A Vancouver craft beer crawl

/ Greg / 1 Comment

One of the significant advantages of visiting a city for the second time is that it affords you plenty of time to dig into it much deeper.  For my most recent visit to Vancouver, one of the things I wanted to explore was the thriving craft beer community on the west coast.   On my previous trip there a few years back, I had a quick taste of west coast craft beer on a night at the Alibi Room.   On this visit, although I had more in depth explorations planned, I found myself back at the Alibi for a couple of sampler trays and a delicious bison cheese steak.   My favourite beers?  In the first sampler tray (photo on the left), the Brassneck Staircase wit (beer on the far right) and the Four Winds pale ale (beer on the far left) were outstanding.  In the second sampler (photo on the right), the Red Truck lager (left most beer) was a wonderful easy drinking sessional.  Another Brassneck beer, the white IPA (second from right), was truly exceptional – a piney, citrusy mashup of a west coast IPA and wit.   My multi-day Vancouver beer crawl was off to a great start.

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Beaches, tacos and giraffe feeding

/ Greg / Leave a comment

I am just back and shaking off jet lag from a second trip to the Pacific Coast in about a month.  This past week in San Diego reaffirmed my affection for the west coast.  From a personal perspective on this mixed work/vacation trip, the leisure portion of the week provided me and my wife a much needed breather and change of scenery.  In only seven days, San Diego gave us what felt like two weeks of vacation.   The west coast has always done that for me and this trip was no different.

Each day brought something unique and memorable.   On one day it was a walk along Pacific Beach north of the city and a feed of fresh crab overlooking the ocean.  Another day was spent at the San Diego Zoo where we got an opportunity to feed a giraffe, watch a polar bear swim up close, and wander among koalas.  We ventured over to Tijuana, Mexico, and got a guided tour of the city including visiting a local market, walking along a beach just south of the Mexico-USA border, and sitting down for a lunch of tacos the likes of which I have never experienced before.  Speaking of tacos, I had a feed of them every day and every which way – baja tacos, grilled fish, carnitas, al pastor, pollo verde, carne asade, conchita pibil.   There was a fun night at a Padres game, some touring of the city of San Diego, a quiet morning in a rooftop pool, some more beach time over in Coronado, more than a bit of craft beer sampling, and a whole lot of R&R.

It was a splendid first visit to San Diego and to Tijuana, even if it is now causing me severe taco withdrawal.

Exploring more Vancouver public art

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On a trip to Vancouver a couple of years back, I spent some time exploring public art around the city.   I only scratched the surface of Vancouver’s large and diverse public art collection, so back in April with a few art maps in my hand, I set off for a few walks around the city.  For me, this has become a “must do” when visiting a city for the first (or second, in this case) time.  A walk around a city exploring public art has largely replaced gallery or museum visits for me.  I like the combination of interesting modern art, hunting for it (even with a good map, sometimes it takes advanced detective skills to actually pinpoint its location) and doing that against the backdrop of neighbourhoods and sights that I might not have explored otherwise.

On an evening walk along the waterfront, I visited one of my favourite pieces of public art in Vancouver – the Olympic Cauldron outside the Vancouver Convention Centre.  Even without the torches lit, it’s an impressive reminder of the 2010 Olympics which will always hold a special place in the hearts of all Canadians.

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Soccer night in Vancouver

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I was thrilled when the MLS schedule was released to see there was a Whitecaps FC match in Vancouver while I was visiting.  After a long string of trips where I just missed out on soccer matches, this made it three in a row of visiting soccer cities and getting to see a match (Prague for a Sparta match and Rome for a Lazio match).  On a picture perfect Vancouver evening, I made my way to BC Place.  People were out early for the game and enjoying the sun just outside the stadium  The only letdown was a malfunction in the retractable roof that kept the evening’s game from being played under a clear sky.

Outside BC Place

I was there for the doors opening so I could wander around the stadium and grab supper while watching warmups.  BC Place is a beautiful place to watch a match:

Inside BC Place

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Hiking around the seawall

/ Greg / 2 Comments

One of the few benefits of flying west across the full breadth of Canada is that it gives you a natural early morning wake up call to help you make the most of your first full day on the other coast.  Waking up well before daylight had the common sense to break, I readied myself for an only in Vancouver type of experience – a morning hike around the Stanley Park seawall.  I picked up a scone and a coffee in the lobby of my downtown hotel and took a short cab ride to Stanley Park to start my hike.  At about 6:00am, the skyline of the city was perfectly reflected in the calm waters of Coal Harbour.

Vancouver waterfront

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Mile Zero

/ Greg / 3 Comments

I usually write about my trips and experiences somewhat sequentially once I return home. But for one experience, I’m making an exception.  I’m writing the bulk of this sitting in the lobby of the Fairmont in Victoria, but truth be told, I know I won’t finish writing it sitting here.  I’m already blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay, and I don’t need a lobby of cruise ship passengers wondering why there’s a guy over in the corner crying into his iPad.

On this last day in Victoria, I headed out for a morning of urban and public art exploring.  One of the last pieces of art on my walk was the sculpture of Terry Fox.  It’s located at mile zero, the end of the Trans-Canada Highway. In a country like Canada, that in and of itself would be something to visit. But as I looked at the sculpture of Terry Fox I started to think about his Marathon of Hope and what it would have been like for him to make it to his point. Mile Zero.  The entire way across Canada.

Terry Fox statue

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Back from British Columbia

/ Greg / 1 Comment

Having just returned from a bit more than a week on Canada’s west coast, I can say something very assuredly:  this trip did nothing to diminish my desire to someday live near the Pacific Ocean.  My mixed work and pleasure trip was made a wee bit sweeter knowing there were some snow flurries back home in Halifax while I was away. It wasn’t that warm in Vancouver or Victoria, but I never once wondered if I needed to put gloves on to go out.  After this past winter, I’m considering that a wonderful eight day gift from the travel weather gods.

This being my second time in Vancouver, I dug a little deeper into the city including a very early morning hike around the Stanley Park seawall, some urban exploring for public art, generous west coast craft beer tastings including visiting four craft breweries, and a Saturday evening Whitecaps FC soccer match. Those experiences were so much fun that I can even forgive the Canucks for choking their way out of a game seven match up with the Flames for which I had a ticket.

I left Vancouver by ferry to see Victoria and to explore a bit further afield on Vancouver Island.  Victoria was full bloom in colour and I realized that I had almost forgotten what flowers and green grass looked like.  A few nice street meals, some more craft beer sampling (sense a trend?) and a healthy dose of general exploring gave me a nice taste of Victoria.  A day long road trip around the southern part of Vancouver Island was a mix of small town visits, west coast beach hikes and a memorable meal at the Sooke Harbour House with a clear view of the snow capped Olympic Mountains across the Juan de Fuca Strait in Washington State.

I had a lovely time in British Columbia.  There were some very special and unexpected moments that reminded me that many times it’s the little “experiences within the experience” that make a trip memorable.  I’m looking forward to writing about this trip and a few of those moments over the coming weeks.

Left coast dreaming

/ Greg / Leave a comment

It’s been a long, brutal winter out here on the east coast. If the torture of the weather wasn’t enough, every once in a while I’d sneak a peek at the weather forecasts for Vancouver and Victoria. It’s something everyone does in Canada starting in February once you’ve seen the first news report on the CBC of flowers blooming on the west coast.. it’s a bit of an annual self flogging ritual.  You repeatedly ask yourself “How am I navigating iced up sidewalks in a parka while someone is jogging on a beach in a t-shirt and shorts somewhere else in my country?”

In a few days, I’ll be living out the second best alternative to my dream of one day moving to British Columbia to escape winter forever. I’m heading out west for a week: partly for work, partly for leisure. A good chunk of this upcoming trip will be a return visit to Vancouver, a city I fell in love with on a trip there a couple of years back.   I’m hoping this time I’ll get to the top of Grosse Mountain on a clear day or evening, do a long hike around and through Stanley Park, and dig a bit deeper into the city’s public art around the downtown. Add to that a Whitecaps soccer match, some craft brewery hopping and a cross section of international eating (including a return visit to La Taqueria for the best tacos I’ve ever had)… that should fill up the time in Vancouver pretty well.

Inukshuk at English Bay

I’m then going to head a bit further west, taking a ferry to Victoria to spend a couple of days in and around the city. I’ve booked a rental car for a one day road trip around the southern end of Vancouver Island and plan to visit the totems in Duncan, the large murals in Chemainus, and the coastal beaches south of Port Renfrew. On the way back to Victoria will be a highly anticipated meal at the world renowned Sooke Harbour House.

A week on the west coast should fix me up pretty well. There’s even an outside chance that all the snow will be melted in Halifax by the time I return home.