPEAK YOUR NAME.

Vancouver Aquarium - Originally Published 2009

The Vancouver Aquarium has all of the resources to be an astonishing landmark in the city.  You can get an up-close view of Pacific White Sided Dolphins and Beluga whales.  They have a rainforest exhibit that has a fantastic array of animals on display.  But, sadly, the visit left me a little cold.

I’m not sure why this place failed to do it for me.  When I think back on it and analyze it, I think it was because the place was packed with people.  There were sections that were beyond claustrophobic.  I felt like I was riding in a freight evaluator jam packed with people.  

Frog or toad?

Don’t take my word for it, though.  I have read other reviews and almost every one classifies this place as a “must-do”.  Maybe I was off my meds when I went through.

What's newt with you?

The scarlet ibis in the flesh.