disruptedthespace-timecontinuum,
andhewasmoving inslowmotion, locks
of longdarkhairbouncing inaseductive
rhythmoffhisshouldersashewalkedby ina
fashion-forwardensemblethesortofwhich
oneonlyseesmannequinsabletowear. I
lookedatMegan;shehadstopped longago
andwasstaringathimasheblended intothe
crowdbehindus.Sheturnedtome,flushed.
“YouhaveGOTtogetsomenewclothes.”
T
hemanymirrorsofVancouvermay
havebeenreflectingourown inse-
curitiesat thatpoint,butshopping
was indeedanecessity.For that,wewalked
toGastown, thenationalhistoricdistrict in
thecity’snortheastcorner. Itwasnamed
after“Gassy”JackDeighton (murmur),
whoopened thefirstsaloon in thearea in
1867.Anythingnamedafteragassybarkeep
isokay inmybook, andGastown is justa
lovelycollectionofrestaurants,barsand
variousothershops thatdrawsplentyof
tourists.Wespentmuchofanafternoon
staringat thestylishpeoplewalkingby,
takingmentalnotes, thenscurrying into
clothingstores toreplicate thesophis-
ticated lookswewereseeingonnative
passers-by.Thisexercisewasmademore
crucialwhenamanpromotingDoctors
WithoutBordersyelledatme, “Hey,orange
shirt!You look likea funguy!Come learn
aboutourorganization.”
IknowallaboutDWB— it’sanamazing
group—butMeganwasmortified thatI’d
beenspotted inabright-orangeworkout
shirtbearing thenameofaDallas-area
utilitycompany.Thatand theoldsneakers
andworkoutshortswereallbutscreaming
“horridAmerican tourist!”And to think,
itonly took four-plushoursofshopping to
findsomething thatmademe lookbetter: a
long, stylish, light-blackovercoat tocover
upeverythingI’dpacked.
Voila!
, I looked
presentable toVancouver.
Beforewewouldpresentourselves to
thecity, Ineeded to losesomeAmerican
pounds.Wewalked toStanleyPark, the
1,000-acregreenspace thatborders
downtown,VancouverHarbourandEn-
glishBay.MeganandIhave twodifferent
goals.Her: toruna10K loop (shewas train-
ing foramarathon).Me: togetonabike.
I lived inAtlanta forayearwithoutacar,
justridingmybikeand takingpublic trans-
portationwhereIneeded togo,proving
youcandoso ineven themostcar-centric
ofAmericancities.ButVancouvershowed
mehowacitycannotonly toleratebut
TOPANDBOTTOM
:
Granville IslandandFarmersMarket areworthawater-taxi rideacrossFalseCreek for food,
jewelry, art, restaurants, entertainment andmore.
60
OCTOBER2015
AMERICANWAY
