James Bay Inn, James Bay

Back during Tourist in your Hometown, I spent the night at the James Bay Inn.  I had an enjoyable enough evening with good friends in the JBI Pub, located underneath the hotel, drinking many fine beers.  It's always nice to take the stairs home.

The pub itself is a maze of tables and booths and spaces, with a dart board perilously close to the two main entrances. There is a big round bar stuck in the middle, that makes it not quite fit in with the seating around it.  This is the replacement for any charm in the surroundings.  There is no massive chalkboard of  rare Oregon beers, or the pinewood polished fixings, or deep plush couches, or 10 mile organic grass fed menus.  The JBI has none of these things.

It doesn't need them.

The point of the JBI is drinking a decent beer with folks you enjoy the company with.  There was music, I couldn't tell you what it was, but probably wasn't country music, as no-one in our group walked out screaming.  The beer menu had a good selection of local brews.  Or you can get a pale American lager in one of the mainstream flavours.

The menu is bar food.  There are burgers, wraps and sandwiches.  I got an open faced new york steak sandwich.  It was cooked nice and rare, just like I wanted it.  Piled up on a wedge of french bread, the juices flowed into the dough.  It was good.   One of my friends had the liver and onions.  The liver was a big, thin slab of protein, cooked, he said, just right, possibly the best he had in town for a while.

We sat a while and had a good time catching up, talking about all the things good friends do that are of little interest to anyone outside.  I believe we plotted about three major crimes, two spirited high jinks, and the eulogy at my funeral. I think. I remember laughing and smiling, so maybe the eulogy is a faulty memory after the second pint of Phillips Kaleidoscope IPA.

That's a good night out if it's very slightly hazy and my jaw muscles hurt from smiling.



The hotel room I got was a comfortable, clean and well appointed.  Except finding a makeshift desk space to type a journal entry was not easy. A chair couldn't fit between the bed and the chest of drawers. The bathroom was as big as the room itself.  I moved the bed into the bathroom to check my measurements, and it fitted between the sink, bath and toilet.  So I slept there.  I figured it would be an interesting change to sleep in a bathroom, but actually on a real mattress. Instead of using the bath mat as a cover (Mum, this only happened once, at University).

I woke up refreshed, reassembled the bedroom, and headed down to the breakfast room.

I went for the big fat breakfast, which had two of everything.  If you have the chance to stay at the James Bay Inn, and get a $10 voucher for breakfast, I recommend passing on this part of the stay. Over-cooked eggs, charred toast and coffee that was partly ground.  Good, old fashioned Vancouver Island dirt. Bleh.

The dinner was great, breakfast was not.  The room was fine. For the rate I paid, I'll not find a better deal within a walk of downtown in Victoria.

Tourist in your Hometown - Day 1, Part 1

It was a grey and drizzly day as I left home to drive the shortest distance I have ever have for a holiday.  The James Bay Inn, just outside the downtown core had a cheap deal for the nights of 'Be a tourist in your own Hometown', so I decided to take a mini-break and take a look around Victoria with a slightly different perspective.

The side plan was also try to use as many vouchers from my Attractions Victoria 'playbook' as possible in two days.  Because it always has to be a challenge and a project.

Walking down from the JBI (voucher 1 used), I noticed on the corner of Superior and Government how many different styles of architecture I could see.  The 'free classical' of the legislature building, the art deco bulk of the rear side of the BC museum, the wooden west coast detached buildings next door to a very modern, angular wood and concrete house. Many parts of Victoria seem to have a melange of styles and ages, and there's very little identi-kit housing in the central area.  If you want that, head to Bear Mountain....

I walked into Tourism Victoria to use Voucher 2, a half-priced transit pass.  Not that I used it today, but it's a scratch off, so we can save them up for the future.  A quick trip downstairs, and I pick up some postcards from Oceanside Gifts, and a Canadian Flag patch. Getting 15% of with Voucher 3.  I've been sending cards home to the family in the UK on semi-regular basis recently, so stocking up seemed like a good plan.

Next up, Starbucks in the Steamship terminal.  A space that once had the stalwart of hometown tourism... the Waxworks. Now home to the Robert Bateman Gallery... who I always refer to as 'Lord Bateman' after the British folk song. Voucher 4 got me half-price entry.  I was prepared to be cynical and snarky.  I left being much less cynical and appreciative of the massive output of his.  While I still think his natural art is wonderfully detailed yet lacking in life, giving a mawkish and distance feel, I found his other works much more engaging.  He did a series of more impressionistic pieces in the 60's, and one of a short path in Toronto called the 'Belt Line' really grabbed my attention.  Enough to see if I can find a print.

They also have a display of parts of a forty year collection of letters between Robert and his wife Birgit.  These are lovely objects, collages of art and ideas and objects from places they've stayed, visited and memories they've made together and apart.  They set themselves the challenge to create a letter to each other every three months, and kept it going this long.  It reminded me of the Griffin and Sabine books and images from Nick Bantock.

Still, onwards to the Legislature to use Voucher 5 - a free tour and Voucher 6 - 10% of in the gift shop.  Voucher 5 is not worth the paper it's printed on, as all tours are free here, all the time.  Thanks, Attractions Victoria for the padding.  That said, the tour itself was a good use of forty five minutes.  It combined information about the building with history of the province.  The building is officially called the BC Parliament Buildings, as that was the act that paid for it in the 1890's.  The architect, Francis Mawston Rattenbury, looks like Matt Damon with a big moustache.  He was twenty five when he designed it, on the strength of a forged resume. There are some rather nice stained glass windows, especially the one of the twelve areas of study.  That, and the four traditional jobs of BC, have sparked off a couple of ideas.  We also got a background on how the legislative assembly works, both the ceremony and the business.

Next, I walked over to Miniature World, just as I learned the news about Leonard Nimoy's passing.  So it seemed appropriate to have a minute of silence in the space section.  Which is a delightfully camp corridor with strange models of space stations and asteroids, with a voice over talking about warp tunnels and holidays in space.  Voucher 7 got me free entrance.  The best part of this museum is the large display showing the Trans-Canadian railway from coast to coast, with the  sound track telling you all about how it got built.  The rest of the displays are an assortment of items, which if you like miniatures of stuff is interesting but otherwise not so much.

Most curious is the new section, with a series of models telling the tales of Camelot, King Arthur and the Round Table.  With a very annoyingly loud soundtrack.  I have no idea why this is here. The models aren't that exciting, the buttons to animate things are laughable and the 'history' lesson is based on multiple, bastardized version of the Arthurian legends.  Still, I am sure kids love it, so that might explain exactly why it's there...

Voucher 8 was lunch at Dog-Gone-It which  serves the finest in gourmet hot dogs. I think that is the claim. My voucher got me a free bag of chips.  I ordered the Labrador Dog.  Hot dog, maple bacon, grated cheese and crispy onions with hot sauce.  Something smelled weird about my food.  Or the place.  The staff were busy and friendly in that rushed sort of way. The eating area felt like a airport lounge, designed to serve people's needs but not their wants.  My hot dog was loaded with the extras, with a soft white bun and a huge strip of bacon, piled with cheese.

I unhinged my jaw, and took a bite.  It was sustenance, but still with this odd, cake-like smell.  I realized suddenly... it was the bacon.  It smelled sweet from the maple syrup.  Sickly sweet.  Poor bacon, it died in vain.  Otherwise, the hot dog was fresh and juicy... but Mr Tube Steak will do you better from a street car.  But for $5, I didn't go too wrong.

And that was my morning... I have more from the afternoon to report, but will leave it for another day.

Saltspring Island trip, Christmas 2014

I've been to Salt Spring Island more times in 2014 than I've been to Vancouver.  Once with friends, once with my mum, and now once with the Brunette (the one of my Acquaintance and often mentioned as being gorgeous).

We headed over after I found a good deal from the Salt Spring Harbour House.  It was in that Christmas to New Year limbo, my favourite time of the year, if I am off work. There's no commitments, nothing planned, everything is quiet and you can relax a little.  If you are in London around then, its the best time to see the place without too many people.

The hotel was fine.  We took the non-scenic view room overlooking a corner of a farm paddock and the air conditioning units on the roof of the backside.  It was large room with high windows and lots of pine.  And a paint job that seemed to be half covering some of the pine beams.  The room had two Murphy beds, so I am guessing it is used as a break out room for meetings when not having oiks like me sleeping there (the Brunette is not an oik, just to be clear, just me).  No table, so no board games. Because that's what I like to do in hotel rooms... play board games.

I had hoped to get a chance to tour the farm as well too, you know, as part of my continued understanding of where my grub comes from, but that didn't happen as a long lie in was more important for me in the morning.  As sadly, dear readers, I got a cold.  Everyone feel sorry for me now, please.

Thanks.

Still, I had a decent nights sleep despite my cold and woke up plenty rested.  I'd stay there again if I got the same deal.  I wouldn't pay high season rates, which I suspect probably means I won't be staying on Saltspring during the high season very often.

Before the hotel stay, we had a wander around Ganges.  First order of business was food, and from the choices on one side of Gracepoint Park (nothing to do with the TV show) we went to the Saltspring Wok Bar.  A small space with a bar, and prep area for the chef.  Who was in residence and happy to tell us all about the daily specials (something laden with peanuts), and his former career as a heavy duty mechanic on VIA Rail.



The food was great, big salty-savoury noodles covered in a Green Thai chilli curry with chicken.  Creamy, with some heat and a lovely combination of flavours.  The Brunette had the same thing with smoked tofu, something he was happy to let us try before eating.  She's not a tofu lover, but she dug his smoked tofu (locally smoked, which doesn't have the same cachet as locally smoked salmon).  This was all eaten up happily in The Local, a small corner of the liquor store dedicated to serving beer and letting people bring in food from the row of small eateries.  Great idea, and you also get a view of the harbour. There is a patio for the summer, but we kept well inside.

We then hit up all the craft and independent shops that were open, including Black Sheep Books and Fever Tree design.  The former, I think I have mentioned before, is an awesome maze of new and used books. The later sells wholesome clothing and interior design pieces, and was being run by Tarquin, an Aussie who has travelled far and wide.  Had a good chat with him before moving onwards.

For the evening libations, we stopped in at Moby's Pub for a pint. Seems to be the place for craft beers in town, and I had a very satisfying pint of Russell's Blood Alley bitter.  Russell's every day draft beers are terrible, cheap and have the flavour that you'd expect by wringing out a damp bar towel after hosing down the bar top on a Friday night rush.  Russell's premium line makes great, flavourful brews well worth finding and spending a little time with.  Go figure.  I had originally ordered the Mile High Mountain Ale from Vancouver Island.  Described as a American Red Ale, it was pretty damn good, but I swapped with the Brunette who preferred it to the hoppier Blood Alley.  She's insisted I mention this beer as it was 'fantastic'.

I also ran into my old next door neighbour from Victoria, now serving behind the bar.  He lived in the basement of his parent's house when I first got here, while I lived in the much bigger helper suite. Very odd to run into him, but was nice to be recognized after five years... it took me a second to work out who it was, but he knew me straight away.    Nice locals style pub, I would certainly drink there again.

We then took a cold, dark walk down to the Salt Spring Inn.  The Inn has a medium sized dining room, overlooking the main core of Ganges.  It's an open space with high backed booths but with large picture windows.  This gives it a cosy feel but not claustrophobic.  You can shuffle into a booth with your date, gossip about the day but still part of the general dining crowd.



I ordered up a lasagne, despite there being a tonne of options I could have chosen (burgers, steak, jambalaya) while the Brunette went for Halibut tacos.  The lasagne was awesome. Deep filled, lots of juicy sauce and crisp, gooey cheese on top.  It was grilled to finish it and that made it piping hot.  I was accused of 'Dyson'-ing it up, which I claim was an unfair description of someone enjoying their food.  The Brunette said the tacos were delightful, served with a crisp green salad.  The fish was well cooked, kept moist and flakey, not a dried out mess.

We finished with dessert.  The cream cheese iced carrot cake I had was expertly made.  Moist, light and tasting of sweet grilled carrots, while the icing had sharpness to it that offset the cake.  The 'Death by Chocolate' my date had was nibbled at and savoured.  It had a dark, rich ganache coupled with a dark, dark cake. I was allowed a small morsel, and I have to concur, it was an awesome, intense dish.  I couldn't have eaten a whole portion myself, preferring my carrot cake. But others would disagree.

We paid, said hello to the restaurant's very friendly, old cat and toddled back to the hotel, happy and full.  And I was about ready for a NyQuil and a long, long sleep.

Camping - Gordon Bay, Cowichan Valley

This weekend, it was time to camp for the first time this year.  May Long Weekend but we got it booked up nice and early, with four sites all walking distance apart at Gordon's Bay Provincial Park.  That's on the south side of Lake Cowichan, with is forested hills and steep cliffs sitting over a deep, clear lake.  Very nice views in many places along the road out there.

The camp-site is typical Vancouver Island government... small little clearings surrounded by huge trees and a windy gravel road.  You are separate from your neighbours, but can walk quickly between sites to share beer, coffee or sugar.  You can get a good fire going, for cooking, light or heating, a picnic bench for food prep and eating, water near by and proper toilets in the middle.  The worst problem with these camp-sites is for campers... the flooring is gravel, meaning several layers of padding between you and the ground is essential for a good nights sleep, and getting tent pegs in and out is tricky.  Perfect though for parking up the RV and making a home for the weekend.

I just don't have an RV.  Or a Fifth Wheel... one of those on the site was bigger than most apartments and loomed over the driveways like the Starship Enterprise had landed a shuttle from space to investigate West Coasters.  I swear it had two stories, a garage and patio deck out back.  My little two man tent was the opposite end of the spectrum (though not quite the other end, the hammocks were the real back to nature choice), but suits me well enough. No one quite believes me you can sleep two in there, and the Attractive Brunette of my Acquaintance quite sensible brought along her own neat tent to accommodate her.

So, much Vichyssoise soup was consumed, provided by aforementioned Brunette. Damn fine soup for a warm spring day, washed down with a nice can of Thirsty Beaver from Tree.  A nice warm comfy night.  Except for the perennial problem I have with camping.  Somehow, my bladder -knows- when I have gotten zipped up and ready to sleep. No matter if I have made a pit stop before bed.  No matter if I've not drunk in five hours.  As soon as I am horizontal, and wrapped up, the bladder needs to be emptied.  And no walking barefoot into the woods to relieve myself... that gravel means every step is accompanied by a few choice swear words, waking the rest of your site (and several others).

Damn bladder.

We had plenty of small children running around the site, so to amuse them, there was a 'Go Fish' demonstration by the Freshwater Fish society of BC.  Kids could learn to cast, a little about the biology of fish and the work the society is doing to restock lakes.  Including the use of helicopters and rucksacks to bring fish into remote lakes.  Neat stuff, and I love how the parks seem to put on these activities for the children and add an activity for them to enjoy beyond running around the woods and getting muddy.  Though parents seem to think the latter is character building too.

The evening entertainment for me included several more beers (Bowen Island IPA, Lighthouse Switch Back IPA), smores, bean stew, Fentimann's and Gin for the Palazzo camp-site three of my friends were running (A-Class set up) and fire.  Fire is it's own entertainment, to watch the embers and flames burn, crackle and dance.  Everyone is entranced or just likes to watch things burn...

A warm cosy feeling inside me was with me as we left the next day.  Camping with friends is good for the soul and the shared memories it generates  Though the warm shower afterwards was almost as good a feeling, just not likely to be something I keep with me when I am seventy-five and in my dotage.

Cheers, Camping Friends!

Cusheon Lake Resort, Salt Spring Island

Is it Salt Spring or Saltspring?  I can never tell.  I'll take either one.

So, I found a set of cabins for rental on the island over New Year to chill out and relax in with some of my good friends.  A log cabin.  A fire place.  A quiet lake view.  A hot tub. Canoes.  A big pile of board games, and a huge amount of tasty food.  What could go wrong?

Nothing.  The only bad moment for me was breaking the door lock on the first night.  Didn't stop us getting in or out of the cabin, and the staff had a locksmith out to fix it the next day.  Something that just happens at times, and no fuss made.  In fact the staff were brilliantly laid back, happy folk.  They provided fire wood, and pretty much left people to get on with it and enjoy the peace.

The one bedroom cabin I stayed in was large, with a pull out sofa bed and day bed, as well as a big king size bed.  The TV and DVD player is in the bedroom which is a little odd.  Not that the TV really works to be the focus of a cabin getaway, but for the two bedroom places it did mean one couple had a TV and the other didn't.  And no watching the fireworks as a group when midnight came around.  Which hardly mattered.  New Year comes, everyone high fives, and some people head to bed, while other go back to books, card games, drinking or just chatting.

The kitchen is equipped with the basic utensils, which were perfect for knocking up dinner for 10-12 of us at once.  If you borrow plates from another cabin.  The fireplace pumps out heat, but it's a quick step onto the balcony to get a breath of fresh air and enjoy the lake view.  Super still and calm most of the time, it reflected the house lights across the water like a mirror.  The stillness was strange for a urbanite like me.  I suspect those who live in more remote parts of the country might have felt the car noise and occasional crunch on the gravel drive of people walking was deafening.

The resort has Canoes, and a couple of people did go out in the them for a tour around the lake.  I also did go in the water on New Years day for about 10 seconds.  I need to build up my resistance to the cold before I try for longer.  Did wake me up though, and made the hot tub feel even better.

The resort is 20 minute from Ganges by car, and maybe 30 from Fulford Harbour.  You can drop into town for supplies and then be back in the quiet.  I'd quite like to go back for a night or two when I need the quiet of a good book and very little company.

Cusheon Lake Resort