Victoria (back in June)

So I got to back to the Northwest in June. I went to the Digital Humanities Summer Institute at the University of Victoria back in summer 2013 (you know, when the kitchen flooded), and I have since been accepted to their graduate certificate program, so I went back this summer. This time I flew into Seattle instead of Victoria and then took a ferry up Puget Sound and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Vancouver Island.

Flying in I had an amazing view of the Cascades. This is looking at Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams. If you are ever on the SLC to Seattle flight, make sure you are in a window seat facing south.

On the right is Mt. St. Helens.

By a stroke of good luck, I had just been to Seattle a month earlier, so I didn't feel like I had to cram as much in this time. I wanted down to Pike Place and had some delicious chowder in a bread bowl from Pike Place Chowder, then headed to the ferry.

It was really crowded and I was sitting in this seat in a room where I couldn't see out much, and then I realized you could stand in the back of the boat outside and watch everything go by. So I stood out there almost the whole two and half hours. Of the hundreds of people on the boat, only five or ten came out, which was crazy. They didn't know what they were missing.

Mt. Rainier again, with a little Seattle peeking over the hill.

The Olympics off to the west.

Lots of cool little islands.

It was fun to be back in Victoria. The weather is beautiful and the island is gorgeous. I took a course on command line and basic Python coding. It was like drinking from a fire hose but I learned a lot and came back better equipped to do my job. One day we toured a supercomputing center. I also presented a short presentation at the colloquium on Friday morning, talking about the Joseph Smith Papers collaboration with Family Search to find people's ancestors in the papers. It went well, despite the fact that I couldn't get the PowerPoint presentation to work.

All in all, it was a more solitary experience than last time, when I fell in with a group from Texas and spent a lot of time together with them. This time I ate out with people a few times, including getting to know a gal who works for the Adams Papers, but more often than not I was on my own. Which actually suited me just fine.

A deer on campus.

We had a reception at the graduate house on campus. It was beautiful but (though you can't tell from this picture) very crowded. My one complaint about the DHSI conference is that it's gotten too big and it's hard to get to know people sometimes.

One of my very favorite things to do on work trips is find a bike and use it. This time I got one through a university club for like $10 or something like that. One day I rode to Mount Douglas (called "Mt. Doug" by locals), which is 850 feet tall and has a road to the top. It was a tough climb because I don't ride a bike very often, but it had a jaw-dropping, 360-degree view of mountains, forest, and ocean.

You can just make out Mt. Baker in the way back.

Looking toward downtown.

On the way down I took side roads to get as near the coast as I could. I found this awesome access path to the beach.

The next evening I pedaled downtown for food, souvenirs, and sightseeing.

Fairmont Empress in the background.

Totem poles at the Royal BC Museum.

Somehow I missed Beacon Hill Park last time, but it is not to be missed. Reminiscent of Boston Public Garden.

With the bonus of peacocks. Those were a total surprise, and I have no idea why they are there. But they were everywhere, and they are loud.

Check out the male rattling his feathers to impress the females.

Looking across the strait to the Olympics.

More islands on the flight back to Seattle.

All in all, a great trip. I love that Victoria has become one of my places. I am crossing my fingers that the family can come with me next year for my last trip to DHSI.