The weather has taken a turn for the better here in Vancouver town, and it’s been nice to get out and do some things again. Sure, it still rains a few times a week (usually more), and there are always clouds (which help contribute to some amazing sunsets), but that’s what is great about Vancouver, you really take advantage of nice weather when it comes, and if it doesn’t, you don’t let weather affect your life experiences, you do stuff anyway!
Live a little…
Two weeks ago we ventured with our friends to the Shameful Tiki, one of Vancouver’s most fun and unique spots for dinner (but mostly drinks). It’s a Tiki-bar and it’s pretty dim inside, but it’s so awesome and words can’t really describe…so maybe some random shots of the menu and other stuff will:
As you can see there are plenty of cleverly-named drinks to be had, most made with rum. You have to be careful drinking rum, it creeps up on you. Trust me, after many weekends drinking with a Tica (Costa Rican), I know how rum creeps up on ya!
The atmosphere truly is one of a kind. Whenever someone orders a Mystery Bowl or Volcano Bowl, the bartenders, servers, and pretty much the entire 50 other seated patrons shout “MYSTEREEE BOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLL” as the new patrons get welcomed to the party.
There’s also the fog machine, which reminds me of a high-school dance, but the rain/thunder soundtrack is what gives it that tiki-bar feel. Great times.
Laugh a little…
And just last week we got to see two amazing comedians as part of the Just for Laughs (JFL) Northwest comedy tour. It’s nothing like the JFL festival in Montreal, and that’s okay—that’s a one of a kind event itself. JFL Northwest offers a different twist, mainly with an opening act, followed by an amazing headliner, all over a 10 days (or so, I haven’t looked up the exact number because I don’t really care). So we saw local (and very funny) Vancouver comedian, Ivan Decker, open for none other than Jim Gaffigan.
Decker’s opening act was the perfect choice to warm everyone for Gaffigan’s act. His first bit about Vancouver weather and buses came full circle just perfectly. And Gaffigan didn’t disappoint as he pulled his hot pocket bit out of his back…err..pocket. We and another couple laughed our collective a$$es off. I love stand-up comedy and I have so much respect for what those guys do. It’s not easy, but making people laugh is so rewarding. I’m glad I was able to do stand-up at least once in my life. Fun times!
And Chill a little while…
What would a busy weekend be without some relaxation though! I got nice and ironed out from a Saturday morning massage, and Sunday we both went for a float…again. We bumped our float time back up to 90 minutes in order to ensure a “drop”. The last two times we’ve floated were both 60 minutes, and we didn’t really “drop”. This time around we both “dropped”, and afterwards we were both completely and utterly relaxed. Nothing like a good float to finish the weekend. Relaxing times!
The past few weeks have been a blast as one of our friends heads back to Iowa for the spring/summer months. And speaking of summer, ours is starting to book up pretty fast, with an Alaskan cruise, a trip to Vancouver Island, a U2/Mumford & Sons concert, five different family/friend visits, an Okanagan wine weekend, and a speaking engagement…to mention a few summer happenings booked so far. It’s only March and so many more great, fun, and relaxing times await!
Vancouver isn’t very different from other places in Canada. Across the country, when the weather sucks, we all still get out and do stuff!
Now go sell all your stuff and go have some great, fun, and relaxing times!