Hotel Minutiae

When I booked my trip, I did Priceline for my hotel. I asked for Downtown Victoria and named my price. The cheapest 3-star I could get was $122 a night. So that's what I went with and crossed my fingers. Imagine my chagrin to find myself at the Holiday Inn, close'ish to downtown, but not walking distance like the Queen Vic or the Coast Harbourside, places I've stayed in the past that are in the heart of downtown. Now everytime I see Mr. Priceline Negotiator himself, Bill Shatner, doing his slash-and-chop moves, I jeer at him, "thanks a lot, ya dickhead". I very much wanted to have my hotel as "home base", someplace I could return to and kick back, shower & drop off parcels without leaving the downtown core. So I had to park at a parkade and use my car as "home base" which was satisfactory, but not optimum.


However, the hotel was very nice. I had a very comfortable, spacious room.....much better than the room I had in Vancouver last summer. There were two restaurants: Redd's downstairs, and Redd's Pub upstairs on the 2nd floor. I ate at both and they were tasty. There was also a liquor store on-site, although I didn't go in because I'm not much of a drinker, and usually only have a drink with dinner.


I thought I'd remember which room was mine, but it's one of the two arched windows on the 3rd floor....I think it's the one w/ all the curtains open. There was a refrigerator too which was awesome and convenient. Comfy bed & pillows, and nice to have that couch as well.

All week I kept seeing classic cars and street rods driving around Victoria. I didn't think much about it; the weather was beautiful so why not take the ol' classic car out for a spin, right? Imagine my surprise when I arrived back at the hotel late on Friday afternoon to see this scene.

They kept arriving. All afternoon, more and more street rods were in the parking lot, their owners lovingly polishing their babies, and comparing horsepower and restoration notes with each other. Most of the license plates were from BC & Alberta, but I did see a few from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and one from New York. Obviously, there was a road rally that weekend in Victoria.

By evening, I counted 33 classic cars & trucks in the parking lot.

The owners had set up some chairs that afternoon and were enjoying themselves. Well, by 10:00 p.m. it became a full blown party that was now taking up the sidewalk AND the parking lot. A loud party. An annoying party. Keep in mind, Redd's Pub is on site. There is no reason that they couldn't have taken it inside the pub, you know? I called down to the desk, apologized for being a buzz-kill and how long they were going to let it go on? He told me he was, in fact, on his way to break it up. 30 minutes go by, and the loud music starts up. Knots of people are whooping it up in the parking lot. It's about 10:30 now. I called the desk to inquire again, and am told that the Victoria Police have already been called and are on their way.

Don't get me wrong....you know I love Canada and I think that the people are really nice and courteous. But there's a point you know? I peeked out the window close to 11 and yes, the Vic PD is out there alright. Both female officers are standing around chit chatting with the partiers, and you can tell by their body language, they are discussing the classic cars!! The officers were laughing, pointing at the cars.......and I'm like, "You have got to be KIDDING me!" I was half expecting the cops to crack open a couple of Kokanee's and join the revelry. But finally, the party broke up, so if nothing else, the incident gave me an interesting end-of-vacation story.