#23- Taking Vancouver by Storm

It was Wednesday evening, three days into our trip to Vancouver, and Trav had just returned to the hotel room after his 9^th interview. He was supposed to be done for the evening but when the phone rang in the room, I knew that wouldn’t be the case. The caller was the GM of the hotel and he wanted to know if Trav could meet him on the roof to have drinks. We knew at that moment that more than cocktails were now on the table.

I paced the hotel room as my anxious gut wouldn’t allow me to sit. When Trav returned an hour later, he confirmed our suspicions. They loved him (of course!) and were extending an offer the next morning. The first thing I felt was pride. Of course they loved Trav, who didn’t!? He had endured grueling interviews for days and so far, everything about this trip had paid off. The first thing Trav felt was relief. The second thing we both felt was hunger. We headed to 'World Famous' Vijs but we weren’t exactly in the mood to celebrate. We had no idea what we were going to do.

My mind was a tangled mess. I couldn’t focus with everything that was swirling around in my head. I lost my room key, almost left my phone on the bus, and couldn’t form complete sentences. Canada?? Really?? This was overwhelming. We waited the standard hour for arguably the best restaurant in Vancouver and recapped our trip over jackfruit and red curry venison.

On the first day, we had arrived to Vancouver around noon and Trav had 2p meetings in the hotel. Things were off to a bad start when we were told that a room wouldn’t be ready until 4p. Since Trav needed to shower and change, and the health club didn’t seem to be a suitable option, we started to wonder if this trip was a bad idea. However, they found us a room and Trav got to his meetings just fine. Even though I was exhausted from being up at 3a for our flight, I hit the ground running. I took a map from the front desk and for the next four hours, I explored Vancouver on foot. My first stop was Robson Street since the hotel was Downtown. While walking and checking the sights, I looked to my right and saw water so I headed to the harbor. Coal Harbour is beautiful. The backdrop of the mountains, with the intense greenery of Stanley Park, is absolutely breathtaking. When the first sea planes crossed the horizon, I had to blink a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Beauty like Vancouver can simply not be explained. I’ve never seen anything like it. I immediately spotted a seal playing in the harbor and watched it swim playfully through the boats that were returning with their fresh catches. Like dogs, the seals begged for scraps. I smiled ear to ear. I had only been in Vancouver for an hour.

When I first moved to Manhattan on 55^th and 6^th, I made it a point to escape into Central Park every day. I would get lost in its silence for hours, so naturally I gravitated to Stanley Park which takes up the entire northern tip of downtown. Hypnotized by its gorgeous greenery, I was surprised when the skies opened up and the expansive English bay was revealed. I had made it to Second Beach. I walked along the Sea Wall to English Bay Beach, after dipping my toes in the cold & crisp water. By the time I made it to the Art Installation 'A-Maze-ing Laughter', Trav let me know that he was done with interviews, and hungry. I gave him directions to meet me back in Coal Harbour. I walked back through the West End of Downtown, admiring the shops and adorable outdoor eateries along the way. I met Trav at a restaurant called Carderos. While sitting over the still water with the mountains as our backdrop, we drank Granville Island Pale Ale and ate coconut curry mussels. I told him I wanted to live in Coal Harbour. We quickly paid the bill, as reality set in, we were late for our fantasy football draft…

On day two Trav was up and out early for the second round of interviews. I was a little slower to rise as the incredible cocktails from the previous night’s dinner at Wildebeast were taking their toll. I was still in the room when Trav returned around 11am, shaky from too many cups of coffee, and we made a plan to again explore the city. We needed to get a handle on public transportation so we decided to try the bus. Needing exact change, Canadian, we had to exchange our money at the bank. May, the teller was incredibly friendly. I thought it was nice when she spent 15 minutes, unsolicited, circling everything she could think of on our map. But when she started to go over all of the different colors that Canadian currency comes in, I wondered if there was such thing as “too friendly”… We took the bus to Kitsilano. The waiter from the previous evening lived in “Kits” and I knew it was somewhere I wanted to check out after reading it has the “best beaches in the world”. Our feet hit the sand of Kitsilano immediately and yes, it is truly a beautiful beach. It’s definitely different than beaches I’ve come to love in Florida. The shores are rocky and the sand is landscaped with large logs. Yes, logs that people eat on, sit on, and use as back rests. It just happened to be the hottest day of the year in Vancouver and every log was taken. I didn’t notice a single beach chair so maybe they were on to something. Just as breathtaking as the view of the horizon is Kitsilano’s salt water pool, right along the beach. The longest pool in Canada is stunning. Another day of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. We made our way through the Point Grey neighborhood as we headed west to Jericho beach. Another gorgeous beach surrounded by miles of endless forest. After my fourth beach, I was content that there would be enough salt in this type of life.

We chatted over street tacos at Browns Social House on trendy West 4^th . As I fell in-love with the local Amber Ale, I told Travis I wanted to live in Kitsilano.

That night we dined in the hotel, exhausted from walking miles and miles exploring. The salmon was divine and so was the raspberry caviar sent over by the Chef who had recognized Travis. Vancouver was seriously pulling out all of the stops.

On Wednesday morning Travis had another interview and was up and out by 8am. I was ready when he returned an hour later and again, we took to the city streets. We took the sea bus across False Creek to Granville Island. Not even a 5 minute ride, this island was absolutely adorable. Home to the famous Granville Public Market, cute cafes and restaurants-all with water views- and fantastic little shops. Mesmerized by the market that seemed to have everything, we wandered the streets until we felt we had conquered the island. We then took the sea bus to Olympic Village. Since being home to the Winter Olympics in 2010, this area has done an incredible transformation. Gorgeous high rises lined the water front. When I spotted the Craft Beer Market on Salt Street, I told Travis I wanted to live in Olympic Village.


Now, here we were at Vijs trying to decide our fate. The coconut water in my vodka was as cloudy as my thoughts. There was no doubt that Vancouver is high on the list of the most beautiful places I had ever been. Could that beauty be enough to blind us from the high costs in Vancouver and the frequent rain? I couldn’t get those factors out of my head. Even as the voices of Granville Street told me we were home.

While sitting in the airport yesterday morning, the Offer Letter came through. We’re so grateful to have such an incredible opportunity offered to us and I’m so proud of Travis for solidifying this option for our family. Honestly, we have absolutely no idea what we’re going to do. We have until Tuesday to turn the page and choose our own adventure…

Read Next: #24- End of an Era, Sept 12, 2014