Alaska 2024: Victoria

I remember typing to my friend, "Here we are in Vancouver", then rereading my itinerary and seeing it was Victoria and feeling a bit silly. I was like, I absolutely knew it was Victoria, but wait I'm still confused. Then, I took a look at the map, and Victoria is a suburb of Vancouver, so that explains it. But I was vindicated when a red tugboat that said Vancouver came alongside our cruise ship and started doing some maneuver, maybe a 360 turn. Kicked up a very pretty but harmless little whirlpool. I was like, "thank you tugboat, now I know where I am!"

Some wonderful harbor views

After that we visited the Plaskett Observatory, historically important in the early 1900s, also known as the "Center of the Universe" to those taking tours. As a former astronomer, but not an observational astronomer, I can say that it is larger than any telescope I've ever used, but smaller than the largest telescope I've seen being built (which was the Large Binocular Telescope when I was a grad student at Ohio State and went to Arizona to use the smaller telescope at MDM on Kitt Peak for like one night, very badly, as part of a required class trip-- I was not an observational astronomer). The Plaskett Telescope still managed to impress me and be a really cool evening to share with my parents and enjoy being immersed in science. No, I did not contribute to the knowledge shared by the tour guide. As if I could. Does that telescope look like a C++ simulation to you? Still, very excited to be there. So I will share selfies!!!!!!!!!!

SERIOUSLY CAN YOU BELIEVE I GOT TO SEE (THE OUTSIDE OF A) SPECTROGRAPH UP CLOSE?!?!?!!

As a relativist it would have made me happy to have more time to explore this exhibit on astronomical and historical time keeping in science. However, instead I watched the video/talk about how they resurface the mirror!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was awesome!!!!!!!!!!

Of course there was also some great food throughout the day