Victoria with Teen Girls
Sep 25th, 2012, 09:43 AM
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Victoria with Teen Girls
<b>Victoria with Teen Girls</b>
In July, we did a Girl Scout trip with several high school girls, staying at a local Girl Scout property.
<u>Day 1:</u> After a beautiful crossing, we arrived in Victoria. Bought groceries at a Fairways. Impressed by the mix of Asian foods at the grocery store. Made dinner.
Big surprise when we arrived was that all of us got texts about roaming charges. We had wi-fi at our lodgings but had to figure out how to shut off all our auto-updates for when we were out and about. Stop by your cell phone carrier before heading north.
<u>Day 2:</u> We went to the Royal BC Museum. Would not recommend trying to find parking down there and work out a public bus if your lodgings are too far for your group. After that attempt we hiked in each time.
Girls really enjoyed the museum, some more than others. I think some have less attention span but also some have traveled more and seen similar things elsewhere. I always love the Western town upstairs. I remember it when I first came here when I was 7. We had sack lunches on the lawn outside and then did an IMAX movie. <u>Note to Americans:</u> Canadians have some great cookies that we don't. Dare brand with currents and frosting were great.
We got a little shopping in along the main drag, mainly Rogers Chocolates.
We had our only dinner out at Spaghetti Factory. This restaurant is in a historic location downtown and very pretty. That, plus its reputation as being more affordable and likely to please many girls were the reasons we picked it. Note to Americans reading that this location was more expensive than at home and also the menu was somewhat different than back home. My daughter’s fettucine alfredo tasted very different. Surprisingly, two of our party did not get nearly enough sauce on their entrees. The waitress all the plain pasta left and offered to bring more sauce. She acted like this was somewhat normal. Not terrible, but not great.
We did the Ghost Walk offered at the Tourist Centre in the Harbour. The girls liked it and it gave them plenty of creepy stories to talk over. A little gruesome in parts for preteens so think about your group . If in doubt, I’d skip it. Also, I want to mention that the Tourist Centre in Victoria is excellent. They will help you find anything on the island and you can pay and reserve there for most things. Quite impressive.
<u>Day 3:</u> Went to Butchart Gardens and had high tea there. This was a planned event the girls voted on. Frankly, it’s expensive but really well done. There was a lot of food and you will definitely feel full. With a larger group, we got to try 3 teas, no problem. Of course, it was more fun to do a high tea with other girls than your kid brother. We felt the Gardens’ Tea was just as formal and worthwhile as the more expensive yet Empress Hotel. The girls really liked the gardens a lot.
We followed it up with a trip to the nearby Butterfly Gardens about 10 minutes away. Besides tropical butterflies, this little place has bright-colored frogs, lizards and a few birds. The girls really, really loved this place and more than one mentioned it as a highlight of the trip.
We stopped at Walmart outside of town afterward for more groceries. We got our two cars a bit separated from each other in traffic. I did not have a GPS unit since I had planned to rely on my phone. I found it a bit hard to turn my phone’s GPS back ON quickly after I had shut a number of things off two days before. So we ended up driving around until we found our route back. Interesting to see which girls had the best sense of direction. Discovered a local market nearby with Naimano bars, a big hit.
<u>Day 4:</u> We went to Craigdarroch Castle in the morning. I enjoyed it, as an adult who loves history. But truthfully, this was the least favorite activity of most of the girls. They had been to old houses elsewhere, and this was not really a castle in the true sense.
In the afternoon we went to the Parliament tour and did a carriage ride (the other big highlight of the trip). They opted to take a carriage route out by the water instead of the inner harbor, since they’d seen that so well on foot. The Parliament tour proved to be a sleeper hit as well. After starting in the usual fashion, there was a surprise twist to this tour. I won’t spoil it—but go! I would recommend it to ages 12 and up easily. A precocious 10 and up as well.
We also squeezed a bit more shopping in. Munro Books was highly popular as it had been on our ghost walk but turned out to be a great bookstore, spirits aside. Because we had been hiking in to town, we had discovered a couple of great stores a bit outside the “main drag.” You will have to wander a bit to find them but one has a large amount of Dr. Who, Star Trek and similar quirky themed items. Another one has lovely little crystal dragons, some of which were even within price range for our girls.
In the evening we went swimming at the public Crystal Pool. This was really a great pool. The girls were thrilled that most kids and all teenagers were allowed in the hot tub. (In public or hotel pools near our home, it is often minimum age 16 or even 18.) There was also a rope swing, diving boards and a slide that alternated being open. And there was a late evening teen-hour where the adults and little ones all get out. Public pools in our home town often are more heavily life-guarded and require swimtests to swim in the deep end. This one did not—anyone could jump in off the diving board, it seemed. So definitely the expectation is on the parent or guardian to know their kids’ abilities.
<u>Final thoughts:</u> We really enjoyed our trip. Looking back, I probably would have squeezed in a hike. Perhaps if we’d shortened the Museum time and squeezed in the carriage ride, then moved the Parliament tour to earlier or later the last day….Besides the hikes recommended to me on the other thread, there is also a nice walk all the way around the bay. We also did not make it to Oak Bay. This is a nice sized city to take teens to, if you are in the Pacific Northwest. Hope this is of help to future groups.
In July, we did a Girl Scout trip with several high school girls, staying at a local Girl Scout property.
<u>Day 1:</u> After a beautiful crossing, we arrived in Victoria. Bought groceries at a Fairways. Impressed by the mix of Asian foods at the grocery store. Made dinner.
Big surprise when we arrived was that all of us got texts about roaming charges. We had wi-fi at our lodgings but had to figure out how to shut off all our auto-updates for when we were out and about. Stop by your cell phone carrier before heading north.
<u>Day 2:</u> We went to the Royal BC Museum. Would not recommend trying to find parking down there and work out a public bus if your lodgings are too far for your group. After that attempt we hiked in each time.
Girls really enjoyed the museum, some more than others. I think some have less attention span but also some have traveled more and seen similar things elsewhere. I always love the Western town upstairs. I remember it when I first came here when I was 7. We had sack lunches on the lawn outside and then did an IMAX movie. <u>Note to Americans:</u> Canadians have some great cookies that we don't. Dare brand with currents and frosting were great.
We got a little shopping in along the main drag, mainly Rogers Chocolates.
We had our only dinner out at Spaghetti Factory. This restaurant is in a historic location downtown and very pretty. That, plus its reputation as being more affordable and likely to please many girls were the reasons we picked it. Note to Americans reading that this location was more expensive than at home and also the menu was somewhat different than back home. My daughter’s fettucine alfredo tasted very different. Surprisingly, two of our party did not get nearly enough sauce on their entrees. The waitress all the plain pasta left and offered to bring more sauce. She acted like this was somewhat normal. Not terrible, but not great.
We did the Ghost Walk offered at the Tourist Centre in the Harbour. The girls liked it and it gave them plenty of creepy stories to talk over. A little gruesome in parts for preteens so think about your group . If in doubt, I’d skip it. Also, I want to mention that the Tourist Centre in Victoria is excellent. They will help you find anything on the island and you can pay and reserve there for most things. Quite impressive.
<u>Day 3:</u> Went to Butchart Gardens and had high tea there. This was a planned event the girls voted on. Frankly, it’s expensive but really well done. There was a lot of food and you will definitely feel full. With a larger group, we got to try 3 teas, no problem. Of course, it was more fun to do a high tea with other girls than your kid brother. We felt the Gardens’ Tea was just as formal and worthwhile as the more expensive yet Empress Hotel. The girls really liked the gardens a lot.
We followed it up with a trip to the nearby Butterfly Gardens about 10 minutes away. Besides tropical butterflies, this little place has bright-colored frogs, lizards and a few birds. The girls really, really loved this place and more than one mentioned it as a highlight of the trip.
We stopped at Walmart outside of town afterward for more groceries. We got our two cars a bit separated from each other in traffic. I did not have a GPS unit since I had planned to rely on my phone. I found it a bit hard to turn my phone’s GPS back ON quickly after I had shut a number of things off two days before. So we ended up driving around until we found our route back. Interesting to see which girls had the best sense of direction. Discovered a local market nearby with Naimano bars, a big hit.
<u>Day 4:</u> We went to Craigdarroch Castle in the morning. I enjoyed it, as an adult who loves history. But truthfully, this was the least favorite activity of most of the girls. They had been to old houses elsewhere, and this was not really a castle in the true sense.
In the afternoon we went to the Parliament tour and did a carriage ride (the other big highlight of the trip). They opted to take a carriage route out by the water instead of the inner harbor, since they’d seen that so well on foot. The Parliament tour proved to be a sleeper hit as well. After starting in the usual fashion, there was a surprise twist to this tour. I won’t spoil it—but go! I would recommend it to ages 12 and up easily. A precocious 10 and up as well.
We also squeezed a bit more shopping in. Munro Books was highly popular as it had been on our ghost walk but turned out to be a great bookstore, spirits aside. Because we had been hiking in to town, we had discovered a couple of great stores a bit outside the “main drag.” You will have to wander a bit to find them but one has a large amount of Dr. Who, Star Trek and similar quirky themed items. Another one has lovely little crystal dragons, some of which were even within price range for our girls.
In the evening we went swimming at the public Crystal Pool. This was really a great pool. The girls were thrilled that most kids and all teenagers were allowed in the hot tub. (In public or hotel pools near our home, it is often minimum age 16 or even 18.) There was also a rope swing, diving boards and a slide that alternated being open. And there was a late evening teen-hour where the adults and little ones all get out. Public pools in our home town often are more heavily life-guarded and require swimtests to swim in the deep end. This one did not—anyone could jump in off the diving board, it seemed. So definitely the expectation is on the parent or guardian to know their kids’ abilities.
<u>Final thoughts:</u> We really enjoyed our trip. Looking back, I probably would have squeezed in a hike. Perhaps if we’d shortened the Museum time and squeezed in the carriage ride, then moved the Parliament tour to earlier or later the last day….Besides the hikes recommended to me on the other thread, there is also a nice walk all the way around the bay. We also did not make it to Oak Bay. This is a nice sized city to take teens to, if you are in the Pacific Northwest. Hope this is of help to future groups.
Sep 29th, 2012, 11:23 AM
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hi there , i was so pleased to read your report about your visit w/ the girl scouts to victoria my new home town. i am a late in life immigrant from santa fe new mexico. even though i was well briefed not a day passes that i am not aware of differences between my old country and my new one.
i am so glad your scouts got to experience our country. relatively few americans venture up here in contrast to the droves of canadians that flock to the usa. i hope those girls got to meet some of their canadian peers
despite both of us speaking a form of english watching a lot of the same media and similar strip mall laden landscapes. we are very different countries and both with strengths and weakness.
i came basically for kinder gentler canada but make no mistake canada is a tenth the population of the usa of course things can make more sense here. in the same way denmark with 7 million works lie a clock compared to canada.
despite advertising i hope our kind of heath care spreads to you. i volunteered at the hospital in santa fe and sent alot of uninsured to the er for coughs and colds. very expensive. i have a chronic illness and receive excellent care here @$64/month!.
i despair that race relations esp between blacks and whites can ever reach peace and justice. but rest assure our aboriginal population bares similar scars that blacks in america do and i'm not sure will ever heal as the behaviour was so brutal
i relish my personal safety up here. i've travelled quite a bit and never have come upon a dangerous neighbourhood as the kind i recall from the usa. there is a lot to be said about the lack of firearms.
my heart is always crying for my former country. due to our tighter regulatory market i have heard of very very few people who have lost their homes.
my immigration attorney told me it doesn't matter which party wins the us elections . the phones @ immigration canada ring off the line from the losing side. but relatively few actually make it up here.
i have been so warmly welcomed and supported in my journey towards canadian citizenship. i hope the election brings some attention to the plight of so many americans who have had their lives upturned.
any of your girl scouts might consider a cross border college or university career. the university of victoria welcomes students from around the world. i spent my junior year abroad in london and it changed my life. i considered mcgill in montreal but got cold feet
rest assured many canadians are not well pleased with the us government but a friendly american is always given a very warm welcome indeed.
again thanks for opening the canadian world to your charges
best to you
AndrewDavid
ps there's no patriot like a new patriot, eh
i am so glad your scouts got to experience our country. relatively few americans venture up here in contrast to the droves of canadians that flock to the usa. i hope those girls got to meet some of their canadian peers
despite both of us speaking a form of english watching a lot of the same media and similar strip mall laden landscapes. we are very different countries and both with strengths and weakness.
i came basically for kinder gentler canada but make no mistake canada is a tenth the population of the usa of course things can make more sense here. in the same way denmark with 7 million works lie a clock compared to canada.
despite advertising i hope our kind of heath care spreads to you. i volunteered at the hospital in santa fe and sent alot of uninsured to the er for coughs and colds. very expensive. i have a chronic illness and receive excellent care here @$64/month!.
i despair that race relations esp between blacks and whites can ever reach peace and justice. but rest assure our aboriginal population bares similar scars that blacks in america do and i'm not sure will ever heal as the behaviour was so brutal
i relish my personal safety up here. i've travelled quite a bit and never have come upon a dangerous neighbourhood as the kind i recall from the usa. there is a lot to be said about the lack of firearms.
my heart is always crying for my former country. due to our tighter regulatory market i have heard of very very few people who have lost their homes.
my immigration attorney told me it doesn't matter which party wins the us elections . the phones @ immigration canada ring off the line from the losing side. but relatively few actually make it up here.
i have been so warmly welcomed and supported in my journey towards canadian citizenship. i hope the election brings some attention to the plight of so many americans who have had their lives upturned.
any of your girl scouts might consider a cross border college or university career. the university of victoria welcomes students from around the world. i spent my junior year abroad in london and it changed my life. i considered mcgill in montreal but got cold feet
rest assured many canadians are not well pleased with the us government but a friendly american is always given a very warm welcome indeed.
again thanks for opening the canadian world to your charges
best to you
AndrewDavid
ps there's no patriot like a new patriot, eh
Sep 29th, 2012, 11:26 AM
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ps i assumed from your comment about roaming charges that you came up here from the usa and not just out from toronto. interestingly walking along the ocean in victoria looking at washington state cell phone calls often get expensively bounced back from the usa. when i look south and east in victoria i am always looking at washington state!
Oct 1st, 2012, 07:52 AM
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Thanks, Andrew for your thoughts. We came from the Pacific Northwest. I have gone to BC myself several times, from when I was 7 and love it. I think more people in Oregon/Washington/Idaho visit Canada than perhaps elsewhere in the US. Certainly the requirement for passports has put a damper on casual weekend trips.
We didn't unfortunately get to meet with a GS troop in Canada this trip. It would have been nice! Some of our girls have traveled with their families, but others this was their first time out of the USA. Things like foreign money, buying lunch meat in grams and everything in English/French really jumped out at the girls. They loved some of the Canadian brands of food and also going to an island.
I myself did a study-abroad in England while in college, and hopefully some of our girls will choose that. It is, I think, difficult though to enroll in a non-US college because most financial aid is for your home country.
We didn't unfortunately get to meet with a GS troop in Canada this trip. It would have been nice! Some of our girls have traveled with their families, but others this was their first time out of the USA. Things like foreign money, buying lunch meat in grams and everything in English/French really jumped out at the girls. They loved some of the Canadian brands of food and also going to an island.
I myself did a study-abroad in England while in college, and hopefully some of our girls will choose that. It is, I think, difficult though to enroll in a non-US college because most financial aid is for your home country.
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