This weekend Abi and I headed up to Vancouver BC for a fun-filled 2 days (see the pictures of the trip here).  We had an alarm malfunction on Saturday morning, so we ended getting up 2 minutes after we were supposed to be on the road (5:30am). But we rushed about and were on the road by 6:15, so we weren’t too far off schedule.

The border crossing into Canada was fairly easy—we only had to wait for 4-5 cars, handed over or passports and that was that. We were in!

The drive into Vancouver was uneventful and very pretty. Vancouver is a beautiful city and most of the architecture of the city is very similar, it gives off a very cool vibe.

We initially ran into some trouble finding our hotel as, in our rush to get out the door, we left all the maps at home. We knew what street it was on and which way to go, but we had no actual address or phone number. We ran into a bit of road construction and ended up circling the block a few times. We finally parked to scavenge on foot and found it—we didn’t see it initially as it was in the middle of the block with the construction! But it was really easy to get to once we knew where to look!

The Opus Hotel was amazing! A very sleek, modern and hip hotel. They are ranked as one of the 100 best hotels in the world and for the last few years they have been participants in the Academy Awards Gift Baskets—so everyone who presents or wins at the Oscars gets a trip to the Opus.

While our room was getting ready, we left the car and luggage and walked 2 blocks down to the False Creek marina. There we saw many hugely expensive yachts and hopped on an aquabus over to Granville Island—a small island (that has “grown” into the mainland, so not really an island anymore) that is like Seattle’s Pike Place Market, only bigger and cooler. We wandered around there for a few hours, took lots of pictures, and then hopped the Aquabus back towards Yaletown (where our hotel is). The Aquabus is basically a really small tugboat style boat that ferries a few people around to different tourist sites.

When we got back we were able to get into our hotel room. So we went up, checked things out, and then set off to find some lunch. Our plan was to do lunch and then return to the hotel, get cleaned up, and then head to downtown for some shopping. It didn’t quite turn out that way.

We decided to stroll down a main road towards downtown in hopes of finding lunch. We picked the wrong road! There were no food options. By the time we did find something, we were already at the famous Robson Street, where all the shopping is. Now there were tons of places to eat—we decided on The Red Burrito. We were both underwhelmed with our meals, but oh well.

We bailed on returning to the hotel since we were already at our next destination. We had fun shopping up and down Robson, though Abi only ended up getting one shirt. Thankfully we did no shopping for me (I loathe shopping for myself and actually like looking for stuff for Abi….weird I know).

As our feet began to ache and our backs began to stiffen, we made our way back to the hotel on a street parallel to the street we took to downtown. This was the right choice for food!!! There must have been a restaurant every other store all the way back to our hotel. Oh well, we will know for next time.

I took a quick rest at the hotel while Abi got ready (it is a process) and by that time it was time to head out for a pre-dinner drink (we were on vacation after all!). We heard a couple of good recommendations for the Cactus Club Cafe a Vancouver chain with a location right outside our hotel. Abi had a few Flirtini’s and I had a few top shelf margaritas (only cuz that was the special of the day). After sitting there for awhile and having tons of fun with the wait staff and people watching, we decided to scrap our idea of eating at the Thai place across the street. We saw plate after plate after plate of hot wings make their way out of the kitchen, so we decided they had to be good. They were probably the best hot wings I’ve ever had!! They were great. Even Abi loved them, despite that she hates to “get messy”. We then split some chicken quesadilla’s and their “famous” fries. The quesadilla was just alright, but the fries were amazing. Then we topped off the meal with a trio dessert of some apple pie thingy, strawberry cheesecake, and molten chocolate pie. They were all good, but nothing compared to the wings and fries.

We’d been at the Café for about 3.5 hours, and were ready to head for home. So we walked (stumbled?) back home and called it a night. When we returned to the room we found that the hotel and “turned down” our room for us—they got the bed ready, laid out some chocolate, water and a linen shoe bag (I didn’t get this last one….). They also laid out ear plugs. After we booked the room we learned that Yaletown is the hip, happening place in Vancouver, so that is where a lot of clubs and bars are. We did experience this as the Cactus Club Café was hopping and happening when we left—there was a wait out the door, the place was packed and they have valet service for your car. We didn’t use the earplugs, but we could definitely tell when the bars emptied around 3am and people were sent into the street. Despite the amazingly comfy bed and down pillows and comforter, neither of us slept very well. L

We set the alarm fairly early (7:30am) to check out of the hotel and get started on our last day in Vancouver. We heard that the weekend back up getting back to the US was about a 3 hour wait, so we accelerated our time schedule a bit to make sure we got home at a reasonable time.

After checking out we took the recommendation of the hotel and went up the street for breakfast at the world famous Elbow Room. Along with absolutely amazing food, they specialize in being rude to the guests. “You want more coffee?!?! Go get it yourself; I’ve got my hands full!” If you don’t clean up your plate (nearly impossible) you are “required” to make a change donation to a local charity. The walls are lined with glossy 8x10 photos of all the celebrities who have eaten there. It was great fun! Abi had one “6 inch” pancake called the “Big Ass Pancake”. It barely fit on her plate. My guess is they either didn’t grasp the conversion from metric correctly, or 6 inches is the radius of the pancake. We will definitely go back here for breakfast next time we are in town.

After a belly full (and ear full!) we set off for the Capilano Suspension bridge. The place is located just minutes out of Downtown in Northern Vancouver. It is a huge swaying suspension bridge over a canyon, then a collection of smaller bridges that take you from tree top to tree top through the forest. The morning was misty and slightly foggy, which was very cool to wander through on the bridges. Abi said she was scared to go on the bridge, but she was all smiles as we made our way around. I had a blast snapping pictures and looking at all the nature. It was definitely worth the $26 per person.

After a few hours wandering through the trees we got back in the car to wander through downtown and Gastown. We heard a lot of mixed reviews on this historic part of Vancouver. It is a lot like Pioneer Square in Seattle. We drove through, seemed underwhelmed for all the hassle it would cause to try to park, and decided to make our way out of the city and towards the boarder.

We took the long way around, which led us past the stadium, new Olympic Athletes village, and into the heart of China town and out into the burbs. We were on a highway, but it was stoplight after stoplight for well over an hour. Certainly not the fastest way home, but it was fun to see a different part of the city (and surrounding cities). When we got close to the border the wait said it was about 40 minutes. Not too shabby compared to the 3 hours our waitress encountered a few days before!

Just under an hour later we were pulling up to the border agent to once again hand over our passport. She asked us the typical questions, which we answered, and then….made a phone call. Ugh. It seems the computer randomly selected us for the full inspection. So she shoved an orange ticket under our window and sent us to park under a canopy and follow the instructions of another guy with a gun. We did not get our passports back.

That guy told us to put the keys on the roof of the car, take the ticket and head inside. Inside were more lines of people (mostly people walking across the border and others with complex immigration/visa issues). We got called out of line by an agent who had our passports (hooray!). She asked more of the same questions, I filled out a customs slip, and someone with a clipboard came up to ask more of the same questions. Then they told us to stay inside while they searched our car.

After a few minutes they came back in, signed our orange ticket and told us to go see the guy with the gun outside so we could leave. We did, and 30 minutes or so after we pulled into the bay, we were on our way into the US—free and clear. It was a hassle, but oh well, it makes for a good story. J

The drive back to Seattle was filled with morons on the road that don’t know how to use cruise control, and loads of traffic as we got closer to the city. We headed straight for our favorite Thai place for dinner as 1) we didn’t eat there that week like we usually do and 2) we had planned on eating Thai in Vancouver before our plans changed. We got to Thai Rama and…nothing but dark windows. L They aren’t open on Sundays. So we headed to a place in Woodinville that we have eaten at once before. After a good meal we headed home to unpack and relax.

We had a lot of fun and it didn’t really seem like that short of a trip. We did lots of fun stuff, had some great food, and experienced a new city. We will definitely go back! 

SEE THE PICTURES HERE

a buddy from poker was a captain in the Air Force and worked as an Electronics Warfare Officer aboard a B52 bomber. The B52 celebrates 50 years of service this year, and plans to be the bomber of choice for the US military until 2040. 

 

I was given the opportunity this weekend to take a guided tour (inside and out!) of a retired B52 that the Air Force gave back to Boeing and the Seattle Museum of Flight. You can check out all the pictures of the plane here: http://ddvelin.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!E348824EDFA64387!1604/.

 

i had a great time and it was very cool to sit in the cockpit, gunner's station and the navigator's station on the lower deck (the plane has 2 levels for the 6 man crew.

 

hope you enjoy the B52 Bomber Pics! 

 

ddv

because being nice to the environment doesn't mean you have to drive a wussy, ugly car.

 

The Tesla Roadster is getting close. For about $100K, you can get this super sexy, 0-60 in 4 seconds supercar. It's all electric, no emmissions and just awesome...

 

 

 

 

So according to most of the media in Seattle, we should now be in the middle of the worst gridlock the city has ever seen. Why? because a large portion of northbound I-5 will be closed around the clock for up to 19 days for construction/repair. this is a major commuter route in and around the Puget Sound, estimated at carrying over 120,000 cars a day.

 

they started the public panic and alternative routes/transportation media blitz early in the summer. whether commuters were scared by the tactic, resourceful, or just smart, it so far seems like it was much ado about nothing.

 

as of today, there were no major backups. in fact, most people in the area are recording one of the better commutes in recent memory. about half the travelers found other routes to work, or used buses, trains, ferries, water taxis, bikes or worked from home.

 

the Seattle Times has a blog/site created to track commuting pains, feedback and options from people in the area. so far everything is better than expected!

 

So maybe Seattle will realize we can live (and should live) with less Freeway lanes and more mass transit options (with more reliable timelines). if forced to, Seattle can accommodate less freeway traffic... so let's force the issue permanently and remove the old viaduct and not replace it, build out the light rail system, and stop building freeway lanes. we've so far shown we can live without them!

For the past year or so I’ve been extolling the virtues of my BMW. I still love the car, it drives and handles great. But dealing with the car and the dealerships is wearing very thin...

 

I guess last week the sunshade on the sunroof came off its tracks. This is the piece you pull by hand to close off the sunroof from letting any sun in. When you open the sunroof, it automatically slides into the car and out of the way to let in the breeze. Now it is really tough to move around, slides back too far when it isn't supposed to, and makes a very "ominous" noise which makes me worried it will damage the glass and motor of the sun roof.

 

When I bought the car I was an idiot and got the extended warranty. The only extension it has provided is the amount of money I pay to the dealer--they have yet to cover anything that has gone wrong with the car. Of course this little problem won't be covered--it is a fairly common issue with the car and even the original manufacturer's warranty won't cover the replacement.

 

as for the replacement costs for replacing the clips and getting the shade back into the tracks.... well, they can only give me rough estimates unless I take the car in and shell out $120 for them to diagnose the issue. But after paying that I can expect to pay out $300 to $1,400 to get it back up and running.

 

There are a few DIY sites out there that say you can order the parts for under $50 and fix it yourself, but they all say it takes about 8-10 hours and it looks to be quite a bit above my skill level.

 

I haven't had the car long enough to be able to sell it without being underwater (even with the high residual value of BMW's). If I could, I’d trade the damn thing in for a new Prius and get much better mileage, a more reliable car, and a brand new manufacturer’s warranty.

 

But instead I’ll have to shell out waaaay too much $ for another stupid problem.

 

gggrrr.....

 ddv