Vancouver, BC is one of my favorite destinations in the world.  I’ve never been to a place where the people are more friendly and speak my native language, English.  The city is a walking city and getting to Granville Island is fun in the little Tommy The Tug Boat ferries.  But downtown Vancouver is more than shopping on Robson, Granville Island, and the Steam Clock.  There are several islands just a ferry ride away that are well worth the visit if your stay is longer than 3 days.  Victoria is probably one of the more popular options but on my most recent trip, I was headed to Pender Island to a little resort called Poet’s Cove.

To catch a ferry from Vancouver, you have about a 45 minute drive outside of the city so plan accordingly.  If you go by car, you need to arrive a few hours early to get in line.  Don’t be late because even with a reservation, if the ferry fills up, your car won’t get on as found out by one of the parties in our group.  I fortunately was a walk-on with several other people.  For the walk-on, you can get there about 15 minutes early and be OK.  The trip is just over 2 hours and you make a few stops at other islands before arriving at  Pender.  If you are walking, make sure to call ahead for a pick up as there are very few taxis on the islands.  Several of us were picked up by the resort for a small fee.  It was about a 20 minute ride from the ferry landing to the resort.  On the drive we saw several deer, other wild life, and roadside flowers for sale on the “honor system”.

The Poet’s Cove  resort is a self contained wonderland.  The architecture is arts and craft bungalow, which I love.  There is a full service Spa, sports pub, and restaurant.  There are 2 pools, one for adults and one for families.  You have options to stay in a room in the main building, rent a 2 bedroom bungalow (which is more a like a town home), or go full out and get a three bedroom cottage.  Both the bungalow and cottage come with full service kitchens, multiple bathrooms, living and dinning areas, patios with BBQ’s and the cottages come with their own hot tubs.  We stayed in a bungalow and hosted a few BBQ’s during our stay.  The restaurant and pub serve some really tasty food and if you don’t plan to cook yourself will definitely meet your expectations.  Avid boaters know that Poet’s Cove is also the US Customs check-in point for entering the U.S. from Canada.

On Saturdays there is a farmers market that is worth a visit, about a 10 minute drive from the resort.  There is also a small cluster of stores where you can pick up supplies, groceries, and most importantly a liquor store that has a great selection of west coast reds.

Vancouver is a great city that I highly recommend.  If you are a snow skier, there is Whistler, if you are a fisherman, there are ample options, and if you are a foodie, you won’t be disappointed in the options from sushi, Greek, Italian, and French.  Let me know your favorite places in Vancouver even if it is a JapaDog truck.

My recent travels had me routed through the Miami International Airport during late afternoon early evening hours.  Typically in the Miami airport there are a few pre-wrapped sandwich shops and some paper plate serving “pubs” that I avoid.  However due to a weather delay I had an extra few hours to spend walking the D Terminal and to my surprise found a bustling little Sushi restaurant.  A “please wait to be seated” sign with multiple hostesses along with real flatware and china will be found here.  Of course you can get in the order to go line, but when you have the time, why not sit and relax.  I sat at the sushi bar and watched the masterful Japanese chefs work their magic.  If you ever pass through the Miami airport and are not running to catch your next flight check out the Sushi Maki and be sure to read the chopstick users guide provided.

I had visited Alexandria’s Grape + Bean during their opening week and thought hmmmm, this may be OK.  Small place off the main Old Town path where you could get a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.  It looked promising at the time.  That was some time ago and I’ve ventured in a few times here and there to grab a bottle of wine.  Yesterday I visited and wanted to give the “bean” portion of their name a try.  Unfortunately I was was disappointed by the lack of properly trained staff and the coffee itself.  I paid just under $5.00 for a 14oz cup of coffee that lacked any substance or unique flavor.  Throw an “organic” or “fair trade” label on something and double the price regardless of taste appears to be the motto here.  I make better single cup coffee at the PNC bank across the street using their Keurig machine.  For more than half the price, Starbucks provides a better more consistent cup of joe.  For an establishment that puts coffee at the top of their sales pitch, I would have hoped for better results. 

Tell me about your experiences at coffee shops around the world.

Next week I’ll be doing a quick tour of Tampa Florida and Houston Texas.  For the Tampa portion I’ll be staying at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay and checking out the downtown Hyatt Regency as well.    In Houston I’ll be staying at the Four Seasons downtown.   I’m looking forward to the southern hospitality and good food. 

Post a comment if you would like me to visit any particular restaurants in either city.  Check back to see my reviews of these two great cities.

I’m an LA kind of guy and love to visit family and friends as often as possible in LA.  The last trip I made my good friend Persh and I ended up in Century City where we ran into Terry Bradshaw just before going into Rock Sugar, a pan Asian restaurant that had just opened a few weeks prior to my visit last Summer.  I’m not certain if Terry Bradshaw had just finished eating there, but it looked that way.  This is a very elegant restaurant on the low to moderate priced level.  I love the decor of this place, the location is perfect with an outdoor mall and movie theater in the same location.  Because I was en-route to Sydney on this trip I even stopped by the Bose store and picked up some quiet comfort headphones for he second leg of my journey down under. 

I highly recommend the shaking beef, which has a very distinctive sweet yet savory flavor.  The mixed drinks from the bar are excellent, and the service was top notch.