Dual Citizenship?

My husband and I ran away to Vancouver this weekend.  It was only a day, and it rained most of the time, but something about that city just...I almost said "rejuvinates" me, but that word has been ruined by a certain surgery and no longer applies in my vocabulary.  We had fun.  How's that?  I know it seems like we have been travelling a lot lately, and well...we have.  But we don't have a boat, we don't ski, we don't do much but watch football, Real Housewives, and do laundry so when the planets align and we get some time away without kid responsibilities, we go for it.  Plus, there is something very appealing about a weekend away without cell service.  We make eye contact.  We complete sentences!

I had a meeting on Saturday afternoon (I know--that's just WRONG on so many levels) so BR picked me up when it was done and we scooted on up across the border.  After the horrific shooting last week, we weren't sure what kind of delay we would have, but we only sat there for 5 minutes while I praised these men and women for coming to work when I would just want to pull the covers over my head and never go to work again.

We have a few rituals.  They are silly, but we ooze silly.  When we get to Surrey, we always say "Surrey" 3 or 4 times like we are apologizing with a Canadian "accent".  When we get to Granville St., BR likes to drive in the right lane as close to the lamp posts as possible which freaks me the F out.  When we get into town and start driving through the shops, I like to press my face against the window and lick the glass in anticipation of shopping.  Okay, that last one is a lie--I just do that in my head.

We stayed at a new place this time.  It was close to the stadium and not as deluxe as we usually score for cheap on Hotwire/Priceline, but safely out of the hobo/rent by the hour range and the soap was hermetically sealed so we were good.  We like to hit our favorite haunts, but we were in a different neighborhood than usual so we went someplace new for our first stop.  The following is a list of our favorite Vancouver spots.  This list is in no particular order, and I would like to stress that it took us 3 years to find these places, this is in NO WAY a representation of one night's crawl or I would be
D-E-D.  (spelling intentional)

Joey's on Burrard : (not to be confused with Joey's Bentall One which is kind of lame) Friday night is full of desperate 20 year olds and techno--Saturday night is cool.  Their Panang Curry, Rainbow Roll, and Sliders are favorites. 

Steamworks Brew Pub : Do yourself a favor and follow the link.  There is also a Steamworks Men's Bathhouse and you DO NOT want to open that website on accident.  This place has a great atmosphere, and their Dry Ribs, Fish Tacos and Nirvana Nut Brown Ale are pretty dang good.  Sit in the bar if you can.

Chill Winston : I'm pretty sure we aren't cool enough to go here, but they keep letting us in.  Have a glass of Blanche du Chambly, and the meat and cheese plate is always interesting (home of the musk ox).  Plus, check out the co-ed bathrooms.  Seriously.

Guilt and Co. : Located in the basement (read: cave) below Chill Winston, this place isn't big on food, but has a great bar, live music, and largest running Jenga game I've ever seen.  Plus, again--
co-ed bathrooms.

The Alibi Room : I almost didn't put this one because the night we were there, we didn't love it.  However, it get's rave reviews, featured on Zane Lamprey's show (and we luuuuurve him) and every time we ask our waiter for a recommendation, this is where they tell us to go.  We will try it again next time.

The Revel Room : Again, almost didn't list it due to the horrific service.  We showed up at 6:30 and after being ignored, the waitress finally agreed to seat us even though they had a party coming in at 8:00.  That being said, they had a really girlie drink called the Southern Belle that was more food than drink and quite yummy.

The Beaver and Mullet : Because you HAVE to go to a place with this name.  We stumbled across them for brunch one weekend.  We got inside and ordered their breakfast poutine and my life has not been the same since.  Plus, Ceasars.  That is all.

The Donnelly Group : I have to give a little shout out to this group.  They have multiple locations in Vancouver and seem to know how to tap into the neighborhood and create a place that reflects the vibe outside.  They are clean, the staff is always polite, and they have great appetizers.  We have never been to their nightclubs or "cocktail rooms" but the Public Houses are great.  Heck, they even have a cool barber shop.

We also like to shop.  No list necessary here.  Just hit Robson Street...and Granville St...and Granville Island...Just Go.  You can't really go wrong.

Around 3:30 on Sunday, we gave a deep sigh and realized we should probably go home to start preparing for the week.  We made it about 10 miles before we had our calendars out and were planning our next trip up there.  Vancouver rocks, eh?

Me-Hi-Co

Hubby and I just returned from a week in Mexico.  Everybody close your eyes, take a deep breath, and RELAAAAAAAAXXXX.  Yep.  That's how it felt for an entire week.  It was dee-lightful and I highly recommend it.  We stayed at the Riu Palace in Cabo and while they aren't paying me for this endorsement, they probably should because I am gonna lay it on THICK.  I should start at the beginning though...the airport.  SCARY.  I am really thankful that my husband and I had both done some research so we were prepared.  We did the whole line for customs thing, and it was really harmless, the lady smiled at us, asked us something super easy like "What did you have for lunch?" and stamped our passports.  Our bags were lined up and waiting for us, we went through a metal detector, and then we turned the corner of no return.  Literally, 25 people approached us in the course of a 50 foot walk to the door in an attempt to sell us time shares.  They didn't say, "Would you like a time share?"...no.  They pretended to be our ride to the resort, they told my husband he was going the wrong way, they tried to grab my paperwork out of my hands, they said they needed signatures...it was crazy.  If they had cameras, it would have been like what I imagine a trip to Spago is for Jennifer Aniston on a date. (does anyone go to Spago anymore, or just tourists in Ceasars Palace?).  We were cool (hubby wants to mess with them next trip--I say no), we made it to the doors where our airport transfer driver was waiting next to not one, but TWO bars with beer and margaritas.  I love Mexico.

We got to the resort:

 

and were greeted with some rum punch drinks, given our keys and some dinner reservations for the specialty restaurants.  I'm glad they did this at check-in because we were far too lazy to get up at the required 7:00am time to get reservations for the rest of the week.  Forget that noise--this is vacation! The first thing we noticed is how CLEAN this place is.  They have a huge staff and they are always cleaning something.  Everyone was very welcoming--not obnoxious and fake--genuinely nice and ready to help.  Our room down an open hallway and we were very pleased when we opened the door:  The woodwork was beautiful, our view was awesome, and then there was this little goodie:

Yes, our room had an alcohol dispenser.  I wish I could say we put it to good use, but neither of us drink hard alcohol.  It was neat, but sadly wasted on the two of us.  We had our swimsuits on in about 3 seconds and headed out to the pool. 

 

...where we stayed for the next week.  I kid you not.  The biggest decision we made all week was pool or beach, followed by sun or shade.  We laughed, we made eye contact and finished sentences, and I read 4 books that week.  We made friends with Cristobel--the waiter at the pool, and Miguel, the poor kid who worked in the lobby bar who was deported from an electrician job in North Carolina and can't see his daughter.  I only used my strightener once, and wore all my dresses and cute shoes.

 

We had massages on the beach, and ventured into Cabo a few times.  Checked out their mall (the restrooms are pretty impressive, I kid you not!) and ate at some of the restaurants in the marina.  We paid more than cover price for some paperbacks at the scariest drugstore I have ever been in.  Seriously, I wouldn't buy a pen from this place but we were desperate for reading material in English.  We took a water taxi from Leo, a cutie who gave a us a great tour around the arches and took my favorite picture of the whole trip:

 

 

Don't we look relaxed?! 

 

 

Greatest trip ever.  No contest.  Hands down.  If we could have flown our family down to be with us, we wouldn't have left.  Yes, that good.  Riu has resorts all over the world, and we were impressed enough to want to visit more of them.

 

So now my tan is fading, and I am back at work running numbers and starting to think about the budget for 2013.  But sometimes I close my eyes, and I can imagine myself back on the beach, watching the vendors try to sell their hats and sunglasses, and I can almost pretend I'm back there again. 



 

 

...and I will be.  That's a promise.