What I Learned in Vancouver

Suz and I just got back from spending 8 days in Vancouver and four hours in Calgary waiting for our connecting flight. We were spending Christmas with family and the experience was exactly how I imagined it would be - unpredictable. Snow one day, rain the next. A generous blast of sunshine, then snow again. It was neat, albeit slightly nauseating. And I learned something important while I was there. You don't need money to enjoy it.

Nope. You don't need money to see the amazing sights in Vancouver. Looking at mountains is free. The bridge-happy city is surrounded by coastal mountains and water and none of it costs a cent. All you really need is a little luck with the weather, at least in the winter.

The weather was so unpredictable that we had to check the weather network hourly to see if our plans were going to be thrown out the window. During a sunny day we drove off to Stanley park and watched the sun set behind the cityscape while Asian tourists asked us to take their picture in front of the totem poles. We drove deeper into the park and stopped in a small parking lot with "Wawa" parking to take in this view of the mountains & industry on the water.

And we didn't have to fly all the way to L.A. or some tropical island for great palm trees. Vancouver, as if to brag, has these coconutty trees planted all over the city. I was really surprised to see them, but even more surprised to see all the estates with giant palms guarding the front gate, or lining the driveways.

Mountains are neat and all, but it's not just those pointy, hard, jaggedy rock things that are incredible. In places like White Rock, even the soft, so-fluffy-you-could-wipe-your-ass-with-em clouds are spectacular.

And you don't need to fork out the same amount a small country's GDP for a chauffeur to drive you around to see all these awesome sights. Nope. All you need is an awesome brother-in-law who lives in B.C., and will drive you anywhere you want to go.