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cornerofmadnesstoday's trips were so very visual. Don't worry I'm pretty sure I took enough pictures today to do the a picture a day thing for 2 years running. Ah digital cameras. I'm FREE to go as nuts as I want to be (I'm Maes Hughes except I take very few of people)
I went to Butchart Gardens. the tour was a bit too pricey (it's 20 miles out so it was the only way there) but overall it was worth it. I went out in the early A.M. When it was cool. It was created by Jennie Butchart on the Saanish peninsula using her husband's considerable wealth from their concrete business. Much of it is built right over the cement factory and quarry lands after the business played out. The old quarry became the sunken gardens. Before the gardens were open to the public, they were known to Jennie's friends and became well known so much so that the Emperor of Japan petitioned her to come for an extended stay. As a thank you for her hospitality, he sent 300 Japanese flowering cherries, many of them still lining the drive there (looking a bit scraggly since the firs are taking up the sunlight, hard on 100 year old trees).
There are four main gardens, the sunken, the English rose, the Japanese and the Italian. Without a doubt the Japanese and the Sunken were my favorites but all were gorgeous. The gardens puts out some very nice brochures, including one I'm hanging onto for the time being with all the flowers listed out. First up was the Sunken Gardens which were just immense and spectacular. There was an amazing fountain designed by Jennie's grandson (the gardens are still in the family). From there, there is the Rose Carousel. Hopefully I have some video of this (I love carousels). Unfortunately, because of the unseasonably cold spring, none of the roses were out so while you could see the English Garden's potential, it wasn't that pretty yet. The Japanese gardens were beyond that full of statuary, a boar scarer, a bamboo walk and lots of ponds. It also had a sneak peek through the shrubbery to Btuchart Bay. The Italian garden was back nearer the eateries and gift shops. It was the smallest of all the gardens centering around a reflecting pool. It was still pretty and it might be more spectacular in the summer but it wouldn't be the one to draw me back. I also got some seeds to piss about at customs with, including a Himalayan blue poppy which are so hard to grow they come with instructions. Probably a waste of three dollars but I've always wanted to try.
I did get two things from the tour guide busing us in and out. One, try Pagliacci's but get there before six or you'll be standing in the street. Two, I asked about the pretty yellow flowering bush and it turns out to be Scottish Broom which is an invasive exotic so we talked about how nightmarish this is (something new for that lecture for me).
I headed to Sook Jai's for some Thai food (chicken in red curry and coconut milk, gaeng gai) then on to Craigdarroch Castle. I ended up doing half the walk but since it was far enough (I could have made it but I was dead tired and I wanted to have enough time since it closes early until June), I jumped on the bus. This is nervous making for me. I do not use public transit. It's not that I don't want to but most places I've lived it doesn't exist so I'm not comfortable with using it and get a little obsessive over checking times etc. I survived that obviously.
What to say about Craigdarroch? It is beautiful. It is FIVE freaking stories if you count the tower. It was the home of coal baron, the Dunmuirs. It was wonderful in the restoration (which is still on going) and for the fact they bring you up through the main house and take you out via the servants which is rare in visiting these places. Unfortunately in 1909 the whole of the insides of the house was sold in a 3 day auction. It became a military hospital then it became Victoria College. It was painted green and linoleum covered the parquetry floor. They've reclaimed most of it but not all. The place courses with energy and screams I'm haunted. I loved it
I did go to Pags for dinner and if I die of a stroke you know it was my love of fried/baked cheese that did me in. I couldn't resist the feta fatwa (a baked feta covered in semolina flour and poppy seeds with a balsamic vinaigrette) and with names like Mae West (finally a veal woman) and Prawns Al Capone, who could resist the menu? I got A Dish With No Name, which was a shrimp pasta with an Indonesian sweet sauce, one of the best dishes I've had all trip and relative inexpensive (well would have been without that appetizers).
I went back on the ghost walk. The names I couldn't remember from the first one was Jacob Sells who tore down the Indian burials and Pendrake (Pendray?) who got beheaded/crushed when he bought the property. For my own edification when I go to label things the rocky point in the harbor is 'cradle rock' a powerful ley line beginning the First Nations people used as a place to make their kids strong. The Ley line runs up to Craigdarroch (which doesn't want its ghosts mentioned).
I'm going only list out a few of the stories since there were several and I can't remember them all. In the custom house (pink when I get around to posting pictures) has Emily Carr as a little girl in it. Out in the Harbor has a ghost ship, the Valencia which ran aground. People jumped from it to their deaths on the reef. One life boat broke in lowering, killing all aboard. The other life boat was swept to see. People climbed into the rigging but the ship went down with all hands. Only a few survived and on the rescue ships, trying to head back had to live through the Valencia's ghost ship reenacting its last moments which it supposedly still does every five years or so.
Anna Binge (sp?) was the story I remember most. Her husband had a stroke so she had to work in a bakery. Some nights she could cross the railroad bridge instead of going on the public transit which took hours but the bridge led through a shanty town. She was found in the bushes not far from the wharf disrobed and disemboweled from chest to groin with her organs laid out beside her. Her death has never been solved but they felt the person had strong anatomic knowledge and had done this before/would do it again. Canadian police, Seattle police, even a Pinkerton from NYC came out to help. There was then and is now talk that Jack the Ripper came to NYC, moved west (similar cases in Portland Or). Interesting. Anna's ghost is seen on the wharf area where she was found.
Near the Maritime Museum (which is moving), was the old courthouse. Supposedly, the hangings took place here and the bodies just buried on the grounds if not claimed. The museum is supposed to be very active. We went from there to Market Square. For the life of me I can not remember the names here but it was a love triangle sort of thing on the seedy side of town. He left her for another woman who throw him out. He came back to the American Hotel and they rowed up and down the halls before she cut his throat. Since he was so well known as an abuser the judge from the old courthouse only gave her a few years. She returned to the hotel to live, dying soon after. They're both in there haunting some lawyers on the top floor.
The last story was the best and told in two parts, one in bastion square and the other in Chinatown. The story of Chung, who was a bed maker in a hotel (has a restaurant in it now and the three workers out back were quick to confirm they thought it was haunted). Tom Byrne, the owner, saw Chung racing thru the hotel and didn't know why. Chung then disappeared for a couple days then Bryne saw a wanted poster for him for murder. They found him hiding in the hotel's coal bin and he committed suicide in the prison. We headed to china town to see Fan Tan alley and hear the rest of the story. Fan Tan alley has gates on either side used to slow down the police back in the day when gambling and opium (which was legal, gambling wasn't). The rest of the story goes something like this (let me stumble/skip over some of the Chinese names that went quickly in the narrative. Lee was a very wealthy Chinese businessman who had a wife and an eighteen year old slave girl (more or less). She was quite pretty and Chung wanted her to be his wife. He even offered up poison so she could escape her master and be with him. Realizing he was poor and she had a lot of perks where she was in spite of being Lee's concubine, she rejected him. With a friend, Chung dragged her out the window and beheaded her. He raced through Fan Tan alley afterwards, bowling over people before getting to his hotel to hide. He can still be felt shoving people through the alley and in the hotel where he's believed to be a hungry ghost since he had no proper burial.
And I need to get moving since I have to get up before the sun (literally) and get a plane home (provided my heart holds out after seeing the bill for this hotel room, yikes) and I'll land in Pittsburgh on Sunday (yay time zone differences). It's been a fun trip, cost aside (that's gonna hurt)
Craigdarroch, yes I get the history and the inside map. Roy Mustang wants one of these when he becomes ambassador
Darth Vadar Lord of the Violin, he and a sidewalk chaulk artist now have all the change I did not feel like trying to exchange">
I went to Butchart Gardens. the tour was a bit too pricey (it's 20 miles out so it was the only way there) but overall it was worth it. I went out in the early A.M. When it was cool. It was created by Jennie Butchart on the Saanish peninsula using her husband's considerable wealth from their concrete business. Much of it is built right over the cement factory and quarry lands after the business played out. The old quarry became the sunken gardens. Before the gardens were open to the public, they were known to Jennie's friends and became well known so much so that the Emperor of Japan petitioned her to come for an extended stay. As a thank you for her hospitality, he sent 300 Japanese flowering cherries, many of them still lining the drive there (looking a bit scraggly since the firs are taking up the sunlight, hard on 100 year old trees).
There are four main gardens, the sunken, the English rose, the Japanese and the Italian. Without a doubt the Japanese and the Sunken were my favorites but all were gorgeous. The gardens puts out some very nice brochures, including one I'm hanging onto for the time being with all the flowers listed out. First up was the Sunken Gardens which were just immense and spectacular. There was an amazing fountain designed by Jennie's grandson (the gardens are still in the family). From there, there is the Rose Carousel. Hopefully I have some video of this (I love carousels). Unfortunately, because of the unseasonably cold spring, none of the roses were out so while you could see the English Garden's potential, it wasn't that pretty yet. The Japanese gardens were beyond that full of statuary, a boar scarer, a bamboo walk and lots of ponds. It also had a sneak peek through the shrubbery to Btuchart Bay. The Italian garden was back nearer the eateries and gift shops. It was the smallest of all the gardens centering around a reflecting pool. It was still pretty and it might be more spectacular in the summer but it wouldn't be the one to draw me back. I also got some seeds to piss about at customs with, including a Himalayan blue poppy which are so hard to grow they come with instructions. Probably a waste of three dollars but I've always wanted to try.
I did get two things from the tour guide busing us in and out. One, try Pagliacci's but get there before six or you'll be standing in the street. Two, I asked about the pretty yellow flowering bush and it turns out to be Scottish Broom which is an invasive exotic so we talked about how nightmarish this is (something new for that lecture for me).
I headed to Sook Jai's for some Thai food (chicken in red curry and coconut milk, gaeng gai) then on to Craigdarroch Castle. I ended up doing half the walk but since it was far enough (I could have made it but I was dead tired and I wanted to have enough time since it closes early until June), I jumped on the bus. This is nervous making for me. I do not use public transit. It's not that I don't want to but most places I've lived it doesn't exist so I'm not comfortable with using it and get a little obsessive over checking times etc. I survived that obviously.
What to say about Craigdarroch? It is beautiful. It is FIVE freaking stories if you count the tower. It was the home of coal baron, the Dunmuirs. It was wonderful in the restoration (which is still on going) and for the fact they bring you up through the main house and take you out via the servants which is rare in visiting these places. Unfortunately in 1909 the whole of the insides of the house was sold in a 3 day auction. It became a military hospital then it became Victoria College. It was painted green and linoleum covered the parquetry floor. They've reclaimed most of it but not all. The place courses with energy and screams I'm haunted. I loved it
I did go to Pags for dinner and if I die of a stroke you know it was my love of fried/baked cheese that did me in. I couldn't resist the feta fatwa (a baked feta covered in semolina flour and poppy seeds with a balsamic vinaigrette) and with names like Mae West (finally a veal woman) and Prawns Al Capone, who could resist the menu? I got A Dish With No Name, which was a shrimp pasta with an Indonesian sweet sauce, one of the best dishes I've had all trip and relative inexpensive (well would have been without that appetizers).
I went back on the ghost walk. The names I couldn't remember from the first one was Jacob Sells who tore down the Indian burials and Pendrake (Pendray?) who got beheaded/crushed when he bought the property. For my own edification when I go to label things the rocky point in the harbor is 'cradle rock' a powerful ley line beginning the First Nations people used as a place to make their kids strong. The Ley line runs up to Craigdarroch (which doesn't want its ghosts mentioned).
I'm going only list out a few of the stories since there were several and I can't remember them all. In the custom house (pink when I get around to posting pictures) has Emily Carr as a little girl in it. Out in the Harbor has a ghost ship, the Valencia which ran aground. People jumped from it to their deaths on the reef. One life boat broke in lowering, killing all aboard. The other life boat was swept to see. People climbed into the rigging but the ship went down with all hands. Only a few survived and on the rescue ships, trying to head back had to live through the Valencia's ghost ship reenacting its last moments which it supposedly still does every five years or so.
Anna Binge (sp?) was the story I remember most. Her husband had a stroke so she had to work in a bakery. Some nights she could cross the railroad bridge instead of going on the public transit which took hours but the bridge led through a shanty town. She was found in the bushes not far from the wharf disrobed and disemboweled from chest to groin with her organs laid out beside her. Her death has never been solved but they felt the person had strong anatomic knowledge and had done this before/would do it again. Canadian police, Seattle police, even a Pinkerton from NYC came out to help. There was then and is now talk that Jack the Ripper came to NYC, moved west (similar cases in Portland Or). Interesting. Anna's ghost is seen on the wharf area where she was found.
Near the Maritime Museum (which is moving), was the old courthouse. Supposedly, the hangings took place here and the bodies just buried on the grounds if not claimed. The museum is supposed to be very active. We went from there to Market Square. For the life of me I can not remember the names here but it was a love triangle sort of thing on the seedy side of town. He left her for another woman who throw him out. He came back to the American Hotel and they rowed up and down the halls before she cut his throat. Since he was so well known as an abuser the judge from the old courthouse only gave her a few years. She returned to the hotel to live, dying soon after. They're both in there haunting some lawyers on the top floor.
The last story was the best and told in two parts, one in bastion square and the other in Chinatown. The story of Chung, who was a bed maker in a hotel (has a restaurant in it now and the three workers out back were quick to confirm they thought it was haunted). Tom Byrne, the owner, saw Chung racing thru the hotel and didn't know why. Chung then disappeared for a couple days then Bryne saw a wanted poster for him for murder. They found him hiding in the hotel's coal bin and he committed suicide in the prison. We headed to china town to see Fan Tan alley and hear the rest of the story. Fan Tan alley has gates on either side used to slow down the police back in the day when gambling and opium (which was legal, gambling wasn't). The rest of the story goes something like this (let me stumble/skip over some of the Chinese names that went quickly in the narrative. Lee was a very wealthy Chinese businessman who had a wife and an eighteen year old slave girl (more or less). She was quite pretty and Chung wanted her to be his wife. He even offered up poison so she could escape her master and be with him. Realizing he was poor and she had a lot of perks where she was in spite of being Lee's concubine, she rejected him. With a friend, Chung dragged her out the window and beheaded her. He raced through Fan Tan alley afterwards, bowling over people before getting to his hotel to hide. He can still be felt shoving people through the alley and in the hotel where he's believed to be a hungry ghost since he had no proper burial.
And I need to get moving since I have to get up before the sun (literally) and get a plane home (provided my heart holds out after seeing the bill for this hotel room, yikes) and I'll land in Pittsburgh on Sunday (yay time zone differences). It's been a fun trip, cost aside (that's gonna hurt)
Craigdarroch, yes I get the history and the inside map. Roy Mustang wants one of these when he becomes ambassador
Darth Vadar Lord of the Violin, he and a sidewalk chaulk artist now have all the change I did not feel like trying to exchange">
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no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:10 am (UTC)Glad you had fun on the trip! I"ll probably be shocked of the costs too if I were in taking that trip too, LOL.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:53 pm (UTC)Roy would
great trip SO expensive though
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:53 pm (UTC)Craigdarroch was lovely
the trip was great
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 02:13 pm (UTC)Craigdarroch looks absolutely gorgeous (wanna live there), and Darth Vader is having a wonderful time, obviously.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:57 pm (UTC)Craigdarroch is gorgeous but the staff needed to keep it going, less fun.
Darth was a blast
no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 12:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 02:35 pm (UTC)That ghost tour would probably freak my overactive imagination out, but it still sounds kind of exciting to hear all those old stories.
Hope the flight home is as pleasant as it can be. Get home safe.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:56 pm (UTC)I love ghost tours. I've taken them all over the place.
darth was fun
my plane broke down.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 05:30 pm (UTC)Tell me you took a kazillion pictures of the Japanese garden. There aren't that many really good ones in North America to go visit (and none in Florida, since the climate is wrong for most Japanese garden plants).
Your body clock is going to be three hours off when you get back to PA. Yay. Here's hoping the weather stays good and you don't get diverted anywhere. One circuitous trip between Pittsburgh and BC was enough.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:52 pm (UTC)I have SO many I can't post them all. I'm thinking of zipping and sharing with those insane enough to want it.
My plane died so....
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 05:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:51 pm (UTC)I love all those ghost stories.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-04 07:58 pm (UTC)it was a fun trip.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 05:32 am (UTC)Darth Vader with the Violin cracked me up.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-05 04:31 pm (UTC)isn't darth fun?