Victoria, here we come!

A year or so ago, I promised Emily's Girl Scout troop that I would take them to Victoria, BC. They'd been saving their cookie money, and wanted a big blow-out. After a year of planning, the day was finally here, and we were anxious to be off on our trip.

6:00 am is an obscenely early time to be driving off, but all four Girl Scouts and two adult chaperones were on board, and more or less awake. We had a five hour drive to Port Angeles ahead of us, with only a little wiggle room - we had to arrive by 11:45 to keep our ferry reservation. Gillian and I traded off driving and keeping each other alert, while the girls alternately slept, chatted, and sang. Each of us contributed a CD to our drive's musical accompaniment, and what a diverse collection it was: Phantom of the Opera, All Caps, Celtic Woman, Evanescence, Joni Mitchell, and Dire Straits. What a motley crew we are!

We arrived at the ferry in plenty of time, even with generous stops along the way. For some of the girls, this was their first ferry ride, so right away, it's an adventure! After 90 minutes of checkers, backgammon, and customs, we have arrived at our destination: Victoria, BC, Canada.


I must say, it felt good to be out of the car, and to stretch our legs after driving all day. Now, to start our fun!

Our first stop: The Bug Zoo.



There are a lot of creatures packed into this 2-room building. Ants have a special see-through labyrinth running along two walls, cockroaches, mantids, beetles, spiders (very large, hairy spiders!), waterbugs, and so many others surrounded us in habitats specially designed for each species.



My favorites were the masters of disguise - those who blend in so completely with their environments you have to search to find them. Amazing how these creatures look just like leaves and sticks!



The best part, though, was the guide who talked about each bug in turn, giving details about its natural habitat and habits, and passing it around to those visitors who wanted to hold it. Emily B. and Felicity were the bravest in our group!



After leaving the Bug Zoo, we decided to wander around the harbor and check out the sights on the waterfront. Arts and crafts booths, performance artists, musicians (included a violinist Meredith proclaimed to be quite good), and statues of whales all fronted the harbor in a festive lagniappe of entertainment.



Next stop: the elegant and opulent Empress Hotel.



Might as well see how the other half live! Walking through and observing the beautiful people shopping, having high tea, and spending lots of money, Emily W. declared that that would be her someday. She's determined to be a guest at the Empress at some future date. You go, girl!

Dinner at the Noodle Box gave us the boost we all needed, as we were beginning to drag after such an early morning. Back into the car we went, destination: the SVI Guide House. This is the offices of the Southern Vancouver Island Girl Guides (the international community's equivalent to the US's Girl Scouts). There is a large, empty room on the second floor of this building, really a meeting room of sorts, that is rented out to visiting Girl Guides and Girl Scouts at a very reasonable rate. We let ourselves in, unloaded the car, and staked out our spots on the floor for our sleeping bags. All settled in, we went to the grocery store, since we would be doing all of our own cooking from this point on. We shopped, unloaded our groceries into the well-stocked kitchen, and collapsed for a well-deserved night of sleep. It had been a busy day!