Travel Diary: Vancouver
Canada Geese! Stanley Park, Vancouver BC.
For the first time in a long time, Michele and I are vacationing and not visiting any friends or family. Just the two of us, out enjoying each other's company and the many adventures we can have together.
We got up at oh-my-god o'clock and flew here to Vancouver yesterday. We checked into the quirky and fun Barclay Hotel billed as a "heritage-style" hotel. This means, I think, that it does not have an elevator. I guess Canada really is a foreign country since there appears not to be the equivalent of the American with Disabilities Act here. But the hotel is lovely and the bar attached to it has a pinball arcade and, since I'm married to a Pinball Wizard, this was the real reason I chose it anyway.
We lunched at a really great ramen place just down the street. It was small and hide a line waiting to be seated. We didn't have to wait all that long for a spot and it was definitely worth the wait. A little further down the street was an incredibly lont line, around-the-block long. Disneyworld waiting-for-Space-Mountain long. This was the the line to get into the newly opened Hello Kitty Cafe. In fact, every time we've gone out this line has been incredibly long. What can I say? It would be a funny ol' world if we were all the same.
We spent the afternoon at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art. Bill Reid was an accomplished and acclaimed Haida artist and the gallery is dedicated to his work and that of other indigenous artists of the northwest. Absolutely fascinating. Among the exhibits were collections of the art of indigenous comic artists who had produced graphic novels about their culture and experience. When we visited the gift shop (of course there was a gift shop) one of the staff told us if we were interested in such things, we should visit a festival dedicated to comic artists being held this weekend. At the end of the day, however, we simply went back to the hotel and collapsed.
The next morning (this morning), Michele went off to the Vancouver Art Gallery and I went off to the Vancouver Aquarium. Outside the aquarium is a sculpture of a Killer Whale by Bill Reid:
The aquarium had an Amazon River exhibit and I've always loved anything about the Amazon. I took my obligatory picture of an arowanna (osteoglossum bicirrhosum):
Michele and I met up after our respective adventures at the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival. This wonderful event was populated by countless booths and tables of independent artists showing off their wares. It was just wonderful. As I told Michele, "These are my people, except more so." The variety of books, postcards, posters, jewelry, stickers, etc. available was staggering. Not all to my taste, obviously, but that is the point. And, I don't know if I've ever been in a place more queer/trans friendly. We spent a great deal of money here. It was just great. I will pass this on: I was admiring one person's graphic novel and they just told me to read it online for free. That is what you should do too!
We leave Vancouver tomorrow. Where are we going? What are we doing? You'll have to come back to find out! Probably in a couple days! So much excitement!
jpj stories by John Jackson is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
