Vancouver, BC

Dear Readers,

I apologize this post is so overdue! Life has gotten in the way of blogging for a little while, but as I am about to embark on a two week yo yo adventure, you can be sure to be hearing a lot more about it.

Anyways, just about two weeks ago, I got home from Vancouver. It was my first international experience as a yo-yoer. Or yo-yo-ist. Or whatever. It was awesome. I also had another yoyo lady with me there! It was a dream. There is something so nice about NOT having to go out for dinner every night, and as for a table for one. Seriously. Try it sometime. See how the hostess looks at you.

We had some trouble getting across the border. Apparently the Canadian border patrol does not see a lot of soundsystems passing through- they asked A LOT of questions. The fact that I landed in Vancouver at 1:00am did not put any ease to their questioning as I may have hoped. But nonetheless, I made it through!

This awaited me:

Vancouver was beautiful. I arrived in darkness and I had no idea what to expect in the morning. I expected it to be like Seattle, because it was so close.

The next morning as I drove to work, I couldn't have asked for a better road to travel. Monsterous mountains arose around me- covered in snow. I literally screamed out loud when I first noticed them. I drove through downtown Vancouver and over the bridge to West Van, which was really to be my favorite part of the city.

I had my first show, which went well, but was difficult. Why you ask? Well, the word "yo-yo" is trademarked in Canada. What does that mean? That means I have to do a 45 minute show about yo-yos without saying the word "yo-yo". And also, the general public in Canada does not know about this little fun fact, so they can say "yo-yo" as much as they want to- and find it a little weird that I have to say "yo" or "yo-top". But hey, if that's the hardest part of the day, how bad can it really be? I'm not too upset about it. Also, the children I saw in Canada were overall more mature and polite than most American kids I've seen. Buuuut we have rock n' roll. So eat that Canada.

Anyway, I only had one show that day and was done by 10:00am. So I explored West Van a little bit. It was great. Canada had a much more European feel than I expected it to. I really felt like I was in a different country. I strolled along the streets past the little markets, the butcheries, the cafes. Oh, the cafes. There were cafes galore. I picked one called "Savory Pie" (obviously). I went inside and loved it. It reminded me of a place I'd find in Western Massachusetts or Vermont. Farm fresh. All organic. Mason jars. I bought myself a pumpkin spice muffin and a coffee. I went for a walk.

I took my breakfast down to the water. There was a beautiful park with a beach on the coast. I could see mountains, I could see the Lion's Gate bridge. There were dogs, and old people walking along the water. I sat in the sun and ate my breakfast and wished that I had my camera. This was my favorite part of the whole trip.

I explored what West Van had to offer and headed back to my hotel. It was like Seattle, or a small town outside of it, Edmonds, but to the max.

I spent the rest of the time exploring with my yoyo buddy. It was great. We had delicious sushi. We found a great bookstore. I bought another Paolo Cohelo book, and I hope I love it as much as I love The Alchemist. We also thoroughly enjoyed The Old Spaghetti Factory, and though it may be a chain it's still yummy. It was so great to have someone to explore with.

I write this to you as I sit in my second home, Logan Airport. I'm waiting to board a flight to Miami. I'll be there for two weeks, with a lot of free time, and a lot of beaches to go to. You know where to find me.