Vancouver, Day 2...lil birdies, Granville arts, and steppin out

Our second day in Vancouver brought the nicest weather of the trip.  Overcast and cool-well, warm to us Alaskans-and NO rain.  This was our look like fucking idiots because we didn't educate ourselves about the downtown buses and explore Granville Island and eat the best restaurant burgers day.

 

After a workout in the gym- toddlin' baby Jesus, they had cold, eucalyptus infused, moist towels there -we headed out to RUIN it all at La Boulangerie, where I had THIS for breaky:

 

 

Oh, HELLS yes. 

 

 

Next stop, Granville island.  Once an industrial manufacturing spot, is now artisan heaven, situated on a peninsula under the south end of the Granville Street bridge.  Yeah, so we got lost(a little bit) but eventually followed the distant street music to this wonderful modern-hippy hub....reminiscent of Seattle's Public Market with it's huge foodie house of saturnalia.  My inner artist was in a faint over the wonderful "Working Studios", each artist housed in their own garage with loft gallery/shop/studio where one gets to see them in action!  

Miles and I are snobs about our homemade burgers-they simply blow one's mind-and were reluctant about ordering burgers at Cat's Social House, but holy MAN, they were yummy!  We came back with a friend a couple days later.  After our fill we wound our way through studios, shops and the Granville brewery(Fabulous IPA and Winter ale there!  We brought our friend here as well).  But, alas, having not properly managed our day's schedule....and I say that with a SHHHHHH, not a SK....all too soon we had to head back to the hotel to get ready for the New York Life Welcome-type dinner.  Yaaaaaaaaawn. 

But, a couple hours hence, we enjoyed meeting up with fellow AK NYL friends and going out for a drinkie on the town.  Who had absinthe like the chick in Dracula?  THIS girl! 

Well.....faux absinthe, actually.  The shitty Czech sort?  That the bourgeois burn a sugar cube over......... 

Nyquil, really.  I drank a shot of expensive Nyquil.  

 

Then off to the hotel hot tub with us!  Oh, and NO, the Nyquil did NOT bring on the green fairy, yummy hallucinations, or abstract acrobatics.  So, in the outdoor hot tub.  Gloriously hot water with outside temps in the fifties, head resting back with drops of cold rain falling softly on my face and arms....view of skyscrapers reaching into a cloudy night....god-DAMN what gorgeous sensations..........................................

 

 

Aww!  Lil hungry birdie eating almonds out of Miles's hand!  A lovely breakfast....

Autumn, again.

Nice pic taken by Miles.  Love the juxtaposition.

The working studios.  This taken from a sculptor's loft....

...and here is the ground floor of a woodworkers studio-loft above.  Smelled AMAZING in there.  GAWD, what I wouldn't give! The.Perfect.Space!!!!



A broom maker!

My music man getting his fix

THIS was an AMAZING world instrument store

Back uptown to register for the convention at the Vancouver Convention Center

My BFF and I ready to step out!

The rare decent photo.

Vancouver, BC...a getaway with my hunny

View from our room!

 

Vancouver with my hunny-bunny!!!  Fun, romance, comedy, fancy-type business dinners, shopping, exploring, a bunch of New York Life Convention meetings for Miles, smuggling wine into the hotel hot tub, walking about the city in bathrobes and and slippers, and pinching Frank N. Furter's nipple...you know, the usual.

 

The last time I was in Vancouver was 1999.  I was living in Seattle at the time and my mom was up for a visit.  We took a road trip to Bellingham, fought about whether it was ok or not to eat a savory bagel for breakfast as opposed to sweet, and then hopped the ferry through the San Juan islands to Vancouver.  I fell in instant love with it then...a gorgeous city in the fall, European-esque culture, my first taste of dinning outside due to the outdoor heaters(Can't wait to build our big deck next summer and throw a few of those things on it!), a very clean, health-conscious and progressive place with the best of all worlds-city, water, and mountains all in view.  I've been talking it up to Miles for years and was excited that he earned us the opportunity to go for a week!  THANKS, Baby!!!!  We had a fantastic time even though it POURED for most of it.  I wish Miles could have seen how a bright sunny day can transform that city....

 

We booked our flight to get us into town a day early so that we could relax and explore before the NYL convention began.  Here's our first day-basically bar hopping, eating, and walking about while trying to wrestle umbrellas(Alaskans don't do umbrellas-we have RAIN GEAR.  Which we didn't think to bring, of course):

 

1st pub of the day- The Lennox.  Outside but covered and warm...watching folks stream by in the rain.

Next up, the Morrissey.  If I were to own a bar/pub/nightclub, THIS would be the design.  A mix of old world, retro shit, wood, leather, tattoos, modern art/furniture, rock/punk/indie/Johnny Cash-esque/house music.

I dig my leather boots that I rarely get a chance to wear!

 

Street scene

Street artist....all chalk

 

My handsome man checking in with the kiddos before we head back out for a lovely dinner at Don Francesco's



Always the silliness with us!  Nothing more fun then laughing your ass off with your hubby.

 

Last Weekend's Zombie Half Marathon and Kid's 2k!

And, no, I was not in it.  Just these two.  Bitterly, I am sidelined until probably spring with ITBS D/T TMTS......oh, you know, Illiotibial Band Syndrome due to Too Much Too Soon.  And that's all I'm going to say about THAT.

For now.

But I'm not a TOTAL douche, incapable of stuffing down and not choking on my disappointment, rage, sadness, longing, jealously, restlessness, sadness, envy, loss...................................................................and happily cheering on and supporting my man and youngest in their ongoing racing adventures! 

Onward!

I don't quite get the nation's excitement with the whole "Zombie Apocalypse" thing....embraced by stay-at-home-and-do-nothing-man/child types....but it was a good time watching the race participants dressed in a miscellany of creepy get-ups all raging down the trail.  Costumes ranged on the awesomeness spectrum from Straight Off the Movie Set to Zombie Lite for those like Miles and Willa who didn't want make-up and clothes to get in the way.  I think I did a pretty good job zombifying those two before the race.  It was actually kind of cool being on the "other side"- seeing my runner's off , stopping at the Middle Way for coffee and cocoa and thinking how nice and warm it was in there and aren't I SO HAPPY that I'm not running a great half marathon in the cold...............yeah.........
and being there cheering them to their finish.  Dylan and I had to maneuver trickily to make sure Willa was down at her race start before Miles finished his and I had to, ironically, run my ass off to get back to the 1/2's finish line to see him in! I think it would SUCK royally to finish a race with no one there at the end to hug you and hand you warm clothes!!!  We then headed back down in plenty of time to see Willa's finish.  Miles and Dylan ran the last 100 yards with her over the finish line and she was thrilled!  They did GOOD, this half of our family.

Next year we are going to go ALL OUT for the Zombie races.  ALL of us.

start of the half

Omm nom nom nom

Zombie Elvis?!!

 

AAAAAAAAACK!  Run!  Zombie children!!!!!!

See ya, Mommy!  I got this!

Miles crossing that line!  YAY, hunny!!!

Our good friend and former boss

Zombie knees!  She fell at some point....

Finished and proud!  With her first race wipeout wounds to show for it!  looked worse the next day, too!

 

He escaped again!!!!

 

  Our Astoundingly Adventurous Amourous African Clawed Run Away Attack Frog!!!   Willa found Scoot the aquatic Frog mostly dried up and stuck behind the toilet this morning! Evidence tells us he journeyed from the confines of her room and across the house to make a desperate attempt at re-moisturizing in the cats' water bowl (so THAT'S what that wet blob of stringy, hair, lint and cat fur was that I found next to the bowl this morning!!!), and then back across to the kid's bathroom only to wedge himself between the toilet shelving and wall. What a surprise for Willa making her AM BM!!!! Scoot is now de-linted and recovering back in his tank. This would be escape attempt #5 in the last 4 years. The fact that he has not been devoured by the cats yet is beyond me....

GAH!!!

I have NO idea why my Pinterest and Polyvore accounts are posting my froo-froo stuff on my blog!!!  I will get to the bottom of this MALARKY.