Time to get my learn on in BC!
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| Hatley Castle |
My friend the lovely Miss C was kind enough to pick me up
from my cousin’s and let me hitch a ride on the ferry with her. Our school,
Royal Roads University is situated on Vancouver Island, about a 2 hour ferry
ride from the mainland. While the school’s address is “in Victoria” it is
technically situated on the border of Victoria and Colwood. (It’s about a $40
cab ride from downtown Victoria- and yes that’s important information!!)
Hatley Castle, part of Royal Roads University, is what makes the iconic castle that stands on the school's property. To read about the history see below or skip down to where my story continues..
From the Hatley Castle website:
" The Castle was completed in 1908. From 1941 until 1943 when Grant Block
was completed, the Castle served as dormitory and mess hall for cadets
and staff officers at Royal Roads Military College. It is now the
administrative centre of Royal Roads University. It houses the
President, Vice-President, the Managers of Finance and Facilities, and
the administrative support staff for Royal Roads University.
The building is 200 feet long and 86 feet wide; the turret is 82 feet high. The wall surrounding the estate, also built of local stone, cost over $75,000; the Conservatory, costing a like amount, was at one time filled with white orchids imported from India; a large banana tree grew in the centre under the dome. The rooms of the house were filled with flowers from the Conservatory throughout the year. Ten kilometres of road interlaced the estate, and a hundred men were employed in the gardens. There were a number of other buildings on the estate to provide for the needs of the large household, but many of these have now been demolished: the vast refrigeration plant; the cow stables; the slaughter house and smoke house; the three silos, each of 100 ton capacity; the reserve water tank to the south of Belmont Drive; the old stable near the bridge to the east of the present fields; to say nothing of the Chinatown to accommodate 80 to 120 gardeners. There remain, however, the model dairy and the stables, which were of solid brick and concrete construction. The “Castle” was completed in 1908, and the Dunsmuir family took up residence in that year.
For the next three years, the estate was left in the hands of a caretaker. In November 1940, it was purchased by the Dominion Government for $75,000 to begin its career as a Naval Training Establishment. No time was lost. On 13 December 1940 HMCS Royal Roads was commissioned as an Officer Training Establishment for short-term probationary RCNVR sub-lieutenants and operated as such until October 1942.
During this time, some 600 volunteer reserve officers underwent training. Then, on 21 October 1942, the training of regular force naval cadets was re-established in Canada, and the spirit of the old Royal Naval College of Canada was reborn with the establishment of the Royal Canadian Naval College at Royal Roads.
After a brief history of five years, the Royal Canadian Naval College became, in 1947, the RCN-RCAF Joint Services College. The following year, with the admission of army cadets, Royal Roads became the tri-service College known as the Canadian Services College Royal Roads. In 1968, the name of the College was changed to Royal Roads Military College.
The College continued as a two year feeder College for the Royal Military College and College Militaire Royal de Saint Jean until 1975. On 25 June 1975 the Royal Roads Military College Degree Act was passed allowing the granting of degrees. The first class graduated from Royal Roads in May of 1977. The first class of postgraduate students graduated in the fall of 1989.
On 22 February 1994, it was announced that Royal Roads Military College would close in the following year. Due to public support, the Province of British Columbia entered negotiations with the federal government of Canada to lease the property and facilities in order to continue its use as a university. Royal Roads University was created on 21 June 1995 by an act of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia. On 31 August 1995 Royal Roads Military College ceased to exist and the facilities were turned over to Royal Roads University on 1 September 1995."
Although none of our actual classes take place IN the castle
itself, there are offices in the upper levels and students are always welcome
to take tours. Each year when we do our residency for school, there is a mixer
on the first night of class in the castle (drinks not included) with apps. It’s
a nice way to chat with the teachers and other students in a less formal
atmosphere (although a great excuse to dress up!).
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| Tired but finished 21.1k! |
School was a bit of a whirlwind. Lots of work, late nights
spent in the lab (you can see the final product of collaboration between myself
and teammates here). The great and awful thing about these residencies
is that it’s only three weeks long, but it’s probably the most intense three
weeks of school you’ve ever experienced.
One (of many) I love about BC is that there is always some
sort of yummy vegetarian dish on the menu. Being pseudo-vegetarian (pescetarian if you want to get technical) AND lactose intolerant, it can prove to be difficult
to find a dish at dinner that is a) vegetarian based b) cheese-free c) still
delicious. Somehow the campus cafeteria has managed to do this. Anything I’ve
ever ordered from the hot-food line up has been fantastic. One of my favourite
dishes to get at school is the salmon burger with a side salad. It is a delight to go to a school that doesn't serve junky food!
My other favourite dish to get at school is the super food
salad. Packed with all sort of delicious things, it’s filling AND nutritious! Since the dorms at school are VERY basic and students only
have a fridge and microwave to cook with, some people tend to get creative or
eat those yucky TV dinners the entire three weeks. This salad was a staple for
me while I was at school so I didn’t get the carb-overload blues.
With only two weekends of play while at school, you really
have to make the best of them. The first Friday at school, I headed back to the
mainland with two classmates so I could run the Lululemon Seawheeze half
marathon!
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| Doesn't everyone bring coffee to hike mountains? |
What a well-organized event. From a smooth package pickup
and shopping experience (they had limited edition, Seawheeze-only merchandise
for sale. Obviously I had to stock up) the event was like a well-oiled machine
from before the race start. Lots of food and water stations lined the route,
which went all through Stanley Park in Vancouver (and the seawall!)
Post-race was another great experience. I loved that they
issued plastic wrist bands instead of the numbers you have to pin to your
shirt. The wrist-band allowed you to get into the food tents for some delicious
breakfast treats, which was catered by Bear something from Whistler. Blueberry Belgian
waffles, homemade granola bars, fruit skewers and tons of water filled my belly
after I ran across that finish line. A quick change and check out of the hotel
and I was off to the beach for a relaxing day of swimming and lounging followed
by a night out on the town.
The following weekend was spent at Cultis Lake, around the corner from my school and a
visit from my old friend Mr C. (He was nice enough to play chauffer to Miss C
& I while we went shopping downtown and I discovered that my new favourite
store is Sitka Surfboards).
Another week of school and I skipped town to be a hippie in
the mountains….
The journey continues- in Whistler!
