Vancouver, Fall 2017
Oct. 29th, 2017 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqMy annual autumn trip to Vancouver was fun and relaxing. Here's the highlights:
Friday
Started with a few hours at work and then a ton of travel time - effectively six hours from work to Port Wood. Along the way I dropped my luggage off at my Commercial Drive B&B. I've stayed at this one before (it's across the street from the lot I want to buy in my lottery fantasies).
A bunch of us met at the Burrard Pub and enjoyed some nosh and libations.
Saturday
I had the afternoon to myself, and so I went window shopping. The problem was this was the rainiest/coldest day that I was there, and I hadn't packed the right clothing for it. This leads to my philosophy of air travel - only use carry-on. The amount you save over all your trips adds up, so when you need to buy something, it's not a hardship. My mental "bank" over the last few years was great. So I went thrift shopping to see if I could get a decent coat. And I found one, a nice wool long coat that fit nicely. $22.
(Novelty bottle at the thrift store - noteworthy because it's supposed to be a goalie, but I think it looks like a Cenobite)
The bad news revealed itself later, when I was on the bus. I was sitting next to an old homeless guy briefly. And he smelled a bit. But he got off the bus only a few stops after I got on, and the smell didn't go away. That's when I realized, the homeless wet-dog smell was me! The long coat desperately needed a cleaning. Thankfully, I didn't need the coat again while I was in Vancouver.
Long story short, I brought the coat back to Calgary and washed the holy hell out of it. Wool. In the washing machine. It seems to have worked, and if it hadn't, it was only $22.
(Whisks, at Gourmet Warehouse)
That evening the rain stopped and I met up with Rosie with the intent to drink and gossip, and that we did. We went to Callister Brewing, which is an interesting venue in that they're a brewery that partners up with other, up and coming, breweries that aren't large enough for their own space yet. About a third of the beer there is their own, and the rest is an ever-rotating set of taps and breweries. This makes it a great place to start because they have a huge variety. We each opted for a flight.
Next up was Odd Society Spirits, a distillery rather than a brewery. This was a beautiful bar, full of old wood and brass fittings, with the distillery visible in the back. Just the place for civilized drinks, or rampant philosophy (and I hope to get some of the other philosophers out to it someday). The specialize in grain alcohol, so they have a moonshine, whisky, and gin and their cocktails reflect that. Alas, no rum, but that's pretty rare outside the Caribbean, and likely will never happen at Odd Society since they specialize in BC ingredients and there aren't a lot of sugar cane plantations in the Pacific Northwest. We each had a pair of cocktails (and shared a charcuterie plate) before moving on.
(Mural behind the bar at Odd Society Spirits)
We wandered past some of East Van's finest fish rendering plants (which helpfully masked my coat) before we found Doan Craft Brewery, having another flight of beer. They're pretty good. The tap room is small and plain, but friendly and with a nice selection of local artist's work on the walls.
Heading back to my suite, we found the halfway point was Storm Crow Tavern, so naturally we went in. We rolled random shots and she got something good and I... didn't. I got Something Pickled This Way Comes - a shot of Jamesons and a shot of pickle juice, meant to be drunk simultaneously. This would be the third time I've rolled this drink, so when the time came, she chugged her shot, and I chugged the Jameson's while simultaneously dumping the pickle juice into the sink - the benefit of sitting at the bar.
We each had two more cocktails, then headed back to the suite, where we collapsed in the two bedrooms. For Rosie, this was an improvement since she didn't have to sleep at the foot of someone else's bed.
Sunday
We both hit what I think of as Missy Morgan's Hangover Point (but it doesn't originate with her) at 7 AM - that's late, indicating we drank a lot. The Hangover Point is where your metabolism ticks over from drunk to sober while you're sleeping and you wake up, giving you a small window to avert an oncoming hangover) Ibuprofen was consumed and I think we both woke up sometime around the crack of noon. In short, our bar crawl was a fantastic amount of fun, but we both acknowledged that we weren't going to do it again this trip, because damn. Next trip though! It's certainly something I'd like to make a tradition of.
We spent the afternoon buying supplies for the evening's potluck, and browsing the always fascinating Filmgo sales. That's the thrift store where all the props people go. I didn't buy anything, but I wanted to.
Filmgo is apparently moving, and they're moving somewhere that actually makes it more convenient for me to go to when I'm in Vancouver - the middle of the East Vancouver brewery district! Alas, not across the street from a dozen sound stages anymore, but they might get a lot more walk-in traffic.
(Selfie, at Filmgo Sales)
The potluck was a partial success - not everyone could make it, but those that did had good food, good drink, and good conversation. I myself had no time to make an entry, so I made cookies and bought a cake. Probably would have skipped the cake since Ryanzilla brought a better one. Oh well, no one was going to beat my actual baking.
Monday
Met up with Athena for breakfast at Scandilicious, which is, again, in the East Vancouver brewery district. I'd have a new favourite place to dream of living if it weren't for the fact that the neighbourhood had a tendency to smell like low tide due to it's proximity to fish rendering plants and, actual low tide.
The restaurant makes Belgium waffles. I can't attest to their authenticity, but they were delicious.
Athena was kind enough to drop me off downtown for my big appointment of the day - Let Them Eat Pie!
So a bit of background, AirBnB is now selling "experiences". I poorly explained this in the past as being able to rent people instead of renting rooms, but that sounded a little too much like prostitution. Anyway, they're expanding the gig economy to include things like micro tours and individual classes. They were pushing this hard when I booked my suite, so I had a look. Mostly this was North Vancouver hikes (sure, but not in the autumn), brewery tours (I can do this on my own without help), and such. One stood out - a three hour pie baking course at a restaurant called Lime and Moon Pie Company in Yaletown. A professional pastry chef telling me what the hell I've been doing wrong whenever I try to make pie crust? Hells yes! So I signed up for it a month before the trip. The only thing that might have held me back is it was a little shorter than SAIT's continuing education one-off culinary courses, and a little more expensive. Not much in either category, but measurably. However, the class size was likely going to be a lot smaller.
Now was the time for the course, so I found my way to Lime and Moon to find the door open, and a sandwich board blocking the door saying "closed for private course". Yay! That's me!
(Chef Frankie, showing off her wares)
My suspicion is the maximum class size is three, based on the fact that the restaurant only has room for six people - three overlooking the prep area/kitchen, and three looking out the front window. But it was not even full - I only had one fellow student, Cassandra, who was writing an article for a magazine about AirBnB experiences. Chef Frankie got right into it, and we learned how to make pies!
(I didn't just make pie, I got to sample a Banana Cream pie - second greatest of all the cream pies)
For me, I love baking because it combines my loves for sweets, with the meticulous scientific nature of being a programmer. I wanted to know how to make decent pie crusts, and what the underlying science was, and I did. Turns out it's all about ingredients (different fats provide different tastes/textures), temperature (keep it cold so the fat's properties don't change too much, and how much you work the dough mixing it (mixing it too long causes gluten chains to form, which make the dough tough. Turns out I'd been melting my butter and working the dough too long. Now I know better.
We also got a history of pies.
(The finished pies, by Cassandra and I)
I learned a whole bunch about making pies. I got to sample some of the wares - mmm - banana cream pie. Had some delicious tea. I even walked away with a whole pumpkin pie (I gave it to Athena after taking out a slice for myself), a container of candied pecans (which are ridiculously easy to make), and enough additional dough for two more pies!
(My slice of pie, which I had later that night)
Or rather, I'd have the dough if I hadn't forgotten it at the bakery when I left. A few texts back and forth with Frankie and I had it set aside for a pick up tomorrow. As I told her, it gave me an excuse to have some tourtière for lunch the next day.
My fellow student, Cassandra was rather knowledgable about the local food scene, so when I asked her for recommendations for dinner, she suggested Kingyo Izakaya. I later got a massage, and the masseuse also recommended it, without prompting. Thus two separate (and presumably unrelated) people had suggested the same restaurant on the same day. That's the sort of coincidence that I heed when I'm on my vacation and have no other plans, so I went for a late supper there.
Kingyo is on Denman, so the part of downtown Vancouver closest to Stanley Park. This makes it the sort of thing I'd almost have to go to by myself since getting my friends out of the burbs is like pulling teeth. I was not disappointed.
(Weird-ass decor at the Kingyo's bar)
(Ahi Tuna and Avocado Carpaccio.)
(Stone-grilled Kobe beef with two kinds of Kingyo marinade.)
The portions were smallish, so I mistakenly opted for Chicken Karaage, and of course, that portion size was larger than I expected.
(Chicken Karaage and a bottle of Tiger Lager)
No dessert, because I had pie waiting for me back at my suite. The pie was delicious.
(a wholly original and creative coffee shop name)
Tuesday
Lunch was the aforementioned tourtière, where I chatted with Frankie, and the shop's barista. Then I managed to miss a movie I was going to see because I read 1:25 as 1:45.
(Tourtière at Lime and Moon Pie Company)
So I wandered around downtown some: picking up some comic books, losing a bit of money at the brand new Parq casino, getting my flu shot, and generally enjoying the nice weather.
I also went into the downtown Costco. Because I had left my card at home, I had to get a day pass at costumer service.
Finally, I went to Craft for their monthly Brewmaster series dinner - a four course meal paired with beers. Normally this is all the work of one micro brewery - the brewmaster collaborating with Craft's chefs. This time it was all Belgian beers from larger, presumably multiple Belgian, breweries. If this sounds like something that would interest you, Craft does this at all their locations about once a month.
No pictures for this one, but here's a description:
Wednesday
I started the day by heading to the theatre and catching the show I had missed on Tuesday - Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. This is a biopic of the guy who invented Wonder Woman. And his wife. And their girlfriend. With whom they had a stable polyamourous triad. During the 30's, 40's and 50's. Hell, after he died in 1957, they women remained together into old age. Oh, and they were kinky as fuck.
I confess, I did not go into this movie sympathetic to the characters, but it did a good job showing all of them as well-realized people and not weird stereotypes. Their story is believable, and a little bit admirable, even though they did not have an easy time of it (for example, psychology professors at Harvard don't go on to write comic books, unless they are prevented from remaining as psychology professors at Harvard). By the end, I could see their point of view. It's a bitter-sweet tale, and I recommend it to anyone interested in understanding the early days of polyamory or the BDSM scene - even if you are not interested in it as something for you.
(Model School, part of a mall on Cambie)
That evening, I went to The Critical Hit Show, aka #DnDLive. It was entertaining as always, and I will continue to plan my trips in a way where attending is at least a possibility. Though I am a little worried that my favourite actress might not be part of the troupe anymore. Nothing concrete, aside from her not being there this month. Of itself, that means nothing (a lot of them are actors, so somethings the paying gigs take precedence). No, there were clues that my intuition latched onto. I'll keep an eye on later months and see what happens. Hopefully my intuition is wrong.
Thursday
I checked out of my suite and decided that, given all the extra luggage, I wasn't going to face an hour of transit. I grabbed a car2go and drove all my stuff to Port Wood. Then I got to drive it back to Vancouver. Round trip was about 90 minutes, so it cost me $36. And a cab would have been a lot worse!
(The Arbutus Ridge, much nicer than the last time I encountered it)
It was a round trip since I had to take the car back to Vancouver's home area, which was decidedly not Port Moody. Since I had to take it back, I decided this was my opportunity to go to Clubhouse. I grabbed my usual Oh Avocado, and some chicken curry for lunch.
(Rather nice cinema sign, near Granville Street, downtown Vancouver)
Afterwards, I decided to just hike around and window shop. I checked out a bunch of thrift stores, checked out Storm Crow Tavern's sister venue, the Storm Crow Alehouse, and had a flight of beer. Then off to Granville Island to check out what was there. Finally, I caught a boat across to downtown and went to Long Table distillery to grab some of the Pair of Pears Brandy. Finally, I made my back to Port Wood.
(Raven mural, under the bridge, south of the Granville island entrance)
Friday
Used the Port Wood kitchen to turn that pie dough into two more pies. I had a slice and the rest (presumably) got eaten by the natives. That evening we went to Brew Street Craft and Kitchen. It was a good night, and I was sad to say goodbye to everyone.
Saturday
Ryan, Steph and I had brunch at the Omega Cafe, and Steph was kind enough to drive me to the airport.
And so the trip was over. I likely won't be back for awhile since my next two trips are going to be to opposite sides of the planet (London and Tokyo), but I'm already looking forward to my summer road trip.
(Phoebe fits...)
(... and Cinny sits)
Friday
Started with a few hours at work and then a ton of travel time - effectively six hours from work to Port Wood. Along the way I dropped my luggage off at my Commercial Drive B&B. I've stayed at this one before (it's across the street from the lot I want to buy in my lottery fantasies).
A bunch of us met at the Burrard Pub and enjoyed some nosh and libations.
Saturday
I had the afternoon to myself, and so I went window shopping. The problem was this was the rainiest/coldest day that I was there, and I hadn't packed the right clothing for it. This leads to my philosophy of air travel - only use carry-on. The amount you save over all your trips adds up, so when you need to buy something, it's not a hardship. My mental "bank" over the last few years was great. So I went thrift shopping to see if I could get a decent coat. And I found one, a nice wool long coat that fit nicely. $22.
(Novelty bottle at the thrift store - noteworthy because it's supposed to be a goalie, but I think it looks like a Cenobite)
The bad news revealed itself later, when I was on the bus. I was sitting next to an old homeless guy briefly. And he smelled a bit. But he got off the bus only a few stops after I got on, and the smell didn't go away. That's when I realized, the homeless wet-dog smell was me! The long coat desperately needed a cleaning. Thankfully, I didn't need the coat again while I was in Vancouver.
Long story short, I brought the coat back to Calgary and washed the holy hell out of it. Wool. In the washing machine. It seems to have worked, and if it hadn't, it was only $22.
(Whisks, at Gourmet Warehouse)
That evening the rain stopped and I met up with Rosie with the intent to drink and gossip, and that we did. We went to Callister Brewing, which is an interesting venue in that they're a brewery that partners up with other, up and coming, breweries that aren't large enough for their own space yet. About a third of the beer there is their own, and the rest is an ever-rotating set of taps and breweries. This makes it a great place to start because they have a huge variety. We each opted for a flight.
Next up was Odd Society Spirits, a distillery rather than a brewery. This was a beautiful bar, full of old wood and brass fittings, with the distillery visible in the back. Just the place for civilized drinks, or rampant philosophy (and I hope to get some of the other philosophers out to it someday). The specialize in grain alcohol, so they have a moonshine, whisky, and gin and their cocktails reflect that. Alas, no rum, but that's pretty rare outside the Caribbean, and likely will never happen at Odd Society since they specialize in BC ingredients and there aren't a lot of sugar cane plantations in the Pacific Northwest. We each had a pair of cocktails (and shared a charcuterie plate) before moving on.
(Mural behind the bar at Odd Society Spirits)
We wandered past some of East Van's finest fish rendering plants (which helpfully masked my coat) before we found Doan Craft Brewery, having another flight of beer. They're pretty good. The tap room is small and plain, but friendly and with a nice selection of local artist's work on the walls.
Heading back to my suite, we found the halfway point was Storm Crow Tavern, so naturally we went in. We rolled random shots and she got something good and I... didn't. I got Something Pickled This Way Comes - a shot of Jamesons and a shot of pickle juice, meant to be drunk simultaneously. This would be the third time I've rolled this drink, so when the time came, she chugged her shot, and I chugged the Jameson's while simultaneously dumping the pickle juice into the sink - the benefit of sitting at the bar.
We each had two more cocktails, then headed back to the suite, where we collapsed in the two bedrooms. For Rosie, this was an improvement since she didn't have to sleep at the foot of someone else's bed.
Sunday
We both hit what I think of as Missy Morgan's Hangover Point (but it doesn't originate with her) at 7 AM - that's late, indicating we drank a lot. The Hangover Point is where your metabolism ticks over from drunk to sober while you're sleeping and you wake up, giving you a small window to avert an oncoming hangover) Ibuprofen was consumed and I think we both woke up sometime around the crack of noon. In short, our bar crawl was a fantastic amount of fun, but we both acknowledged that we weren't going to do it again this trip, because damn. Next trip though! It's certainly something I'd like to make a tradition of.
We spent the afternoon buying supplies for the evening's potluck, and browsing the always fascinating Filmgo sales. That's the thrift store where all the props people go. I didn't buy anything, but I wanted to.
Filmgo is apparently moving, and they're moving somewhere that actually makes it more convenient for me to go to when I'm in Vancouver - the middle of the East Vancouver brewery district! Alas, not across the street from a dozen sound stages anymore, but they might get a lot more walk-in traffic.
(Selfie, at Filmgo Sales)
The potluck was a partial success - not everyone could make it, but those that did had good food, good drink, and good conversation. I myself had no time to make an entry, so I made cookies and bought a cake. Probably would have skipped the cake since Ryanzilla brought a better one. Oh well, no one was going to beat my actual baking.
Monday
Met up with Athena for breakfast at Scandilicious, which is, again, in the East Vancouver brewery district. I'd have a new favourite place to dream of living if it weren't for the fact that the neighbourhood had a tendency to smell like low tide due to it's proximity to fish rendering plants and, actual low tide.
The restaurant makes Belgium waffles. I can't attest to their authenticity, but they were delicious.
Athena was kind enough to drop me off downtown for my big appointment of the day - Let Them Eat Pie!
So a bit of background, AirBnB is now selling "experiences". I poorly explained this in the past as being able to rent people instead of renting rooms, but that sounded a little too much like prostitution. Anyway, they're expanding the gig economy to include things like micro tours and individual classes. They were pushing this hard when I booked my suite, so I had a look. Mostly this was North Vancouver hikes (sure, but not in the autumn), brewery tours (I can do this on my own without help), and such. One stood out - a three hour pie baking course at a restaurant called Lime and Moon Pie Company in Yaletown. A professional pastry chef telling me what the hell I've been doing wrong whenever I try to make pie crust? Hells yes! So I signed up for it a month before the trip. The only thing that might have held me back is it was a little shorter than SAIT's continuing education one-off culinary courses, and a little more expensive. Not much in either category, but measurably. However, the class size was likely going to be a lot smaller.
Now was the time for the course, so I found my way to Lime and Moon to find the door open, and a sandwich board blocking the door saying "closed for private course". Yay! That's me!
(Chef Frankie, showing off her wares)
My suspicion is the maximum class size is three, based on the fact that the restaurant only has room for six people - three overlooking the prep area/kitchen, and three looking out the front window. But it was not even full - I only had one fellow student, Cassandra, who was writing an article for a magazine about AirBnB experiences. Chef Frankie got right into it, and we learned how to make pies!
(I didn't just make pie, I got to sample a Banana Cream pie - second greatest of all the cream pies)
For me, I love baking because it combines my loves for sweets, with the meticulous scientific nature of being a programmer. I wanted to know how to make decent pie crusts, and what the underlying science was, and I did. Turns out it's all about ingredients (different fats provide different tastes/textures), temperature (keep it cold so the fat's properties don't change too much, and how much you work the dough mixing it (mixing it too long causes gluten chains to form, which make the dough tough. Turns out I'd been melting my butter and working the dough too long. Now I know better.
We also got a history of pies.
Frankie: It all comes back to the Romans - they were the first ones to come up with something like a modern pastry dough.And that's when I knew I'd get along with Frankie.
Me: The Romans?!? Pfft. What have the Romans ever done for us?
Frankie: Well, there's the aqueduct, sanitation, and the roads?
(The finished pies, by Cassandra and I)
I learned a whole bunch about making pies. I got to sample some of the wares - mmm - banana cream pie. Had some delicious tea. I even walked away with a whole pumpkin pie (I gave it to Athena after taking out a slice for myself), a container of candied pecans (which are ridiculously easy to make), and enough additional dough for two more pies!
(My slice of pie, which I had later that night)
Or rather, I'd have the dough if I hadn't forgotten it at the bakery when I left. A few texts back and forth with Frankie and I had it set aside for a pick up tomorrow. As I told her, it gave me an excuse to have some tourtière for lunch the next day.
My fellow student, Cassandra was rather knowledgable about the local food scene, so when I asked her for recommendations for dinner, she suggested Kingyo Izakaya. I later got a massage, and the masseuse also recommended it, without prompting. Thus two separate (and presumably unrelated) people had suggested the same restaurant on the same day. That's the sort of coincidence that I heed when I'm on my vacation and have no other plans, so I went for a late supper there.
Kingyo is on Denman, so the part of downtown Vancouver closest to Stanley Park. This makes it the sort of thing I'd almost have to go to by myself since getting my friends out of the burbs is like pulling teeth. I was not disappointed.
(Weird-ass decor at the Kingyo's bar)
(Ahi Tuna and Avocado Carpaccio.)
(Stone-grilled Kobe beef with two kinds of Kingyo marinade.)
The portions were smallish, so I mistakenly opted for Chicken Karaage, and of course, that portion size was larger than I expected.
(Chicken Karaage and a bottle of Tiger Lager)
No dessert, because I had pie waiting for me back at my suite. The pie was delicious.
(a wholly original and creative coffee shop name)
Tuesday
Lunch was the aforementioned tourtière, where I chatted with Frankie, and the shop's barista. Then I managed to miss a movie I was going to see because I read 1:25 as 1:45.
(Tourtière at Lime and Moon Pie Company)
So I wandered around downtown some: picking up some comic books, losing a bit of money at the brand new Parq casino, getting my flu shot, and generally enjoying the nice weather.
I also went into the downtown Costco. Because I had left my card at home, I had to get a day pass at costumer service.
"What's your phone number"Thankfully he didn't notice the air quotes around 'wife'.
"555-1212"
"I can't find that anywhere. I'll search for your name instead. Hmm, quite a few Cyrs in the database."
"I imagine they're mostly in Maine and Quebec. Mine is Calgary."
"Here you are, ah, the phone number for you is under Wendy."
"Oh. Yes. My 'wife'".
Finally, I went to Craft for their monthly Brewmaster series dinner - a four course meal paired with beers. Normally this is all the work of one micro brewery - the brewmaster collaborating with Craft's chefs. This time it was all Belgian beers from larger, presumably multiple Belgian, breweries. If this sounds like something that would interest you, Craft does this at all their locations about once a month.
No pictures for this one, but here's a description:
- Welcome drink: Mongozo Premier Pilsner (organic, gluten-free, and yet tasty despite being pretentious)
- First course: Seared scallop, potato and parsnip risotto with aged gouda and bacon jam. Abdij Van Averbode.
- Second course: Pork belly quiche with roasted Brussels sprouts and caramelized onion. Duchess de Bourgogne. This was my least favourite of the food (it was cold, and I think deliberately so), and my favourite beer (I've been really grooving on sour beers lately).
- Third course: Beef cheeks with stilton croquette, celeriac, gremolata. Delerium Tremens.
- Dessert: Neapolitan tasting. Früli.
Wednesday
I started the day by heading to the theatre and catching the show I had missed on Tuesday - Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. This is a biopic of the guy who invented Wonder Woman. And his wife. And their girlfriend. With whom they had a stable polyamourous triad. During the 30's, 40's and 50's. Hell, after he died in 1957, they women remained together into old age. Oh, and they were kinky as fuck.
I confess, I did not go into this movie sympathetic to the characters, but it did a good job showing all of them as well-realized people and not weird stereotypes. Their story is believable, and a little bit admirable, even though they did not have an easy time of it (for example, psychology professors at Harvard don't go on to write comic books, unless they are prevented from remaining as psychology professors at Harvard). By the end, I could see their point of view. It's a bitter-sweet tale, and I recommend it to anyone interested in understanding the early days of polyamory or the BDSM scene - even if you are not interested in it as something for you.
(Model School, part of a mall on Cambie)
That evening, I went to The Critical Hit Show, aka #DnDLive. It was entertaining as always, and I will continue to plan my trips in a way where attending is at least a possibility. Though I am a little worried that my favourite actress might not be part of the troupe anymore. Nothing concrete, aside from her not being there this month. Of itself, that means nothing (a lot of them are actors, so somethings the paying gigs take precedence). No, there were clues that my intuition latched onto. I'll keep an eye on later months and see what happens. Hopefully my intuition is wrong.
Thursday
I checked out of my suite and decided that, given all the extra luggage, I wasn't going to face an hour of transit. I grabbed a car2go and drove all my stuff to Port Wood. Then I got to drive it back to Vancouver. Round trip was about 90 minutes, so it cost me $36. And a cab would have been a lot worse!
(The Arbutus Ridge, much nicer than the last time I encountered it)
It was a round trip since I had to take the car back to Vancouver's home area, which was decidedly not Port Moody. Since I had to take it back, I decided this was my opportunity to go to Clubhouse. I grabbed my usual Oh Avocado, and some chicken curry for lunch.
(Rather nice cinema sign, near Granville Street, downtown Vancouver)
Afterwards, I decided to just hike around and window shop. I checked out a bunch of thrift stores, checked out Storm Crow Tavern's sister venue, the Storm Crow Alehouse, and had a flight of beer. Then off to Granville Island to check out what was there. Finally, I caught a boat across to downtown and went to Long Table distillery to grab some of the Pair of Pears Brandy. Finally, I made my back to Port Wood.
(Raven mural, under the bridge, south of the Granville island entrance)
Friday
Used the Port Wood kitchen to turn that pie dough into two more pies. I had a slice and the rest (presumably) got eaten by the natives. That evening we went to Brew Street Craft and Kitchen. It was a good night, and I was sad to say goodbye to everyone.
Saturday
Ryan, Steph and I had brunch at the Omega Cafe, and Steph was kind enough to drive me to the airport.
And so the trip was over. I likely won't be back for awhile since my next two trips are going to be to opposite sides of the planet (London and Tokyo), but I'm already looking forward to my summer road trip.
(Phoebe fits...)
(... and Cinny sits)
