I have written more than a few times of my love for Vancouver. It really is one of my most favourite cities in the entire world and I’m very lucky to now have lived a quick direct flight away from it for the past decade. Arriving in Vancouver for a short vacation always feels a bit like coming back home even though I have never lived there. I have this selection of favourite places that I have accumulated over the years to go with the excitement of trying new things in a city that keeps evolving. Day one of any solo trip is now a well rehearsed practice – early morning flight, Skytrain from the airport to my hotel, drop my bags at a very early hour, find good coffee, then if the weather is great – Stanley Park for a hike around the seawall or if the weather is sketchy, head further afield for some craft beer tasting in Port Moody or Burnaby (or both!!!). With clouds threatening rain on my arrival in late August last year, I hopped on a train to Port Moody and enjoyed tastings at Twin Sails and Yellow Dog breweries followed by another tasting at Dageraad in Burnaby. My Vancouver vacation was off to a great start!

Since the pandemic, I’ve fallen in love with watching minor league baseball in Vancouver. With the Canadians being part of the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system, the chance to see future stars early in their career is so much fun for a baseball nerd like me. I also love the opportunity to meet the very approachable mascot of the team, Bob Brown Bear.

I am not sure if it is possible to convey in words how sitting outside on a perfect summer evening, cold beer in hand, with this view of a baseball game makes me feel. This is a happy place for me. Nat Bailey Stadium is wonderfully cozy and its backdrop of blue skies and pine trees beyond the outfield fence makes for a great baseball experience. This past summer a stacked Canadians team made the experience even better. Game one of this trip was a 4-1 win for Vancouver over Hillsboro.

Sometimes when I travel to Vancouver it is difficult to make space for new experiences as I have so many places I love in this city. Superflux Brewery always gets a visit from me to sample a few of their beers – they make some of the best IPAs in Canada and I always enjoy an hour or so here.

Brassneck is arguably my favourite brewery in the city. I love the wide range of styles they brew at a high level – something that is rare among craft breweries. A tasting flight here always has a number of colours and styles in it and on this visit I sampled a newly made barrel aged beer that was outstanding, and tried a bitter, a mild dark, an IPA and a Kolsch). I’m a sucker for their home made crackers and whipped feta dip and order them on just about every trip here.

I was really in need of this vacation back in August. A lot of things were spinning in not so great ways as happens occasionally in life, and while it was accidental in timing, everything about this trip fed my soul in a manner that helped me see things in a clearer light. Some of that was helped along by a new experience for me on this visit of renting a place outside of downtown. Hotels in Vancouver in the summer can be really pricey, and that had me searching for alternate lodging and neighbourhoods. I found a cozy apartment in Stathcona that had a front porch and a rocking chair and I spent a lot of time sitting here, enjoying some craft beers I picked up from around the city, and watching the neighbourhood walk by. This was heavenly.

I found my way back to the Nat for another ball game, this time from seats a few rows off the field. I think I’m ready to admit that Canadians games each summer has now become an annual tradition. I am already thinking about how and when I can fit this into my 2026 travels.

The Saturday night game was a great pitching duel and sitting so close let me appreciate the pitch selection and execution by the pitchers on both teams. Vancouver’s starter Fernando Perez threw 7 amazing innings in a 2-1 win.

One of the things Vancouver gives me on each visit is time by the water. I miss the ability I had while living in Halifax to wander the few blocks down to the harbour to just sit and stare out over the water there. Every Vancouver trip has some dedicated time for this – coffee in hand and a bench with a view.

After that peaceful Sunday morning time beside the water, I hopped on a bus to a new experience I was very excited for. Threefold Beer & Pizza in East Van was new since my previous visit and is a collective of three great breweries… Slow Hand Beer Company, Temporal Artisan Ales and Boombox. The brunch pizza here was delicious – prosciutto, potatoes, cheese, egg and honey – and I thoroughly enjoyed a great selection of beers from Czech lagers to Imperial ales. This immediately became a new favourite for me and a place I will visit many times in the future.

After lounging around on that lazy Sunday, my evening plans were all about more food and drink. A short walk away from my apartment, I took up residency at the bar at The Keefer Bar for their happy hour and a couple of pre-dinner drinks. This is a place my wife and I have visited a number of times and really is one of the great Canadian cocktail bars.

I ordered a couple of their happy hour specials – the Good Root (blanco tequila, rosemary infused Cynar, grapefruit, lime) and the Rubi Dream (blanco tequila, rhubarb and yuzu soda and a couple of fancy other things). With the time between visits, I forgot that I’ve ordered these just about every time, but they never disappoint!

Next up for my Sunday evening was dinner at Oku Izakaya Bar. I was very exited for this meal – the reviews of this place were strong and my menu pre-scouting made my head spin with what I might decide to order.

The meal was exceptional and the service matched the food. One of the things I loved about eating here was that as a solo diner, they adapted their menu so I could try smaller portions of their dishes. That is a love language for me! Root vegetable stir fry, poached black cod with ponzu, chicken karaage, fried taro balls – everything was delicious!

With a full belly and a happy heart, there was only one thing left to do on this trip. I headed back to my apartment, opened a lovely beer from Brassneck, and watched the sun set on my last day in Vancouver from my tranquil front porch. This was a perfect blend of old and new and was exactly the vacation I needed.