Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Victoria Day Parade Update
Monday, May 24, 2004
Victoria Day Parade
Today was Victoria Day and I went and watched the parade. I had a wonderful time talking to people from all over. I had some good conversations with a couple from Bellevue, Washington and a man from Oakland, California.
The parade starts around Mayfair Mall and goes down Douglas Street to Belleville at the Inner Harbour. I watched the parade just south of Fort Street. There were people as far as I could see up Douglas Street. Many people had folding seats and some had office chairs. I saw people watching from the rooftop patio at the Strathcona and from balconies at another hotel.
The parade started at 9 am but I didn't get there until 10. The last participant went by me at 1:10 pm. It was a long parade that became a little spread out by the time it got to where I was. According to the Times Colonist entries had to be turned away to keep the parade from getting too long.
The sun was shining and it was hot. There were people enjoying themselves. The floats and bands were great. What a perfect day for a parade.
My favourite part of the parade is watching the various marching bands. For this article I decided to list the bands that I had seen and could get names for. Where possible I included links to their websites.
Aberdeen High School (Bobcat Marching Band) - Aberdeen, Washington
Agassiz School Band, Agassiz, BC
Ballard High School - Seattle, Washington
Bellingham High School - Bellingham, Washington
Bremerton High School - Bremerton, Washington
Central Kitsap Cougars - Silverdale, Washington
Chief Sealth High School - Seattle, Washington
Chilliwack Middle School (Chargers) - Chilliwack, BC
Chimacum High School - Chimacum, Washington
Columbia River High School (Chieftains) - Vancouver, Washington
Evergreen High School Band - Seattle, Washington
Ferndale High School Band - Ferndale, Washington
Greater Victoria Police Pipe Band
Ingraham - Seattle, Washington
Issaquah High School - Issaquah, Washington
Kentlake Falcons - Kent, Washington - this band's theme was Mexican (sombreros and mariachi music).
Kingston Junior High (Cavaliers) - Kingston, Washington
Klahowya Marching Eagles - Silverdale, Washington
Klamath Union High School - Klamath Falls, Oregon
Lakewood High School - Lakewood, Washington
Lambrick Park Secondary School - Victoria, BC - this band had an electric guitar.
Marysville Pilchuck (Marching Tommies) - Marysville, Washington
Maxwell Bahai School - Shawnigan Lake, BC
Mount Baker Highlanders - Deming, Washington
Newport High School - Bellevue, Washington
North Vancouver Youth Band - North Vancouver, BC
Pitman High School - Turlock, California
Shorecrest Highlanders - Shoreline, Washington
Squalicum High School (Storm) - Bellingham, Washington
Sultan High School - Sultan, Washington
West Valley High School - Spokane, Washington
Parkland Secondary, Royal Oak Middle School, North Saanich Middle School, Bayside Middle School - these local schools formed one big band.
Not every band marched on foot. Victoria's Friends Of Music Society played music while riding in a double decker bus. The Hawgs played country music on the Gordon Head Lions Club float.
The parade starts around Mayfair Mall and goes down Douglas Street to Belleville at the Inner Harbour. I watched the parade just south of Fort Street. There were people as far as I could see up Douglas Street. Many people had folding seats and some had office chairs. I saw people watching from the rooftop patio at the Strathcona and from balconies at another hotel.
The parade started at 9 am but I didn't get there until 10. The last participant went by me at 1:10 pm. It was a long parade that became a little spread out by the time it got to where I was. According to the Times Colonist entries had to be turned away to keep the parade from getting too long.
The sun was shining and it was hot. There were people enjoying themselves. The floats and bands were great. What a perfect day for a parade.
My favourite part of the parade is watching the various marching bands. For this article I decided to list the bands that I had seen and could get names for. Where possible I included links to their websites.
Aberdeen High School (Bobcat Marching Band) - Aberdeen, Washington
Agassiz School Band, Agassiz, BC
Ballard High School - Seattle, Washington
Bellingham High School - Bellingham, Washington
Bremerton High School - Bremerton, Washington
Central Kitsap Cougars - Silverdale, Washington
Chief Sealth High School - Seattle, Washington
Chilliwack Middle School (Chargers) - Chilliwack, BC
Chimacum High School - Chimacum, Washington
Columbia River High School (Chieftains) - Vancouver, Washington
Evergreen High School Band - Seattle, Washington
Ferndale High School Band - Ferndale, Washington
Greater Victoria Police Pipe Band
Ingraham - Seattle, Washington
Issaquah High School - Issaquah, Washington
Kentlake Falcons - Kent, Washington - this band's theme was Mexican (sombreros and mariachi music).
Kingston Junior High (Cavaliers) - Kingston, Washington
Klahowya Marching Eagles - Silverdale, Washington
Klamath Union High School - Klamath Falls, Oregon
Lakewood High School - Lakewood, Washington
Lambrick Park Secondary School - Victoria, BC - this band had an electric guitar.
Marysville Pilchuck (Marching Tommies) - Marysville, Washington
Maxwell Bahai School - Shawnigan Lake, BC
Mount Baker Highlanders - Deming, Washington
Newport High School - Bellevue, Washington
North Vancouver Youth Band - North Vancouver, BC
Pitman High School - Turlock, California
Shorecrest Highlanders - Shoreline, Washington
Squalicum High School (Storm) - Bellingham, Washington
Sultan High School - Sultan, Washington
West Valley High School - Spokane, Washington
Parkland Secondary, Royal Oak Middle School, North Saanich Middle School, Bayside Middle School - these local schools formed one big band.
Not every band marched on foot. Victoria's Friends Of Music Society played music while riding in a double decker bus. The Hawgs played country music on the Gordon Head Lions Club float.
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Victoria Day Blogfest/Victoria Day Parade
Join the Victoria Day Blogfest: see Linknut for details.
Victoria Day Parade
The Victoria Day Parade is a great reason to ride the buses. Take any bus heading downtown.
Victoria Day Parade
The Victoria Day Parade is a great reason to ride the buses. Take any bus heading downtown.
Monday, May 10, 2004
New Comment System
Blogger has a new comment system. I have activated comments in my older posts. Please feel free to give me some feedback.
Sunday, March 21, 2004
Municipalities And Neighbourhoods
A city's neighbourhoods tell much about both the city and the people who live there. Greater Victoria is composed of different municipalities grouped together as part of the Capital Regional District. Within each municipality are a number of different neighbourhoods.
Neighbourhoods help us envision our cities. For instance if someone says they are walking from Fernwood to Vic West I can estimate how long it will take for them to get there. When someone says they bought a new house in Uplands (an expensive neighbourhood) I may judge them by their income.
I found some interactive maps of Greater Victoria. The first gives an overview of the different municipalities and links to related websites. The second map shows the nieghbourhoods in each municipality. Click on the main map to see the neighbourhoods.
As you can see Greater Victoria is an interesting and diverse region.
Neighbourhoods help us envision our cities. For instance if someone says they are walking from Fernwood to Vic West I can estimate how long it will take for them to get there. When someone says they bought a new house in Uplands (an expensive neighbourhood) I may judge them by their income.
I found some interactive maps of Greater Victoria. The first gives an overview of the different municipalities and links to related websites. The second map shows the nieghbourhoods in each municipality. Click on the main map to see the neighbourhoods.
As you can see Greater Victoria is an interesting and diverse region.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Douglas And Yates
Victoria has a small downtown core. The actual area known as "Downtown" is to the west of Victoria's physical centre and can be crossed by walking. You know you have reached "Downtown Victoria" when you get to the intersection of Douglas and Yates Streets.
Douglas and Yates is a busy place. Traffic moves westward on Yates Street and both north and south on Douglas. Going north on Douglas takes you past City Hall and many different types of businesses. South of the intersection is Victoria's banking area. Many of the city's banks have their head offices here. There is also a McDonald's, Chapters, and a multi - storied mall: The Bay Centre. Westward on Yates is A&B Sound and other stores and restaurants. Eastward takes you to the Dominion Hotel and two movie theatres (Odeon and Capitol 6). Douglas and Yates is a busy place because there is so much to do there.
Another reason the intersection is important is that so many buses pass through it and stop nearby. Walk a block or two and you can catch a bus to almost anywhere in Greater Victoria.
As I thought about writing this entry I stood at the intersection of Douglas and Yates Street and looked around me. I then caught a bus to where I had planned to go. The intersection may not be the physical centre of Victoria but it feels like it. It is a good place to start Routes Victoria.
Routes: all downtown buses.
Map
Douglas and Yates is a busy place. Traffic moves westward on Yates Street and both north and south on Douglas. Going north on Douglas takes you past City Hall and many different types of businesses. South of the intersection is Victoria's banking area. Many of the city's banks have their head offices here. There is also a McDonald's, Chapters, and a multi - storied mall: The Bay Centre. Westward on Yates is A&B Sound and other stores and restaurants. Eastward takes you to the Dominion Hotel and two movie theatres (Odeon and Capitol 6). Douglas and Yates is a busy place because there is so much to do there.
Another reason the intersection is important is that so many buses pass through it and stop nearby. Walk a block or two and you can catch a bus to almost anywhere in Greater Victoria.
As I thought about writing this entry I stood at the intersection of Douglas and Yates Street and looked around me. I then caught a bus to where I had planned to go. The intersection may not be the physical centre of Victoria but it feels like it. It is a good place to start Routes Victoria.
Routes: all downtown buses.
Map
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Contact
If you have comments, questions and/or suggestions you can email me at leonline@REMOVETHISshaw.ca
Submission Guidelines
I am looking for articles about locations in Greater Victoria that can be visited by transit. Because so many locations are close to transit routes I would like to narrow the selection to places actually on transit routes. This is something a writer can discuss with me.
I would also like articles about writers experiences on transit. Where they go and what routes they use. I prefer something fun and interesting. Save the complaints for the newspapers.
The length of articles should be between 500 and 1500 words.
There is no payment for submissions.
I would also like articles about writers experiences on transit. Where they go and what routes they use. I prefer something fun and interesting. Save the complaints for the newspapers.
The length of articles should be between 500 and 1500 words.
There is no payment for submissions.
About
Disclaimer
Routes Victoria is NOT associated with BC Transit. This is an independent publication and does not reflect the views of BC Transit.
Creative Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
About Me
I am a Victoria Resident and I have been riding the buses since 1982. I wanted to tell people about Victoria and have fun in the process. With Routes Victoria I can achieve that goal. I also publish Victoria Update and Journal Writer.
Read my profile.
Routes Victoria is NOT associated with BC Transit. This is an independent publication and does not reflect the views of BC Transit.
Creative Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
About Me
I am a Victoria Resident and I have been riding the buses since 1982. I wanted to tell people about Victoria and have fun in the process. With Routes Victoria I can achieve that goal. I also publish Victoria Update and Journal Writer.
Read my profile.
Contents
Introduction
I have been riding transit in Victoria since 1982. Over the years I have come to realize how lucky we are to have a good transit system. The system isn't perfect and it goes through periods of confusion when major policy changes occur but manages to keep moving people from place to place. The system isn't perfect but it works.
Over the last year I have been experimenting with online journals of various types. I learned that weblogs are a useful tool for sharing information. As I worked on various projects I began to form an idea about a weblog focusing on Victoria. The more I thought about the idea the more I liked it. I decided to focus on those areas of Greater Victoria reachable by transit.
This is a weblog written (hopefully) by multiple authors and concerned with a central theme. The theme being that Greater Victoria is an interesting place and the best way to explore it is by transit. Here we will visit various sites, see different things and sometimes just go for a bus ride.
Welcome aboard!
Over the last year I have been experimenting with online journals of various types. I learned that weblogs are a useful tool for sharing information. As I worked on various projects I began to form an idea about a weblog focusing on Victoria. The more I thought about the idea the more I liked it. I decided to focus on those areas of Greater Victoria reachable by transit.
This is a weblog written (hopefully) by multiple authors and concerned with a central theme. The theme being that Greater Victoria is an interesting place and the best way to explore it is by transit. Here we will visit various sites, see different things and sometimes just go for a bus ride.
Welcome aboard!
