Karyn and I took a little vacay last week, along with my mom and the little furry one. We spent two nights in Vancouver and one in Victoria. The weather treated us well for the most part, and the border patrol waved us through without incident; in addition, the car ran smoothly and we arrived at each scheduled event, whether dinner reservations or ferry departures, comfortably early.
It’s easy to discount the effect of that much logistical tranquility, less easy but more intriguing to consider that Mom might have brought it with her. If anyone could do so, it’s her; my mom is the Eloise Hawking of relax. Which is helpful when you’re crossing international borders.
Actually, I’m pretty comfortable in Vancouver. I remember my first trip there in 1993 to see Tom Zé at the Commodore Ballroom, staying at a loud, squalid place on Burrard that’s since gone retro-hip, with a boomerang-shaped neon sign and everything. Nowadays, we have zero accommodation anxiety; we go straight to the Sylvia Hotel on English Bay, and Bob’s your uncle. From there, it’s easy to walk the seawall in Stanley Park and the trim streets of the West End. Our restaurant choices ranged from posh to bluecollar to destination dim sum. We also hit Granville Island early in the morning — the only time to go — and the anthropology museum at UBC. That was probably my favorite excursion from this trip. I love how the rooms are designed around their collection, specifically the way the main room positively opens up to accommodate the coastal-tribe totem poles and potlatch swag. I love that coastal tribe design aesthetic, too — an occupational and temperamental weakness for iconic imagery, bold strokes and the right palette.
Victoria moved me less. It’s so…well, Victorian. Mom described it as “more touristy,” and she’s right. They love to wear their commonwealth status on their sleeve there. I recognize that being the provincial capital requires a certain amount of loyalist claptrap, and that my own biases were getting in the way, but I couldn’t help it: it felt like a theme park.
Anyway, it was great to get away. More pictures here.
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FWIW, the BC Liberals pulled out a victory of 49 seats vs the NDP’s 36. Also, the Canucks lost to the Chicago Blackhawks.