Actually, I saw a lot of them. This is a window display on Mississippi Street in Portland, Oregon.
Category: Beyond the Olympic Peninsula
Noisy neighbors
We spent a night in Astoria, Oregon last week and arrived to our hotel room after dark. I’d requested a quiet room and the staff accommodated us. The floor seemed deserted, so I was puzzled when I heard a raucous hubbub. TV next door? Nope. The hotel was at the edge of the Columbia River near a small marina. When I opened the window I quickly recognized the sound of sea lions. The barking was incessant. Not enough to keep us awake, thankfully. I simply had no idea just how many were there until we took a walk the next morning.
Some of the critters were content to lounge. Others had a lot to say.
Maritime history
HMS Discovery was the lead ship used in Captain George Vancouver’s explorations of the West Coast of the U.S. in the late 1700s. There is a recreation of the Discovery’s captain’s cabin in the Royal B.C. Museum. While the office, shown here, looks somewhat spacious, the living quarters are tiny, with very spare looking bunks. This diorama has features that bring it to life. In addition to the sounds of seagulls there’s a strong scent of pine tar – used in waterproofing vessels. And the deck literally rocks beneath your feet.
A recreated cannery speaks to British Columbia’s fisheries, though visitor noses are spared a sensory tour here. Butchered fish lie at one end of an open room while a “running” faucet nearby pours into a sink.
At the other end of the room a cannery operation waits the arrival of workers to finish processing the day’s catch.
In addition to displays of artifacts other dioramas at the Royal B.C. Museum give a glimpse of farm life, mining, and logging. But there is more than simply the history of European settlers. The museum has a First Peoples gallery which explores the past of B.C.’s native peoples, including an impressive display of totem poles and a current exhibit exploring the native living languages.
Inside the Royal B.C. Museum
One of my favorite features of Victoria’s B.C. Museum’s is its “Old Town,” a recreation of the early days of Victoria. Old Town is a walk through time, one of several large and realistic dioramas of British Columbia history. Small shops and windows display merchandise that might have been available to the well-heeled. A tiny “Chinatown” includes an herbalist.
The curtain flutters in a light breeze and – really! – there’s the scent of apple pie in this kitchen.
There’s a bar on the ground floor of a hotel. Upstairs you can gaze into a guest room with a small table set for tea while boots wait beside the bed. An office looks almost as if its occupant has stepped out for lunch.
I’ll show you two other favorite dioramas tomorrow.
The perennial favorite
One of our favorite destinations in Victoria is the Royal B.C. Museum, a short walk from the ferry terminal. It is the building to the left behind the ornate 90 foot Netherlands Centennial Carillon tower. The Carillon is Canada’s largest and chimes short concerts hourly. Tomorrow I’ll give you views of a couple of the permanent exhibitions that we always enjoy.
Life on the water
The Black Ball Ferry passes a small and colorful houseboat community as it enters Victoria Harbour. Washington’s Olympic Mountains are in view in the distance.
The busy harbor
There is always a lot of activity around Victoria’s Inner Harbour. As we arrived by ferry late last month two tugs were coming in with us as a helicopter took to the sky. Looking south you can see a cargo ship on the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. It’s a 90 minute ferry ride from Port Angeles to Victoria, B.C. and an enjoyable day trip.