Weekend Fun Vancouver, BC

This last weekend I took the last of my planned mini-vacations. This time, the destination was Vancouver, BC. My friend Fred joined me for the trip.

Friday
We both took Friday off from work and made the drive up from Seattle. Surprisingly, there was little traffic, even at the border; it took us "only" 45 minutes to get through.

We stayed at the Sheraton Wall Centre on Burrard Street. I actually like this hotel since it’s centrally located and easy to get to. In addition, the rooms are well kept and the staff is friendly. My only complaint is that their gym is stocked with older equipment that is not very good.

After checking into the hotel, we walked to H&M since Fred wanted to get some jeans. Well, he found a pair he liked but they didn't have his size. On a whim, I tried them on and they fit so I ended up buying them. I felt rather bad about getting the same pair he wanted but I was assured that it was not a problem (we’ll see if he “accidentally” spills red wine all over them next time I wear them). After that, we checked out a couple of other shops but didn’t find any jeans Fred liked so we went back to the hotel.

That evening we met up with Derek and Doug for dinner; yup, the same Vancouver friends I met while in Portland (I think they are stalking me). As always, it's great to visit with them. After dinner, Derek had to run to a meeting so Doug, Fred, and I walked the “loop” from Davie to Denman, then on to Robson St where we continued to look for Fred’s elusive jeans. He ended up getting a pair at American Eagle Outfitters that he was OK with; he still wanted to look later for a better pair.

After the stores closed, we looped onto Burrard and stopped by the hotel so we could change into bar clothes (yeah, we’re gay). Doug still had some time before meeting back up with Derek so the three of us ended up back at the place we had dinner; only this time for drinks. After Doug left, Fred and I ended up staying there for the rest of the evening just talking and drinking. It was actually very nice.

Saturday
The next morning, Fred and I walked down to Milestone’s on Denman for breakfast. Nice place and pretty good mimosas; food’s not bad either.

It’s a State of Mind… I guess
So the night before, while walking back to the hotel on Davie St, we saw an interesting shirt in the window display of this little hole-in-the-wall shop. After breakfast, we headed back up the street to that shop. Some lady was fussing with the carpet and a step ladder in the entry way. When she saw us… correction, when she saw Fred looking, she quickly ushered us inside. This is where the fun began.

She introduced herself as Linda K, the proprietor of the establishment (named State of Mind), and continued talking the entire time we were there. I’ll hand it to her; she has an eye for sizes (she guessed Fred’s waist and inseam). Without missing a beat, she grabbed some jeans and told Fred to go put them on, all the while complimenting him on his model body (which he has) and that she doesn’t get very many people looking that good. Of course, her trademark complaint about Vancouver having no fashion sense made it into the mix as well; apparently, she has quite the following (complaints) on the internet. My favorite comment on that thread is, “Sounds like the clothing equivalent of the Soup Nazi. The Clothes Nazi of Davie Street......LOL!”

In the 45 minutes that she would not let us get a word in edgewise, she slammed Vancouverites (no fashion sense), gays (too stuck up to buy from her... oh, and no fashion sense), two groups of people who tried to enter the store (she shoed them away saying she was already booked up), mass produced clothes (as if everyone is rich enough to afford hand stitched clothing from Europe), the chain clothing stores on Robson Street (they sell crap), and most importantly, me (she said I had an “athletic” shape, which is code for too bulky ← just kidding, I took no offence).

She had some nice stuff that she dressed Fred in; he looked fabulous. Her mistake came in her last attempt which was this nasty pink and purple, white striped, preppy long sleeved pullover; not good at all for Fred’s personality. Yuck!

So she ends the “session” by laying out all the clothes she made Fred put on, points to each saying what they cost, then looking at Fred asking which ones he was going to buy. I had noticed earlier there were no price tags on anything so that usually indicates it’s too pricy and I was right. Fred was nice about it and said he needed time to thing about it. This got an immediate reaction from Linda ‘cause she actually did the stereotypical, “You come back tomorrow, I can’t guarantee it’ll still be here.”

If she had actually stopped talking for one second when she pulled us into the store, we would have been able to tell her our limits and that would have saved her a lot of “wasted” time.

As we walked back to Robson Street, we joked, “thanks for the free fashion advice Linda, now let’s go look for the same style but cheaper at those chain stores you mentioned.”

Shopping the Day Away
After Linda, no sales associate could live up to our expectations… ha ha. We checked out most of the stores along Robson Street as well as in the mall; still no jeans for Fred. However, I came to the conclusion that since I wore my one and only t-shirt fit for the bars the previous night, I could not wear it again this night; that would have been tacky. Also, we were scheduled to attend a fireworks party so I wanted to dress a little for it.

Now we had Fred looking for that elusive pair of jeans and me looking for some sort of shirt that was not too casual but not to dressy either; I felt like Goldie Locks. God I am so gay needing a new outfit at every turn. Well, once again, Fred to the rescue, he found a nice little polo style from Guess for me; it fit well too. Of all places, we were in Sears, can you believe it (yeah I know, how “down market” and I’m sure it sent a shiver up Linda’s back when we walk inside as well). I’m still waiting for the bill from Fred for being my fashion advisor; somehow, I don’t think I can afford his rates since he’s got a good eye.

Celebration of Light; a party!
As I have done every year for over a decade, the real reason for visiting Vancouver this fine weekend was to attend the fireworks competition. This year, a friend of Doug and Derek’s was hosting a fireworks party and did an extended invitation for Fred and myself to join. This guy is a hoot and knows how to throw a party; had tones of great food as well. Much to my disappointment (and used as the butt of many jokes), the show sucked. This night, it was the U.S.A. who was performing. Even though it was their first time in the competition, they still botched the whole thing; someone forgot to tell then that they needed to synchronize their fireworks with the music. At one point during the show, someone asked the host if he was sure he had the right radio station tuned into for the simulcast. Of course, that opened a round of laughter.

The night was a lot of fun; yes, even that crappy excuse for an attempted fireworks show by the US was fun (on a humorous side). It was nice to talk to everyone there. Finally, it got late enough that we left and headed back to the hotel to bed.

Sunday
Sunday brought no jeans search. Fred and I got up rather late, showered, packed, and grabbed breakfast at Joe’s Grill on Davie Street.

We left town early afternoon heading back to Seattle. Surprisingly, the border crossing only took about 45 minutes again. We did hit a bit of traffic around Everett but overall, the drive was pretty quick.

Conclusion
As always, I love going up for a visit to Vancouver. It’s such a friendly city. Of course, Doug and Derek are always great to visit with as well.

Overall, it was a nice relaxing trip.