I don’t usually travel for business, but last week I got the opportunity to present some research I’ve been working on at a meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Vancouver! A beautiful city. Host of the 2010 Winter Olympics. And, the city where I lived for three years back in the day when I attended UBC and got my Master’s degree.
My husband decided to pay his way and come with me. Getting to Vancouver was an arduous 6+ hour journey through 3 airports. Okay, actually it was fine until our 4 hour flight from Minneapolis to Vancouver ran out of snacks. (Thanks, Delta!) I sympathized with every toddler I’ve ever known after enduring that flight without sustenance.
Anyhoo, when we arrived we took the train from the airport to downtown Vancouver. Then, my husband and I traipsed from the train station to our hotel, excusing ourselves as we stepped over homeless people and/or the folks openly smoking pot on the streets. With the trip’s hotel selection, my boss had obviously prioritized money-saving efforts!
When we finally made it to our hotel, we were hungry and tired and smelled faintly of marijuana. All we wanted to do was relax in our room.
Alas, this was not in the cards! For when we got to our room, we opened the window and this is what we saw:
Rather than relax, we spent the next hour gaping at the entertainment outside. There were men yelling at each other. There was one man pouring paint down a drain. There was another man slapping his t-shirt against and the wall and continually smelling his armpits. Coming on the heels of 2 planes, one without food, a long wait to clear customs and an interesting trip from the airport to our hotel only to see THIS view, well, we did what anyone would do.
We laughed ourselves silly!
Then we went on and had a productive work meeting and a great time visiting a beautiful city without the kids in tow. It was awesome.
Been on any good trips lately? What’s the worst view you’ve ever had?
We are visiting Vancouver for vacation – just me and the husband – in about a month. Hoping our view is a little better, but time away together will be awesome regardless. Glad you had a good time!
Kerry recently posted…Mother’s Day Reflections and Scary Mommy
You’ll have a great time. Fingers crossed for good weather! It rained for us most of the time, but since we lived there, we were used to that. Granville market is fun to visit if it does rain for you.
Oh my! That is horrible! Were you able to request a different room? hehe
Brandy recently posted…Making Health A Priority With Shakeology
They were booked solid for the Vancouver marathon! Beggars can’t be choosers. 🙂
That was quite a view! Glad you had a great time anyway…seems like there’s always a bump in the road somewhere along the way. At least you can laugh about it! 🙂
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life recently posted…Put an End to Distracted Driving: #DecideToDrive Today
Well welcome to the city of dirt angels!!! OHMYGOSH I would have been like “Really??!!!” I am glad it all turned out fabulous for you!! It is really a beautiful place to visit, isn’t it? (Aside from the alley ways..and your hotel apparently!) GAH!
Chris Carter recently posted…My Writing Process