Gas Town

A brief word aside - as you know, my readers, I do not complain (mostly) in this blog, but I do find myself in need of your help. I recently fell hard (literally) and caused some serious damage to my knee. With it being my left leg, I can't drive my manual transmission. To see how you can help me trade my crutch and clutch for a safer drive in an automatic ride, click on the following link or in that box to the left with the image of me entitled, "Crutches, Canes and Cars." Thank you, Readers!!!

Now back to our story!

May 1, 2016 - The last full day of our vacation.

It was an easy going morning, this day in Canada. I did get up and dressed in a hurry so to not miss breakfast inside the lovely and elegant Victorian B&B. Half awake, my comrades and I enjoyed egg quesadillas. It was a heavy breakfast, but pleasant.

Dennis, the owner, visited with us for some time and then we headed out for our adventures. It was surprisingly warm when compared to the day before when we were all freezing. The day was GORGEOUS so we set out to the beach on the north west side.

Beach-side Seats in Vancouver - Yes, there is snow on the distant mountain range.

Three of us stopped for coffee before we stopped to watch a marathon run by. It was a lot of fun cheering on the runners!

A Canuck saw us looking over a map and began to give us advice on what to do next. The conversation brought us to a well known place in Vancouver, perhaps your city has one too: China Town. We asked if China Town was sketchy as we had heard that there were strange happenings over there, and she told us that there were some odd areas surrounding the area. Being that I have some experience in New York, I asked, how odd it was and added, "Do people get mugged there?"

The woman drew back and said as if offended, "We don't use that word here." Then she asked me what it meant, so I explained (robbed violently or pick-pocketed) and she explained, "No, they won't bother you. There's a LOT of homeless and a ton of druggies, but they mind their own."

Sounded good enough for us. Our tour guide then recommended a few streets for us to see and off we went!

It was really warm and our path was mostly up a rather steep grade. I regretted not wearing shorts, but my short sleeve shirt helped tremendously. The trek was all uphill and we passed some unique shops, including a Popeye Supplement Store that's neighbor had a poster in the window advertising a familiar cruise...

The streets that we trod were a very different side if Vancouver than what we had been seeing. There were the most interesting things for a social scientist to observe. There were a number of people sleeping on the streets and yet they were doing so on the stoop of a Nordstrom. This main street that we were traversing is essentially skid row and Rodeo Drive in one. It was strange. We learned through the steps of our travels that the city is VERY expensive. From rent to food, everything. This being said coupled with the housing issues, it wasn't surprising to see so many homeless, but it only went downhill from there (literally).

But there really was FANTASTIC architecture there.

We made it to the east side and visited Gas Town, their Old Town. Although the plan had been to go to China Town for lunch, it was after noon, so it was time to eat. We found a nice street side cafe and watched the day go by. Gas Town was full of fun facts and things to see. There was a steam clock that played beautiful tunes every 15 minutes. The cobblestone streets, trees and brick buildings made for a charming scenery. We learned that in 1873 Vancouver had a poppin' population of 75. Just 75. A man called Gassy Jack, due to his gassy winded speeches (of course), was one of the founding fathers and helped to name the city.

The Steam Clock.

The Heart of Gas Town

Vancouver grew exponentially after the Hong Kong colony became independent more recently. People of that region moved to Vancouver because it was cheap, but as a consequence, many historical buildings were torn town to build high rises. There are now a growing number of restrictions helping to prevent further destruction of housing/historical or affordable, which brings us to our next section - skid road (or row, depending on what you prefer). 

We came across what we thought was a street fair, but turned out to be a homeless swap meet - I'm not being mean, this was genuinely what it was. We walked through and made it to China Town. The China Towns that I'm used to are full of life, bustling, active. This China Town was a GHOST town. Apparently, skid row keeps tourists and locals away, go figure. The locals are taking huge measures to restore and revitalize the whole situation, but it takes time. I really do mean this people of Vancouver, your China Town is beautiful. 

View of the Pond in the Chinese Cultural Center

We found a fun Chinese Bakery and picked up a few snacks. Turns out that we stopped at the most popular Chinese Bakery in Vancouver as according to their local post, so that was a delightful surprise.

The cultural center was lovely. Imagine a high walled bastion surrounding and protecting a forest with an ancient castle inside. It was almost like a fairy tale. In the center of it all was the pond. We watched the turtles and coy fish swim and tan. Carolyn and I gave two turtles a dialogue as they competed for a rock. But alas, our companions had moved on, so we never were able to see the end of the duel.

Up the steep hilled street we went until we found a rest-stop: a Starbucks. There was a whole bunch more craziness happening in this square where we stopped than I would have normally accepted as normalcy, but we didn't linger long before we began to trek back. However, the rest of the journey was up hill. Finding our way back was a tad stressful, but we found our way. Once we were back in our neighborhood, we did some independent explorations. I went to the teashop I had visited the day before to get another Boba/Bubble/Pearl tea (remember, this name varies by region). It was a lovely stroll across Vancouver, but we were ready to head back to the B&B - there was a Jacuzzi with our names on it!

Carolyn, Felicia and I were the first ones in, but Maggie joined us soon after. We laughed and relaxed in the pleasant steam of the ensuing bubbles. I ended up staying with the girls after Maggie retired for the night. Carolyn and I helped Felicia distribute the weight of her luggage and we just laughed and laughed. It was getting pretty late and we had a long day of travel awaiting us.

As I went to sleep that night, I thanked God for presenting me the opportunity to travel with these three ladies. This was one of the most fun trips, certainly one of the most unique, that I have yet enjoyed. It was a pleasure, a blessing, a gift to expand my horizons with this cruise and my company. Thank you, Maggie, for popping your head into my office on a whim to see if anyone was interested in hopping aboard a great little ship called, "Nieuw Amsterdam."

Until Next Week, Dear Readers, when things take a Magical twist...

Cue Harry Potter Music

Your humble author,
S. Faxon