All my life I’ve dreamed of visiting two places; Scotland & Vancouver. The original plan was to travel by train with Jenn and spend one week with my brother in New Brunswick. After going to PEI for two weeks we both decided that we could spend that money to check out a different part of Canada. It didn’t take long to settle on Vancouver. We booked our flight and left shortly after. The first day was hell. We left on a Monday and we had spent the previous weekend barely sleeping, running on adrenaline and singing in the rain to Hedley and Faber Drive. I’ve learned that cramming everything into a couple of days just doesn’t end well. I started to feeling a tickle in my throat when we arrived at the airport at 5:30am on the 6th and it only went downhill from there. We arrived in Vancouver at 9am their time and immediately settled into our insane room at the Pan Pacific. I’d never seen a waterfall in a hotel before. When you looked out the window you were surrounded by the ocean & mountains. There’s nothing like it.
Welcome to Vancouver!
The next day we visited Gastown which was pretty cute and we sat outside Starbucks and people watched for a bit. Then we packed up our stuff and headed to our friends place in a different part of Vancouver. We spent the majority of our trip at their house(minus two nights). The hilarious thing was that they were four guys and somehow Jenn & I were the messiest people in the house. It felt like every time I looked through my luggage it would explode all over the floor and I’d have to spend 20 minutes reorganizing it so that I didn’t mess up their place. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without them to be perfectly honest. Not only did they save us at least $2000 but they became our tour guides for most of our stay. On the first day we stayed over we got a tour of their entire neighborhood. They showed us all the good places to eat and what stores to visit. Jenn & I took advantage of all those places and tried out a new restaurant every day and became regulars at the IGA & 7/11 down their street. It reminded me of home except everywhere I looked there was mountains. We also don’t go out very often but while we were there the guys showed us a different bar & club almost every night. It was awesome to party almost every night and with so many genuinely great people.
Best vacation buddy<3
On the third day the guys brought us to Stanley Park and we walked along the seawall. I think Jenn asked them at least 10 times if they realized how lucky they were to live in such a gorgeous place. It was surreal. We walked for about 30 minutes and then stopped on Third Beach while Lucas & Jenn ran into the ocean to swim and Brodie & I lay in the sand and watched them. I’m not big on swimming in September even if it is nice outside. That night we went to see Inception which I heard was unbelievable but I fell asleep about an hour into the movie and missed the entire plotline. Whoops.
Third Beach with the boys.
We spent Thursday in Yaletown which, I guess, is considered a richer part of Vancouver. It’s so much fun to just explore a new city and what’s even more fun is sitting down somewhere and just watching the people. We even had someone come up and start talking to us and he was pretty easy on the eyes. Never happened in Montreal. I just find everyone so much friendlier down in Van. That night was spent at a cafe that was holding a monthly Trivia Night. Actually the coolest concept ever. It was a bunch of 20 something year olds that got together in teams and competed against one another over trivia. Everyone was yelling out answers and getting really into it and the best part was mostly everyone knew each other. It just had a real sense of community that’s missing in my life. At that point I had completely lost my voice though so I wasn’t really into the whole screaming part. 
Trivia night at the cafe with Brodie, Jenn & Bender.
Friday was spent trying to recover from the stupid virus that was ruining my vacation. I curled up with Jenn on the couch while all the guys went to school & work and we watched Edward Scissorhands and drank about 10 cups of tea. That night we went to the studio with the boys to listen to their new stuff but midway through the evening I was completely wiped so I went back to their place to crash. The next morning I woke up and was hit with the full force of my cold. I couldn’t speak at all and I had a horrible fever. All I wanted to do was go home and curl up into my own bed. It was the most miserable feeling in the world. I went to the clinic and Jenn & I left for Burnaby which was the original plan. We were going to go watch the Hedley show but because I was so sick we went for the first three songs and I shot Hedley for CONFRONT. It was an unreal moment. It’s always been my dream to do photography professionally and to shoot Hedley first was something special. It’s neat to be alone by the stage with just the band and one or two other photographers. Sadly we didn’t stay for the show but it was nice to say that I finally saw Hedley play a hometown show.
Media pass for Hedley!
The next day I felt like I had almost recovered completely. Jenn & I packed up and left Burnaby and headed back the guys place. On the way there we stopped at Original Joes and had one of the most amazing brunches of our lives. I still think about it every day. Luckily I was feeling a lot better, and finally able to speak, because that night the house was filled with at least 20 people. The night consisted of drinking games, board games & Mongolian food. I’ll say it again, the people in Vancouver are great. Because I had been so sick, and unable to fly, our trip was extended by 3 full days. The following Monday, the 20th, Jenn & I took a little adventure to Granville Island(we didn’t get lost once on the entire trip to Van, granted we had people with us most of the time but so not the point) where we wandered around and then spent a good 2 hours just sitting by the water enjoying the city. I can tell you that it was at that moment that I completely fell in love with everything about Vancouver. That night we went to a hip hop karaoke night and everyone danced like lunatics and I got to celebrate my 21st birthday with the most amazing people. 
Super lame roommate for 10 days.
Hip Hop Karaoke night with some Van/Mtl/Edmonton
Tuesday was my 21st. Jenn & I went out for lunch and she paid for my food. Then we went back and everyone got ready to go out for karaoke night. The girls next door made an amazing dinner and Brodie & Jenn picked up a Final Fantasy DQ cake for me. Not to mention everyone got dressed up all snazzy. All of it meant so much to me and it was honestly one of the best birthdays of my life. We all went out for karaoke and I Want It That Way was dedicated to me as the drinks piled up. I don’t drink that much so that night was a new record me for me. All of it was unforgettable and I can’t imagine having spent my birthday any other way or with any other people.
Celebrating my birthday with the best friend.
The amazing dinner the girls made.
Wednesday was our last day in Vancouver and hands down the saddest. We watched Pans Labyrinth and then spent the morning packing up all of our stuff. We went out for one more meal at Burgoo, our new favorite restaurant and reminisced about the entire vacation. Then we went out for one more night of fun. We went to the cutest little bar that felt like someones basement and spent the night playing darts and sitting around the piano singing as Lucas played. That night we didn’t go to bed since we had to be up at 4:30am so Jenn & I pulled an all nighter. Everyone ended up crashing except for Brodie who managed to stay awake with us until 4am before we finally lost him. Sitting on that sidewalk waiting for the cab was one of the most depressing moments of my life. I can honestly say I fell in love with Vancouver. I got to spend 10 days with the most ridiculously awesome group of people and I’m so happy I met so many new friends. I also can’t begin to describe how amazing it is to be surrounded by the ocean and the mountains. I need to go back soon. I’m thinking 2011 will bring lots of Vancouver. I could never live there. It’s too far from home but I could definitely spend a few months there and I think I will if Jenn’s down for a little trip.
Sing-a-long around the piano with everyone.
Swim for the music that saves you. 
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