Canadia-land!
Oct. 27th, 2003 10:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walbournHad good time at Con-Fusion in Victoria B.C. I had to drive up to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal since I couldn't leave early enough to catch any Washington-based car ferry, so the trip took about 5 hours (2 1/2 hours drive, 1/2 hour wait for the ferry, 1 1/2 hour ferry ride, 1/2 hour drive to the University of Victoria campus). Its a small, but nice-looking campus. Instead of squirrels and grackles, which were all over UT Austin's campus, they had rabbits and crows--one of whom felt I was an excellent hopping spot Sunday morning, which freaked me out since he hoped on and off my head from behind my vision.
Since I couldn't be there all day Thursday & Friday, I missed out on about 5 games but it isn't like my character had enough time units left in the year to play that much. What games I did play were excellent. The Red Lion Inn was a descent enough place to stay and very cheap, although my roommate had sleep apnea and the immediate neighborhood included a lot of stripper bars so I was a little nervous about leaving my car parked there overnight.
Didn't see much of Victoria beyond the campus, the drive to and from the ferry/hotel, and finding food a few times, but it seems a cozy if touristy place. I was a little disturbed by the 'missing' notices at the ferry terminal in Victoria B.C. that were all women in their 20s, but I didn't inquire about the trend...
The trip back took almost 7 hours because the 5pm ferry was overbooked and we had to wait for the 7pm, which meant getting home about midnight. Made for a too-early morning this morning... *yawn* At least all the Seattle people were on the same ferry, so the wait and ride was social.
The border crossings were pretty quick both ways, although on the way back Sunday they stopped me and a line of other cars to do a drug-dog run. Thankfully they didn't end up detaining anyone so the process only took 5 minutes. Creepy, but not overly burdensome.
Someone who was heading to the con did have a passenger turned around at the border on the way up due to lack of employment & passport/birth certificate--which necessitated a drive back to Seattle and then back up so they didn't get to the con until Saturday morning. While a number of people did manage to get across with only a driver's license, the border patrols were distinctly displeased about it and required a much more intensive background check and they were not happy with anyone who was unemployed coming into Canada. Both sides of the border are quite tense with all the blame-throwing over Sept 11th, so I suggest anyone travelling have their t's crossed and i's dotted with a current passport. Too many people take the freedom of movement within the US for granted everywhere...
Since I couldn't be there all day Thursday & Friday, I missed out on about 5 games but it isn't like my character had enough time units left in the year to play that much. What games I did play were excellent. The Red Lion Inn was a descent enough place to stay and very cheap, although my roommate had sleep apnea and the immediate neighborhood included a lot of stripper bars so I was a little nervous about leaving my car parked there overnight.
Didn't see much of Victoria beyond the campus, the drive to and from the ferry/hotel, and finding food a few times, but it seems a cozy if touristy place. I was a little disturbed by the 'missing' notices at the ferry terminal in Victoria B.C. that were all women in their 20s, but I didn't inquire about the trend...
The trip back took almost 7 hours because the 5pm ferry was overbooked and we had to wait for the 7pm, which meant getting home about midnight. Made for a too-early morning this morning... *yawn* At least all the Seattle people were on the same ferry, so the wait and ride was social.
The border crossings were pretty quick both ways, although on the way back Sunday they stopped me and a line of other cars to do a drug-dog run. Thankfully they didn't end up detaining anyone so the process only took 5 minutes. Creepy, but not overly burdensome.
Someone who was heading to the con did have a passenger turned around at the border on the way up due to lack of employment & passport/birth certificate--which necessitated a drive back to Seattle and then back up so they didn't get to the con until Saturday morning. While a number of people did manage to get across with only a driver's license, the border patrols were distinctly displeased about it and required a much more intensive background check and they were not happy with anyone who was unemployed coming into Canada. Both sides of the border are quite tense with all the blame-throwing over Sept 11th, so I suggest anyone travelling have their t's crossed and i's dotted with a current passport. Too many people take the freedom of movement within the US for granted everywhere...
