Our Dumb Blog

I woke up around 10 am in the morning. Berck was irritated that I’d gotten up so early. Berck had to do laundry, so I found the nearest laundromat on Google maps, and we hiked over to it. We explored the mall across the street during the washing cycle. Vancouver has an enormous amount of Asians in it, and the area around the hotel was full of businesses with Chinese signs. We were about the only Caucasians in the mall, which was full of Chinese herbal medicine shops next to the normal type of stuff you find in a mall. The food court had a Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, and a place that only served empadas along with the KFC and Orange Julius. We went back to the laundry to put the clothes in the dryer and then back to the mall. There was a grocery inside with a variety of Chinese vegetables. The meat department had every part of a pig possible, wrapped up in cellophane and labeled: pork brain, pork feet, pork spine, and congealed and cut into squares pork blood. Berck was impressed by the price of the meat.

We went back to the Dew for lunch/supper, taking advantage of that 15% discount. I got the shepherd’s pie, which was very boring. Then it was time for Berck’s mock check-ride. I told him I would stay up, so I watched the Discovery channel for several hours. I was very sleepy by the time Berck got back around 2.

The next morning I didn’t have much trouble sleeping in until 1. Berck took me over to the closer mall across the street from the hotel. In the food court was a place called New York Fries where we ordered a cup of poutine. This is a traditional Canadian dish of fries covered in cheese curds and then gravy. It was actually a pretty good breakfast dish.

Next we explored the indoor market two blocks over. It was full of Chinese stores selling groceries, Chinese books, and a whole lot of what looked like very authentic Chinese prepared food. We were the only Caucasians there.

We went to the Dew for one last time for food. I got halibut and chips, and Berck got his steak instead of hamburger patty (they’ll cook the steak to order, but the hamburger will only come well done). Then it was time for Berck’s check ride. I promised to stay awake again, and celebrate with him when he got back. I watched Snakes on a Plane, which was surprisingly unedited, but after each commercial break I was warned that the following program contained violence, nudity, and course language. Berck got back at 1 with enough time to get a couple of drinks before we got kicked out of the Dew. Berck was hungry, so we walked up a few blocks to the White Spot, but unlike Denny’s, they had closed hours before. So we just went back to the hotel, bought some chips in the vending machine, and went to bed about 3. I got up two hours later to head to the airport.

In the morning we woke up around 1 pm. Berck pulls all the curtains closed as far as they can go and is sure to shut the door to the bathroom, where there’s a window. By the time we got to the bus to go downtown, it was around four. I had forgotten my pocket watch and couldn’t turn my phone on, so I was pretty much clueless to what time it was, since Berck told me it didn’t matter and wouldn’t tell me what it was. We missed the first bus that came because I hadn’t found out how much it cost and if exact change was required. So we bought a couple of Cokes at the Subway across the street and then successfully caught one. I would have asked some of the other people waiting for the bus, but we were in a heavily Chinese area. All the businesses had signs in Chinese except for a couple of chain restaurants.

The bus ride from the hotel to the end downtown took about 45 minutes, I’d say. We got off and walked around. Vancouver is very much a city under construction, fueled by an intense excitement about the 2010 Winter Olympics. I’d hoped to wander around Canada Centre, but it was all fenced off with construction barriers, and I couldn’t figure out how to get in. Instead we headed southwest toward the Vancouver Hotel and then the art gallery. It was expensive, but Berck flashed his expired student ID and saved $5 Canadian. It wasn’t a bad collection, though naturally favoring Canadian artists, whether or not they were any good.

Next we headed down Robson Street. Berck had been feeling left out every time all the other pilots had been exiting the pub to smoke a cigarette. One of the students had been complaining about the pack he bought, that they were really strong but tasted terrible. Berck asked him what brand they were, and he said, “I dunno, warning label brand.” The whole pack was covered in warning labels, but we finally found the brand name on the flip top. They smelled really funny too, very familiar but neither Berck nor I could figure out what it was. The guy said, “It’s like tea or something.” Sure enough, they smelled exactly like rolled up black tea bags. Maybe that’s why they were so strong.

So Berck ducked into a tiny smoke shop that promised they had Cubans and asked the proprietor for two inexpensive but good cigars. “For who, for you and the lady?” the guy asked. He picked out a Romeo y Juliet for Berck and a big mild one for me. Then he offered to cut them for us, since we didn’t have one with us. As he put them into a Zip-loc, he said, “Forty-five dollars. I give you special discount, no tax.”

Next we stopped at Hon’s for some Chinese food, where we were seated with two plastic glasses of hot tea. Berck didn’t want to order, so I got us a couple of local beers, some fried dumplings, some tiny egg rolls, and some noodle soup with barbecued duck on top. The duck was possibly the best duck I’ve ever had, but the broth the noodles were in was fish based, and Berck wouldn’t eat it.

We took Robson down until it ended in Stanley Park and started walking along the harbor toward the totem poles, watching the crew rowers practicing. The sun was setting, and we were getting tired, so we walked back and caught the first bus downtown, then transferred to the 98 to take us back to the hotel. I’d brought a map I’d printed out, so I’d know when to get off.

Berck was hungry, so we went back to the Foggy Dew for supper for a steak sandwich, Caesar salad, and two black and tans. Back in the room, we cracked open some local beers Berck was keeping in his fridge and went out on the balcony to light up. My cigar was nice and mild; Berck’s was more bold, but they suited us. I’ve had a better cigar, but I’ve had a lot worse.

We went to bed around 1.

I’ve got the beginnings of an IOE schedule. What I’ve got so far is on Facebook. I’ve got 3 days of out of PHX starting Monday, then a day off on Thursday, then a 3 day trip out of DEN. They said to expect more DEN IOE after that.

We’ll come back Sunday.

Guess I picked a good one.

Wish I could be there, but all the flights are full :(