My Vacation

I don't know if this whole blogging thing is for me. I admire people who can come on here on a regular basis to speak so eloquently about just about anything. I, on the other hand, struggle to string together a few coherent sentences. Perhaps I need practice.

So my life continues to move along, although not in any particular direction I enjoy. I have been feeling the effects of being a caregiver for years without taking any vacation time. The last time I had any time away from home was in 2005, if you can believe it. As I mentioned before, I have been without a regular job since the end of 2009 after the fourth volume of This Old House was published. My Etsy shop sales were reasonably well in February and early March, although not regular by any means. My foray into E-Bay has had fairly satisfying results, and has provided some pocket money. However, without an actual "career"-type job, I was beginning to feel I've lost my way.

I've lived in Victoria for over 20 years now. Victoria is a history lover's dream. It's relatively small with an old'ish downtown core and outlying suburbs. I've always felt that there isn't a whole lot to do here, especially once you get past the typical tourist stuff. One of my big pet peeves about this city is that everything is so far apart, and our transit system is not the best. Victoria has been known as the city "for the newly wed and the nearly dead"- so it's a good place if you're just starting out, or else just about to depart from this world. This is very much a government and tourist town. Meaningful employment is difficult to find, and people tend to hold on to any good jobs here forever.

I often sigh wistfully at various television shows and movies featuring New York, and think to myself:

So, a few weeks ago I took the plunge and went to Vancouver for 3 nights. I haven't felt such freedom before in my life. No schedules, no responsibilities to anyone but myself. It was G-R-E-A-T. I took Pacific Coach Lines and stayed at the Le Soleil Hotel (Hotel Le Soleil) on Hornby St. I splurged and got the corner suite with a queen bed and deep soaker tub. It was reasonable at $160 a night. The TWO huge LCD TV"s were a nice bonus.

The last time I was in Vancouver was 2005 and I thought the city looked rather dark and dank. I guess the Olympics changed the city, because the Vancouver I went to was bright, beautiful and so alive. My first day I hopped on the bus up to Stanley Park to see the Aquarium. Stanley Park is such a gem of a place. I could have spent the whole day there. I went back into town and made my way to the Vancouver Lookout, which is a viewing deck that gives you 360 degree views of the city. The second day I stayed closer to town and went to the Vancouver Art Gallery. It was slightly disappointing mostly because I'm not into modern/realist art so much. I also explored the area near Canada Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre. Simply breathtaking views greeted me wherever I turned.

Downtown Victoria seems like such a ghetto compared to downtown Vancouver. While I realize that Vancouver has its undesirable elements, I purposefully avoided as many of these as possible in Vancouver. Afterall, it was my little escape from everyday life. It wasn't New York, but it was still memorable!