#i drove to the burger place only to find out that it was closed bc they were ALSO having a power outage

[evilkitten3]

shoutout to the uber driver in front of me when i was on my way to the store this evening for having a goku bumper sticker. had a few other ones too (including an "uber" sticker which is how i know) but seeing goku just made me so happy

[todobakudekukiridenkishinsosero]

The car ride that changed everything :)

 BTW THIS IS MY FIRST POV SO PLEASE TELL ME HOW I CAN MAKE IT BETTER!!!! 

(Note this is aged up so the characters in this are 18+ and this is in my pov and if you don’t like it, then don’t read it and I also added a name so if you want me to do one with just y/n then ill do one)

Main Character: Cj 

Age:18

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Pansexual (possibly gay)

Another main character: Katsuki Bakugo

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual (if not then gay)

Side characters: Kirishima, Sero, Denki and mina 

                                           .

   it’s the start of summer and the bakusquad wanted to go somewhere so they all decided where they were headed too and they wanted to invite me since im always hang with them. Btw we live together so the bakusquad lives with me until everyone finishes school(college)

*goes to your room*

Mina: hey bestie!!

Cj: ah!- oh hi mina what do you need?

Mina: well….me and the bakusquad are going on a road trip and we want you to join and I think bakugo would like it the most 

*Nudges you a bit*

Cj: eh? m-maybe …..

I’ve always had a crush on bakugo since we met at UA but i haven’t had the courage to tell him i liked him bc every person who tells him gets rejected and im afraid i’ll get rejected too.

Mina: Then it’s settled! We’re leaving this weekend since it’s Tuesday and everyone will have enough time to get ready!!

Cj: okay

Mina leaves my room and i go deep into thought about bakugo and mumbling things, making me flustered and red.

Cj: *mumbling*bakugo is...hot…

Suddenly i hear a knock at my door so i open it and to my surprise its katsuki

Cj: Kat? Oh, do you need anything???

Katsuki: just wondering if you’re going with us on the trip

Cj: oh..yeah I am! *smiles*

Katsuki: oh okay then goodnight 

Cj: Night!

Bakugo POV:

Bakugo goes back to his room and locks his door and lays in his bed and starts thinking about me. Little did i know he liked me too.

Bakugo: Damnit! Why...I want him to be mines and no one else’s..ugh! 

He goes into deep thought about how i could be his and forever <3

                                           The next day(Wednesday)

Kirishima: *yawns* babe? You up 

Denki: mm...5 more mintues kiri 

kirishima:*chuckles* yeah okay * kisses his head*

Kirishima heads to the bathroom and takes a shower and does his hair and comes out and wakes Denki and he does the same thing.

Denki: let’s eat breakfast then wake the others up 

Kirishima: yeah okay 

  Kirishima and Denki have been together since 2nd year at UA so this makes three years of being together, they go downstairs and sees me already up and dressed and eating.

Kirishima & denki: Hey Cj

Cj: oh hey guys *puts his plate in the sink*

Boys: so can you wake bakubro up while we wake the other love birds

Cj: no problem 

i laughed at their comment about Mina and sero being together for 2 years, i knock on his door feeling that it’s locked so i yelled a bit.

Cj: hey bakugo time to get up we have planes with the sqau-

Before i could finish my sentence, bakugo opened the door up

Bakugo: I know dumbass...I was putting on my shoes and other things 

Cj: oh okay then, Kiri and Denki went to go wake the love birds up 

Bakugo: okay ima go eat breakfast now

Cj: okay

Bakugo and the others ate breakfast and they drove in my truck and blasted TikTok music and bakugo vibed with some while the windows are rolled down and everyone smiling and laughing with each other. We all arel going shopping for the road trip this weekend.

Cj: Hey guys ima pull over and get some gas

Others-expect bakugo: okay

Bakugo: I’ll help you with it 

Cj: okay…(Odd he never does that)

After pumping the gas we head to the store and the girls go together and same with the guys. After everyone got what they needed me and bakugo went to the bathroom and came out and we drive back home. 

                                        The next day(Thursday)

Everyone is asleep while i  were the only one up and it was around 12 in the afternoon, so i went and took a shower, did my face routine and did my hair, and put my shoes on.

To my  surprise, after i  went downstairs i see bakugo on the couch watching tv. So i  speak.

Cj: Hey bakugo 

You said with a smile

Bakugo: hey...Cj, where are you going? 

Cj: oh well I was gonna go on a little walk then was gonna go back to the mall and walk around there-

Without missing a single beat bakugo said.

Bakugo: I’m coming with you and you have no say in this got it?

Cj: I- okay then…(is bakugo okay?? He’s being nice to me and it’s kinda cute and sweet)

Me and bakugo go outside and starts walking around the block then get in the car.

Bakugo: Hand me the keys I’m driving

Cj: okay 

I hand him the keys and my phone hooks to the car blasting loudly ^E.T by Katy Perry^ and I  turn the volume down,

Cj: I’m sorry heh I forgot to turn down the music from last night 

Bakugo: Dumbass that’s loud as hell…

 We arrive at the mall and get out and started walking around the mall.

Cj: So….

Bakugo: huh? What dumbass?

Cj: why did you come with me? It’s so..unlike you

Bakugo:(shit...) well you’re always getting lost so I came to make sure that you don’t get lost or do or even buy something stupid

Cj: oh...heh I guess so 

Bakugo: So where are we heading to first?

Cj: Um hot topic…. Then spencers then the food court 

Bakugo: okay then let’s get going dumbass 

You guys go into hot topic and I see this black skirt and red top and gets it and some other clothes, snacks and etc.

Bakugo: That’s all your getting Cj?

Cj: Yes I am bc I wanna go to spencers before the food court

Bakugo: okay then 

I pay and leave to go to spencers. Once I made it we went in.

Cj: oo this looks so cute!

I found some more clothes and looked around more while bakugo followed me around.

Bakugo: Oi dumbass what are you looking for?

Cj: nothing just looking around- (is that a sex toy??)

i go up to it and notices what it reminds me of and i back away slowly and go pay for the clothes. Bakugo looking confused until he looked as well and left with you.

Bakugo: we agree to never speak of this?

Cj: agreed.

We head down to the food court and we found the place we wanted to eat at. we ate burger king.

Cj: hey bakugo?

Bakugo: Hm?

Cj: Thanks for coming out with me! 

I said with a warm smile.

Bakugo: oh no problem 

we leave after eating and head home and we had a squad night.

                              The next day at night(Friday,9 pm)

I were warming up the car and put my bag in the trunk with the rest of the squad’s stuff. Im driving and bakugo sitting on the passager side while kirishima is on the right side, sero in the further back with mina and Denki on the left side in the backseat. I may be wondering where they’re going well i’ll find out once you guys get there.

Cj: everyone ready? Nobody left anything before we pull off?

Everyone nodded and i asked who wanted to play the music from my phone and mina wanted it. So she played (All about that bass-Megan Trainor). Then i stopped and filled up on gas then started hitting the road.

Cj: So...what should we play

Bakugo: The hell you’re talking about dumbass

Kirishima: OH! Do you mean a car ride game?

Denki: aw man I love those 

Mina and Sero:Ikr! They’re always so fun to play epslly when we have a long drive to go!

Cj: Yeah how about I spy with my little eye?

Everyone agreed and even bakugo. i turned down the music so it’s like background music and Denki starts the game.

Denki: I spy something blonde and grumpy

Kiri: Bakubro!

Mina, Sero: Bakugo!

Cj: kats…

Bakugo: damn idiot! Tf why me!?

Denki: Idk you’re the first person I see bro

 Bakugo:tch...fine my turn

You start blushing for no reason at all.

Bakugo: I spy something red 

Denki: Kirishima’s hair 

Kiri: My hair?

Mina: Cj

Sero: Kiri’s hair 

Bakugo: No and Raccoon eyes got it

Cj: hah?! 

Mina: Yes! I knew it! Girls instinct

Boys: ohhhh…

i blush harder and harder meaning my face turning redder than Kirishima’s hair. The boys continue to laugh but get Bakugo’s point bc their the only ones who know his crush on me.

Cj:(why?...why me?)

Bakugo smiles at me and i  turn to the road while letting i window down so i feel something cold against my face. 

Bakugo: Your turn pinky 

Mina: okay! I spy with my little eye something bright!

Cj: oh the sun

Kiri: denki’s hair 

Sero: the sun

Bakugo: (dumb shitty hair) the sun

Denki: My hair 

Mina: Cj got it first! So Denki and Kiri you’re wrong 

Cj: Oh okay then 

We go another few rounds before everyone wanted to listen to music and do their own thing. Three hours passed and it was ^9:08pm^ and everyone had fallen asleep and i see this resting place so you pull over and the only person who wasnt asleep was bakugo to my surprise. So i get out and goes to the bathroom and so does bakugo.

Cj: I’m surprised 

Bakugo: what do you mean extra?

Cj: You’d usually fall asleep around 8 pm so it’s kind of weird ya know

Bakugo: oh well you look tired so I wanted to drive some anyway

Cj: oh okay...that’s fine 

We sit on the hood of the truck and look up at the stars and we talked more than ever and soon enough i fell asleep so Bakugo puts me in the passager seat and got in the car and shuts it off and fell asleep as well.

                                 The next day(7 am)

i woke up to music and bakugo driving so i sit up and notice his jacket on me and i look at him. Admiring him his eyes, his calmness, his body. 

 Bakugo: You’re gonna keep staring or say something dumbass

Cj: oh sorry

Bakugo: For what??

Cj: oh I assume it made you uncomfortable

Bakugo: no not really(should I pull over on this cliff? yeah)

Bakugo pulls over and gets out and opens my door and brings me out and closing the door behind me. giving bakugo a confused look. 

Bakugo: I wanted you to see the sunrise with me…

Cj: oh well it does look lovely doesn’t it?

Bakugo: yeah it does...hey can I ask you something?

Cj: yeah okay? (I wonder whats he’s gonna ask me)

Bakugo: okay...um do you like anyone?

Cj: um...yeah actually wbu do you like someone?

Bakugo: May I ask who it is and yeah I do dumbass

Cj: oh...well its you

Bakugo:oh...OH! wait really?

Cj:yeah...its okay if you dont like me-

Without a heart beat he kissed me, we both have a slight blush look on our face

Cj:w-what?!

Bakugo: i like you too dumbass 

CJ:oh um...what does this means now?

Bakugo lets out a sign and asks

Bakugo:ugh.....cj would you like to be my boyfriend?

I say back with me smiling like crazy, blushing mess

Cj:YES!

[arheadbar]

Football Player Dimitri! (A High School AU~)

━━━━━━×⋆☆⋆×━━━━━━

March 30, 2020

A/N: Day ???? of Quarantine: I’ve lost it. I’m writing another Dimitri x F!Reader fic because I have nothing else to do and I hate myself. How many of these am I going to write? I don’t know. Although, I think these are a lot of fun to write, so I guess it’s a win-win? I might stop writing smut for the time being since my first two one-shots have been nothing but smut so I might go for something a little more vanilla, and no smut at all. I’ve been tempted to make a high school/college au fic but I really don’t know if I’m up for writing about school, plus I’m not very good at world-building even if it’s something as simple as modernizing 3H’s world and characters OTL. I might give writing an actual AU a shot, but I rlly don’t know lol, I’m kinda just rambling at this point. This one is gonna be dedicated to my friend because prom got straight-up cancelled bc of COVID-19 and she’s kinda(really) salty. And I know this isn’t prom I just thought it’d be easier to incorporate athletic dimitri if it was hoco szn y’know? Anyway, enjoy this fluff! It was actually a lot of fun to write :’))

-xo Mika

━━━━━━×⋆☆⋆×━━━━━━

Categories: Fluff, High School AU, Romance

Word Count: 1,350

   Your eyes roamed the large football field as you fought through the crowd to find your best friend. 27… 27… Where are you 27...? Your eyes lit up as you saw him making the run back with the ball, narrowly avoiding players from the opposing team. More of the opposing team was quickly gaining on him, but thankfully he was able to reach the goal before they got to him. You were already late to the game because of the stupid halftime preparations all because were nominated for the Senior-class homecoming court. You didn’t have too dress up too much, but you would rather look presentable when most of the student body went to these games. You only went to support your friends. Before you got to the game, Dimitri had texted you saying,

“Meet me at our usual spot, I wanna talk to you about something after the game.” The text filled your stomach with butterflies, but you tried to pay no mind to it as you continued to cheer with the rest of your friends. Your school’s team had switched to defense and the crowd began chanting, “Let’s go defense!” and you screamed until your lungs hurt. You heard someone call your name from the field and you were met with a wink from a sweaty Sylvain that was downing some water after a timeout had been called. Dimitri waved at you with a smile as he noticed Sylvain’s usual antics. The interaction only lasted a few seconds, and they were quick to put their helmets back on and disappear into the sea of players.

Before you knew it, halftime was already there, with your hair slightly disheveled despite the bandana you had it in, and the blue and white dots that you had put on hours ago was beginning to crack, but you looked fine otherwise. You stepped down the bleachers and towards the track while the cheer team’s blaring music went on in the background.

“Alright, Sylvain and Mercedes you two will be together in this car,” stated the ASB director as she frantically tried to organize the mess of teenagers and parents that stood before her.

“You and Dimitri will be in this car together,” she added as she guided you and Dimitri to the car behind your friends and she went on to organize the rest of the students that were nominated in their respective vehicles.

“Another thing, and I’m pretty sure this goes without saying, but please smile and wave or at least do something.” She groaned, and surely enough the other halftime performances had concluded, and you were up next.

You couldn’t help but stare at Dimitri in his uniform, his skin glistening with sweat in the Friday Night Lights, his blue eyes becoming a paler blue than they usually are as he smiled and waved at the crowd, his cheeks were flushed pink for obvious reasons and he was still trying to catch his breath, but you tried to avert your gaze and went back to smiling and waving at the adoring crowd. They announced your names in order of youngest class to oldest class, so obviously the four of you had been saved for last.

After that whole ordeal was done, you made your way back to the crowd, and the rest of the game went by with a blur. All you knew was that your team had won, and Dimitri was responsible for it. From what you heard, it became a rather close game, and when you stared up at the scoreboard, the team had barely managed a tie-breaker, and you were excited to congratulate your friend after you said your goodbyes with your friends in the crowd.

You made your way to your secret spot with Dimitri, but now that you think about it, it wasn’t all that secret since most of the school had dubbed it “Make-out Corner” because most couples would make their way there to eat each other’s faces off during school but at night when all the lights were out (because the school hadn’t bothered to replace them yet), it was dark, and the only thing you could really see was the shadowy figure of whoever you had brought with you. You and Dimitri had used this place on multiple occasions, whether it be just trying to find time to talk to each other or to just sit in the silence of the night together after a hectic day.

“There you are!” Said a familiar voice, and you couldn’t help but run up and hug him.

“Congratulations dumbass, you managed to carry our team again,” you teased as you punched his shoulder pads and he started to walk towards his car, which was conveniently parked in the spaces right next to the building.

“Oh, shut up, come on let’s get some food.” He replied and revved the engine of his car after he threw his gear in the trunk. This was your favorite kind of night; nobody but you, Dimitri, and whatever playlist he had in the background, but usually it was classic rock.

“Where are we going tonight?” You asked since the two of you usually ate in at the local burger-and-shake place, but this time he ordered take-out.

“You’ll see,” he replied, as he started making his way out of the city with a silly grin you could feel even as the two of you sat in the dark together with the only light sources being the streetlights that you drove by.

The drive wasn’t too long, and honestly, the view was worth it. It was a road on a hill that overlooked the city and all its twinkling lights, and it was just the two of you there…alone. You helped him lay out a blanket on the hood of his car as the two of you sat there with fry in one hand, milkshake in the other.

“So why are we in such a beautiful place in this deadbeat town?” You ask in between bites of your burger.

“Well… There’s something I wanted to tell you, and this was the only place I could think of that would help me.” He explained, having already inhaled all of his food while you were barely able to finish the last few bites.

“Wait right here.” He ordered while he rummaged around in the back of his car, and the butterflies in your stomach started acting up again. It was a few minutes before he returned, and the sight you had before you almost made your dinner come back up because of your stomach lurching at the sight of seeing him so sheepish around you.

Dimitri had managed to fix his hair that had been ruined by his helmet as he held a bouquet of what looked like blue roses in the pale moonlight as he approached you carefully.

“I know we’re going to homecoming together as friends…” He started, “But the more I thought about it, the more I realized my true feelings for you.” He took your hand carefully in his own and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it. You already knew where this was going, and you kind of wanted to slap yourself for not saying anything, but he continued, “I don’t want us to go to homecoming together just as friends anymore. I want you to be mine.”

You were speechless. You didn’t know how to respond, and your heart was beating right out of your chest. You looked at the flowers in your hand, and then back at the sheepish, innocent boy who had thought all this out just for you, all you could do was nod pull him into a hug.

“I love you.” He admitted as he placed a soft kiss on your forehead, and you pulled him by his jersey to return the kiss, but on his lips.

“I love you too, Dimitri.” You giggled, as the two of you sat on the hood of his car while you were in his arms as you watched the city glimmer in the distance.

[doe-eyed-pastels]

I just had the weirdest dream and I'm gonna write down so i don't forget about it bc i wanna tell my boyfriend when he wakes up but its 6am so he's still asleep but ANYWAY

So in my dream i was driving to this small little town that looked familiar to the little towns that are by me irl and i was in my car which is an armada (relevant only for all the fucking alarms that are on that bih) and it was nighttime and raining and i parked the car on sidestreet parking which was also having some kind of work done to the road so it was a bad parking spot but anyway i get out of the car and i didnt lock it, instead i walk the couple blocks to my new job which was a terribly weird combination of my current job, in home private duty care, and my old job, burger king. It was like. A burger king inside a home. Weird flex but ok. I go in, not in any kind of uniform i was in like pjs and i sorta putz around and then ask my manager if she needed me earlier than when i was supposed to come in, at 6am and she said no that i should be patient and then come back in on time. I think it was around 5am when i got there. So i left and was walking back towards the car, for some reason it was darker out and like colder. So I'm walking up the sidewalk and i see these two girls that i went to school with, and they're outside just also putzing around until a couple cars pass by and then they reach into their waistbands and pull out baggies of pot and i was like "holy shit they smoke now???" But i don't really like those girls irl so i didnt say anything and walked past them. i got back onto the street of where my car is and i see that the road work has passed my car so i get in and see that the dashboard has these messages alerts that the passenger door and trunk are open and so was the driver side door and i look around and see a bunch of change that wasn't stolen and nothing else seemed out of place. i shut the passenger door and then i saw the trunk open alert and for some reason in my dream the car also gave me a very grainy picture of who did this? Weird i know that doesn't happen irl, and i see the picture and immediately recognized it as a kid i went to middle school and high school with. the picture was so disturbing, like he was posing for it, and he just had this terrifying face like. Cold blood deranged killer vibes. and i never got that from him irl, he was also kinda chill and we didnt speak much but i knew of him and didnt have beef with him. meanwhile, across the street i also see this creature(?) walking down the sidewalk and I'm clearly having a moment so he/it noticed me. it looked like some kind of juggernaut and i did not want that smoke in my dream but i had to close the trunk of my car so i close it and when i do that i see someone almost hiding behind my car, dressed in a yellow raincoat like the little kid from It that died but it wasn't that kid specifically, i don't know who that was. So in my very upset and panicked state i grabbed a rock, it was like gravel idk where i found it, and threw it at theyre head, just hard enough to get their attention and i yelled "get the hell away from my car!" The person then shot up and took off, i never saw their face. when i looked back at the creature it was staring at me and then smiled the most sickening, blood curdling smile. the amount of tension and fear i had all at once. i quickly scrambled back into my car and locked the doors just as i realized that i had taken the first steps to crossing the street snd coming towards me. i knew i had to drive but i couldn't like. Mentally get the thought of "I'm lost i need to set up my gps" out of my head. i knew i just had to get away from there and then pull off to the side and set it up but for some reason my brain wouldnt let me just drive until the gps was set up. I believe i woke up there, without finding out if i just drove or if i wasted precious time so i could set up a gps to get me home.

[ideclaremarvel]

Open Mic

Steve Harrington x Reader

Introduction: Hello!!!! Is ya girl i haven't made a story in so long and i am just in love with Steve and billy from stranger things because who wouldn't ? and just everyone so i might make new stories of those characters. Olala but i'm not taking in any request! ): im sorry just have a busy life and I want to focus on one character at a time. Bare with me i'm rough it's been so long!!

Not sure how long the series will be put i want it to be long and cool haha. Everyone is alive bc i cant wait til season 4 !!! idk how i feel about it but here ya go this probably sucks sorry

warnings: drinking and drugs nothing too bad 

Chapter 1: 

Summary:  After the events at Starcourt Mall, destroying the flayer monster and everyone still managed to come out alive, everyone who was everyone decided to go their own ways. The Byers family moved away along with El & Hopper. As a gift Hop fixed up his cabin for you to stay since it was somewhat destroyed by the Flyer monster. You work at a small bookstore in Starcourt Mall along with Nancy. town there's a small bar that you occasionally read your poetry to the drunken people, it was only for the weekend random people from the bar or around the neighborhood would read their poetry/stories, no one you knew went here. 

“Hey Nac, is it alright with you if I head out now?” 

looking down your watch it read 7:30 it was Friday and the mall closed at 9, you just want to get home have a shower possibly change clothes before heading down to Dragons Corner Bar. you found this bar when you were tripping on shrooms walking through some woods, thought you were walking in wonderland in the middle of October here a Hawkins. What's odd about the bar was it was hidden, the driveway is long and the parking was big enough to fit probably 100 cars but there's always people walking here. People who are not from your town. Every time you went you felt like you've entered dark ages of dragons, princesses, kings and queens, the entire bar was shaped as a castle. 

“Yeah that's fine Y/N, go enjoy your night!” she said with a smile, she usually takes closing on Fridays and you'd take Saturday, as a win win, both satisfied.

As you were leaving the store looking around starcourt so many families laughing, kids running around at their playstation, mothers sitting all together chatting who knows what. A Lot of people from Hawkins high are always here but luckily for you, an exit next to your store. It was a blessing. Avoiding big crowds and possible interactions with people from school isn't what you want. You hated it. Weirdly enough your friends with Nancy who used to be popular, both of you guys are opposite personalities, you will like the odd one out considering you love rock/punk bands and wearing dark clothes, but you always made it look cute making some popular girls angry. You found it amusing. 

Walking to your car wasn't much of a walk since they have a section for employees to park, another blessing this Mall has to offer. As you were unlocking your car, you heard the door the mall opened. You wiped  your head around, only to find your favorite crush wearing his cute sailor uniform, ‘thank god i don't have a dress code’ you thought.

 “Steve! Ahoy mate!!” 

giving your best pirate voice and mimicking dancing around in excitement to seeing him, Steve on the other hand that it was bad and laughed. 

You loved the way he laughed it was gentle and soft, not enough to roll your eyes but enough to keep making him laugh forever  “Y/N enjoyed the attempt but that was bad!” Steve laughed clutching his stomach like he couldn't breathe

He was wiping away tears that went down from all the laughter” i must say cute little dance you did, ya missed me that much?” Steve said sending you a wink.  

“are you done now? I tried okay don't give me your bs” you rolled your eyes trying to be sassy.

 “Hey now i said it was cute” Steve said while taking off his shirt in front of you, not caring if anyone saw. You couldn't help but stare a little bit, he was fit, nice arms, toned, abs looked so nice you'd want to lick them. Snapping out of your trance of the boy, you went into your car, open the glove compartment to get a small bag containing rolled joints. picked one out throwing the bag onto your passenger seat, fumbling in your purse for a lighter. Groaning not having one on you. 

“Need a light?” Steve said holding out his lighter already having the flame dancing for you

Leaning over to light the joint perfectly placed between your lips, inhaling and exhaling before handed it off to Steve, you always loved smoking with him. hell, he's the one that got you into it in the first place. 

“Did you roll this?” Steve asked admiring the perfectly rolled joint like he's never seen one nicely rolled, twirling it around if with his fingers. 

“Yeah, I usually like to roll a couple at a time and light one whenever” taking the joint from Steve, you briefly touch his hand, that alone gave you small butterflies, sending you shivers all throughout your body.

“How was work? It was pretty busy up at Scoops, god little kids are a bit annoying not knowing what flavor they want” 

Steve said frustrated touching the back of his head “robin took care of most of them trying to get them to leave already” he said taking the joint from you inhaling, exhaling the smoke trying to make a ring. Failed but he tried. 

“Work was okay, had a few customers come in to buy books, rearrange a small area in the back with Nancy. Were thinking about getting a rescue dog or cat to keep around the bookstore, so were making a little hang out area for people to read their books and have a nice time with animal” 

you smiled at the thought of it coming together, you were more excited to adopting a kitty. Steve was looking at you smiling, admiring just how beautiful you are and sometimes he wonders if he should ask you out, he always had this crush on you but from all the rejections he's gotten asking you made him nervous.

 He found it sexy just watching you hitting the joint, sometimes he wants to take your face in his hands and kiss you till your lips fall off but he couldn't he was too scared. He really wants to.

“Should get both? Don't you live at the cabin all alone? Get a cat for the bookstore since they are low maintenance and they can take care of themselves”  

“I actually haven't thought of that, being alone in the cabin doesn't get lonely, im used to it, peaceful. Besides i asked Nancy to move in since she wants to be away from her house” you took a couple more hits off of the joint before burning it out. Looking towards the sky above trying to look at the stars but it was cloudy so nothing was out. 

“I can take you to a shelter and help you pick a cat or dog, whichever you'd want” Steve said giving you a small grin like a little small boy, ugh you thought to yourself, sometimes you think he likes you but you're sure he flirts with every girl. 

“Yes i would love that, maybe get food after? My treat” you said singly leaning over to him giving him the biggest smile ever

“Yeah we can eat burgers and milkshakes, how does that sound? I know a place we can go” Steve said while getting down off of your car hood, stretching showing a little of his abs. ‘Fuck’ you thought to yourself. ‘Why am I like this’ thinking this made you groan in annoyance hat Steve picked up

“ whats up Y/N ? watcha got going on tonight? Steve asking while fixing and trying to style his fluffy hair that you oh so loved.

“Gonna go home, refresh myself and then read a book, easy night for a long day” you lied to him, you didn't want no one knowing where your little secret bar was, you didn't want anyone to hear about your poetry. 

Especially Steve, sometimes you write about your feelings about him but still you'd rather hide it and not have anyone know about it except well for Nancy she’d know about the crush you have for Steve for awhile now, she says it shows all over my face whenever he's around. Never got what she meant but never cared.

“Sounds relaxing to me, i'm going to meet Dustin and everyone for a drive a Quarry, ill see you around princess” Steve said while getting into his car, rolling down his window flashing you the prettiest smile “i hope you enjoy your night Y/N” waving to you while driving off. 

“I wish you'd kiss me” you said out loud but no one but you heard that. Getting into your car you drove off.

Entering dragons corner everyone knew you, pretty much you will come here to escape being alone at home and nights when your thoughts got too much and a drink is what you need. 

“Hey Y/N welcome back!” 

Tom yelled from behind the corner waving at you. 

“Hey Tom! Hows Betta?”

 you smiled and waved taking a seat next to Lewis the other bar owner. Betta is tom's wife for over 40 years! You wish you find your soulmate and be together long, sounded cheesy but it's something you've always wanted. “Whats up girl” Lewis said going in for a fist bump. 

“Betta doing good, she's been out of town visiting her mother and sisters” he said while mixing up your usual drink, dirty pina colada. not one for beer because of the taste and itll reminded you too much of your stupid father. “You miss her? Whens shes coming back?” you asked wondering when she’ll be back, she treated you like her own daughter after some poetry sessions you'd cry so badly in the bathroom, since you became a regular and pretty cool, they gave you a key for the back office that's so quiet and away from all the noise.

 “She should be coming tomorrow, she's been gone for 3 weeks! Not having her around the bar have been so quiet” he said coming around the bar, taking a seat next to you. 

“Here made your favorite, added a lil too much of alcohol but it should be okay” tom said giving you the drink with 3 cherries on top because he knows how much cherries are your favorite.

Taking a gulp from the drink you can slightly tell the more alcohol in this, burned your throat a bit but the chillness of the drink helped.

“The drink is wonderful and much needed” enjoying the drink while looking around its a full house, lots of people. Just thinking about being on the stage made you sick but thats why having one dirty pina colada was enough

 “Open mic is gonna be starting soon, i think Lewis is getting the mic set up” he said standing up from his chair stretching and sighing 

“It's been awhile since we got this much people, betta would be happy” 

You had your journal with you with all of your notes of places, people you meet, drugs you've tried, and all the poetry you wrote. It's something you don't want to ever lose. 

“Can I go first this time?” I asked nicely, giving him my biggest pout.

“Yeah i gotchu, want another drink? Virgin?” asked before wanting to add anything, he knew you drove here, doesn't want you to be impaired while driving, he cares about you too. 

“Yeah, thanks I appreciate it” accepting the drink while Lewis stands on stage getting everyone's attention.

“Welcome welcome our insomniac and alcoholics…..

Earning a chuckled from the crowd. 

Welcome to Dragons Corner, tonight we are hoisting our open mic and everyone who is everyone is able to come up here, thank you all for coming and enjoy your evening!!!’’ earning a loud cheer from everyone and having the small fainted of jazz music played, they like to keep it quiet when people are talking but not having any dead silence could get boring and make the readers nervous too. 

“We'd like to start off with our favorite writers Y/N!!” Lewis said clapping towards my direction to motion me on the stage having everyone cheering for me made all my jumping nervous calm again.

“Hello everyone, im Y/N and i will be reading some sort of love poem for someone that i wish would notice me, alright here we go…

When i think of you i think of all the good things life has to offer

like coffee on an early morning 

the first sight of the sunset or sunrise

Or when someone falls in love for the first time

The way you smile 

The way you laugh

The way your hair is poofy and curly

Sharing smokes, secrets, food, love

I wonder what's it like to kiss you

To touch you

To feel you touch my skin

I wonder what's it like making love to you 

My lips ache for yours 

Please notice me

Notice me how birds notice a worm on the pavement 

Notice me

I want to give you the world in this cold lonely world

Notice me………”

You finished and stepped off the staged, everyone snapping their fingers no one clapped during open mic it was just more quieter and better. “Who is this lover boy?hmmm” Lewis said walking down the bar and meeting your gaze

“This kid named Steve, i went to school with him. He was this big king of Hawkins high before Billy came into town and took that title. Steves sweet and nice. He's always looking out for me” 

you said smiling just thinking of him made your stomach want to do flips, just something about im made you feel so alive, he’d always make sure you were okay. 

“Does he feel the same?” asked while cleaning around being busy but still talking to you 

“I'm not sure, well i don't know, i wish i knew..” just the thought of him liking someone else made you sick and sad. You just wanted to be his.

“You're too wonderful Y/N, i bet he does feel the same” giving you a pat on the shoulder and giving you a warm smile the one that says ‘you got this’ 

You let out the biggest sigh and decided to head out. “Alright Lewis, Tom i'll see you guys tomorrow night!” waving at both of them as you were leaving the magical castle. Stepping outside was a little more chiller than before but luckily you dressed warm. Turning on your car playing fleetwood mac.

Returning to your cabin, you've decorated it with tiny lights so when you've come home in the middle of the night you can see where you're going and not fall and hit yourself like last time before buying the lights, recalling the memory and the pain you just glad it wasn't anything major. Although the figure waiting on your porch was something you didn't expect. 

“Steve?” you questioned the figure it was dark you couldn't tell who it was

“Hey Y/N..” he replied with a little sadness in his voice something you notice right away 

“Lets go inside, got something on your mind?” asked curiosity hoping it wasn't anything but bad but just wanted a friend

“I thought you were here like you said earlier but no one answered so I waited, it was only an hour, i dropped Dustin off and i wanted to see you again..” he smiled towards your direction while being distracted with your living room and how nice it looks.

“It's so cozy here” he said eyes wandering around can't seem to be fixed on something

“I try to make it as cozy as possible since it's just me, i need my home relaxing environment. It helps alot” you said while disappearing into your room to change into pjs, you hadn't realized you forgot to put on pants because your tipsy mind forgot about Steve

“Cute butt” Steve said while checking out your ass, couldn't help himself but also want to embarrass you. Realizing this you ran to your room to grab a pair of shorts 

“My bad, had small drink” your face redder than a tomato at this point. Steve on the other hand found it adorable you blushed really dark red 

“Soo steve why are you here and no home?” completely forgot about why he was waiting for you

“Well i wanted to see a movie but not alone and so i thought of you, i have movies we could watch” steve taking out 2 movies from his jacket and handing it to you 

“Halloween 2 and Alien, hmmm horror type? Lets watch alien i love Ripley” popped the movie in and went over to the couch where Steve started to get comfy

“Would you want to stay? It's late and I wouldn't want you to drive” you asked hopefully it'll be a yes since you could possibly ask to cuddle later on. You looked over to Steve lost in thought but snapped back to reality quickly when you asked him to stay  

“If you don't mind, we can make pancakes tomorrow” he said with a soft smile 

“Yeah i'd love that” 

[arcisfoodblog]

Next stop on Vancouver Island: 3 days to explore BC’s surfer’s paradise Tofino, and the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

The 225km / 140 miles getting from Courtenay to Tofino took us about 4½ hours, excluding our excellent lunch stop in Port Alberni at Twin City Brewing Company (4503 Margaret St), and was a bit longer than planned due to some road work congestion.

We started our trip on the coastal scenic Highway 19A up to Qualicum Beach. At Coombs, we turned south on Highway 4, and after 125km / 80 miles, you will arrive at a T-Junction. You either turn left to Ucluelet or keep following the (now) Pacific Rim Highway to arrive in Tofino after about 30km / 22 miles.

After checking into our Airbnb home pretty much opposite Cox Bay Beach, we drove down to Tofino to enjoy the weather and explore Downtown.

We decided to have early dinner on the at Wolf In The Fog (150 4th Street). The overall quality is pretty good, but the number of restaurants in Tofino is definitely not equipped for the summer holiday surge of people. Therefore, do make your reservations (or alternatively dine early or be prepared to wait about an hour in line for a table around dinner time).

We were early so we got seated on the first-floor patio. Consequently, we had a great view of the quaint town and spotted a couple of bald eagles soaring over the restaurant to boot.

We didn’t go for any appetizers, but I did want to try their specialty Potato Crusted Oyster. Despite happy gulping down the occasional oysters, it turns out that, texturally, fried ones are definitely not my thing. I had better luck with my main dish: pan-fried Ling Cod served with a great Moroccan-style Chickpea and Tomato stew.  Chantal had a delicious Tuna Poke, and we chose 8oz(!) pours of local Canadian wines, a 2017 Chardonnay by Bartier Bros (Oliver, BC), and a 2017 Sauvignon Blanc by Clos du Soleil (Similkameen, BC). The kids had a go at the House Made Pasta, which that day was made with fried Chicken, Mushrooms, and Sage.

The kids had actually done their homework on what to do in Tofino and had selected Tofino Licks for their fancy Soft Serves. We thought it was close-by Wolf In The Fog, but unfortunately, their old address was still included in Google Maps. Consequently, we had to walk from one end of the town’s center to the opposite end (220 Campbell St) to find Tofino Licks in a mini food court operating from sea containers, which consisted of several eateries, and a juice bar.

We loved this concept, and we can’t wait for it to start trending in the Netherlands. Pairing their smooth organic soft-serve ice-cream with delicious toppings from local artisans and restaurants turned out great. We had ones topped with the Chilli Chocolate Diablo Cookie by Tacofino (the original food truck of this Mexican eatery emporium is still just outside Tofino), Sobo‘s key lime pie and RedCan Gourmet‘s fudge brownie.

Unfortunately, the sky became cloudier close to sunset, but our beach walk on Cox Bay Beach was terrific, and the views from the aptly-named Sunset Point were still magnificent.

The next day, the weather changed for the worse (or more to a more normal state we were told), so we decided to drive 30 minutes to nearby Ucluelet. As it started to rain very hard, we only visited the small yet super nice Aquarium (180 Main St) and did some grocery shopping.

Afterward, we returned to our Airbnb and spent the rest of the afternoon doing some laundry, reading books, and sampling some of the BC brews that we accumulated along the way.

Another dinner option we had scoped out on our first walk through town was Kuma Tofino (101-120 4th St). We had a lot of luck to be seated within 15 minutes at a 6-person communal table, but the remaining 2 seats were not allocated during our dinner. We started the oddly refreshing Gin Pop Pop cocktail, combining the local Tofino gin, Calpico (a Japanese milk-based beverage), Grove Seedlip, Cucumber, and Citrus. Chantal was still in beer-mode and chose a Sapporo King Can. The kids had a Yuzu Lemonade, of which the sweet/sour balance was just spot on for them.

There were some Ramen Noodles ordered, and other dishes were ordered based on the family-style sharing concept. Everything was well received, so highly recommended!

Veggie ramen (Mushroom-Ginger broth, Agedashi Tofu, Cabbage,  pickled Shiitakes, and a marinated Egg)

House ramen (Shio-based double Broth, Braised Pork Belly, marinated Egg, Kale, and Nori)

Chicken Karaage (crunchy garlic Chicken, house-made Spicy Mayo, and Yuzu-infused Salt)

Tuna Tataki (seared line-caught local Albacore Tuna, Ponzu, Wasabi Mayo, Ginger, Garlic, and Green Onions)

Okonomiyaki (Osaka-style Cabbage Pancake, Bacon, Cheddar, Tonkatsu sauce, Kewpie mayo, and Bonito flakes)

Miso Braised Beef (soft-boiled Egg, crispy-fried Rice ball, Kale, and Miso Mustard sauce). The latter was eye-watering Wasabi strength deliciousness!

Our last morning in Tofino was spent walking the 2 loops of the Rainforest Trail of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, located at the south end of Long Beach close to the Kwisitis Visitor Centre. The trail has two routes, one on each side of the highway, and they are very popular (and the parking limited!) as they are obviously located in a stretch of temperate Rainforest.

This was a first for us, and as it was already raining, the humidity was overwhelming at first (“Fôret Humide” indeed). The temperature was actually quite agreeable, and the elevated walkways and stairs lead us through an astonishing and lush forest with thick green foliage wherever you look.

After this fabulous hike, we visited the Tofino Brewing Company (691 Industrial Way) for some refreshments. We had already tried their Kelp Stout back in Vancouver, so we were looking forward to sampling their other beers. From the flights with all of their beers, we liked the Tuff Session Ale, Blond Ale, and Dimension Ascension Dry Hopped Pale Ale best.

Unfortunately, the food options are limited to some snacks and not enough for a proper lunch. We did have some nibbles with the beers (maple-cured smoked salmon of their neighbors, West Pacific Seafoods, and some artisan pepperoni sticks from Port Alberni’s Pete’s Moutain Meats). As the kids were not a fan, we soon decided to head over 1 lot to Summit Bread Company (681 Industrial Way, Units C&D) to get some fantastic artisanal bread and pastries before heading back to our Airbnb.

Now knowing the drill in summertime Tofino, we had already made reservations for dinner at Shelter Restaurant (601 Campbell St).

Shelter Mule (Cucumber Vodka, Mint, Lime, Ginger Beer) & Frozen Bellini.

As shared appetizers, we chose the Buttermilk Fried Chicken (Farmhouse Chicken Thighs & Maple-Honey Soy glaze, pickled candy cane Beets, and fresh Dill) and Crispy Brussels Sprouts (Toasted Bread Crumbs, and Grana Padano).

To our surprise, our oldest wanted the Steak & Frites as his main course (225g / 8oz flat iron steak, Truffle Parmesan fries, Arugula, Chive Gremolata, red Wine Jus), while our youngest wasn’t all that adventurous by resorting to the – not depicted – Shelter Beef Burger (crispy Bacon, smoked Cheddar, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle, Mayo, Red Pepper Relish).

Chantal had a Kale Caesar Salad (Chopped Kale, Romaine, fried Capers, Black Pepper & Garlic Croutons, Grana Padano, fresh Lemon).

I had the Panko Crusted Lingcod Burger (Cabbage, Apple & Miso Slaw, pickled Jalapeño & Crispy Onions, Soy Dijon Mayo), with a side of Truffle Fries and Parmesan Dijon Mayo.

Shelter Restaurant was one of the places that were packed every single day from late afternoon through late. And for a reason: the drinks, food, and service were excellent and we had a delightful last evening in Tofino.

Around the World – British Columbia Roadtrip (2019) – Tofino Next stop on Vancouver Island: 3 days to explore BC's surfer's paradise Tofino, and the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

[kgstyr]

So if y’all for some reason want to hear about my Hurricane Florence story, then you’ve come to the right place. I raveled with my mother and eldest sister on our evacuation journey, while my sister and her husband and kid stayed home.

I’ll put it under a read more if you don’t want to read all of it, but just know it was a wild ride. And plz do me a forgive bc my memory is kinda shitty and selective so im prob missing great moments.

We left on the September 13th a little after 10 in the morning, but before we had even left, the outer bands of Florence were bearing down on us and we had already lost power.

We rode through the town of Swansboro, were the water was already high enough to lap the bottom of the tiny bridge into the town (even tho its low to begin with) even tho it wasn’t going to make landfall til the next morning.

/Now for all of you who don’t know about hurricanes, they usually only last 24-36 hours. It lasted for over 4 days. When hurricanes linger like that, it only makes it worse, even though Florence was only a category 1, it felt more powerful./

We kept driving, past Jacksonville, but until we got past there, I can’t tell you how many times the radio went off for Tornado Warnings (at least 4) up and down the coast of NC within an hour or so. I’ve been through a number of Hurricanes and Tropical Storms, but hearing all those warnings were a bit unnerving. Flood warnings started popping up as well, and as hard as it started raining I believed it happened that fast.

We drove up there pretty much without incident (we are direction illiterate, so almost without incident) up to the city of Pinehurst/Southern Pines, and stayed up in a hotel there for about 3 days. The first day was p good, we chilled up there- the drivers were aggressive as FUCK like run you off the road- it was real pretty with tall Carolina Pines and worldstar golf courses, just like country club on steroids.

The bed was kinda uncomfy and the window leaked a lil bit, but otherwise the first night was a good rest after a long day of driving.

But the next morning (or two, days get away from me), we went to the lobby to rent the room for another night, only for them to tell us that they had booked our room that day, so we had to leave. We were mad as hell, but we couldn't fight it given as we were in unknown territory, so we packed up our stuff and got ready to leave- only to tell us that they had gotten mixed up and that we could stay another night.

Needless to say, we were not happy about having to unpack, then repack, then unpack again.

When they said Florence was slow moving, y’all don’t understand how slow. usually, when hurricanes hit land, they may slow down for a bit, but they speed up and are usually carried out by the jet streams or approaching fronts within a day. It moved slower than 6 mph: ppl can walk faster than that.

The second day, it started raining where we were, and at first it was sporadic outer bands, but soon it become constant with fluctuating torrential downpours. By the end of the second day, the rains and wind had picked up enough to knock out the power to out hotel for an hour or so.

And the same thing happened with the hotel the next morning: they said they had booked our room, but then apologized and said that we can stay. This time at least we didn’t pack up before that.

Now, we went up to the Sandhills to get away from the flooding on the coast, but it came to us. The rain was pouring, and not letting up, and we went under a flash flood emergency nearly continuously from the second day onward, and evacuations across the county were in effect. After the third or fourth day, we decided to leave the area bc all of the water that was rising and evacuations.

After we had left the hotel area, we passed the town of Aberdeen, and we ended up pulling over at a gas station to look at the map (remember: direction illiterate family here) and that’s when I told my mother the famous line

“We should go back to Aberdeen, Mama.” Saying that we knew our way back home

But she decided not to, saying that we couldn’t go back because of the weather. We tried to travel south a lil bit to skirt around an area that was flooded, but we ended up getting pushed down way father south than we anticipated due to impassable areas and flooding, and we ended up on the outskirts of Rockingham. After riding around for hours, trying to find a way out, we ended up at a shelter for the night at the local high school because conditions had deteriorated to an unsafe level, and we were directed by some very nice highway patrolmen to where the shelter is.

None of us had even stayed in a shelter before, so it was a new experience for all of us. The people running the place were nice, but damn some of the ppl were annoying.

I now hate cots, and my Mama and sister hate them too. I really couldn’t sleep on it b/c of the steel rods in my back (scoliosis) and Mama has bad arthritis, so it wasn’t a pleasant night.

It got worse when Rockingham and the county started experiencing massive flash flooding in the middle of the night, and we were up half the night listening to the weather and keeping an eye out just in case we need to evacuate from the shelter. It became a lil more nerve-wracking when evacuees from other counties (like Horry, SC) were transported to our shelter. It was semi- peaceful at the shelter til like 10 other people were brought in.

I had said this several times by this point, but while we were trying to rest on horrid cots, I told Mama: “We’ve should’ve gone back to Aberdeen.”

Long night short, we were semi- kicked out in the morning, and we packed up our stuff and loaded up the car again, having made a soft plan the night before to head to the next town of Hamlet.

We were so tired and fed up and ready to go the hell home that when the car didn’t start, we all started hardcore panicking, and me and my mama, at least, are not panicky people. At first, we thought the car had gotten flooded from all the rain, but after a quick look around we concluded that that was not it, unless someone had just poured a bucket of water on our engine.

After several minutes of pulling each other’s hair out, we found out that the car just needed some oil. Either the long ride up the Sandhills had burned it all and we had rolled it in on fumes last night, or my sister didn’t exactly tell the truth when she said the car was fully oiled up.

Probably both, but that’s not the point (she is a special gurl no hate plz she tries her best).

After that, we stopped at the nearest Burger King in Hamlet and we tried to plot a course home, this time, trying to shoot straight up towards Asheboro and then going around Raleigh and coming home, because by this point other ppl from my hometown that had evacuated to Raleigh had come home from that route.

We left about 11:30-ish. We got as close to Asheboro as the city of Candor (google map it im bad at distance) and then got stuck on this loop for hours between Rockingham and Asheboro.

Literally at least 6 hours. A good chunk of that was trying to get to a town called Candor. We never found it nor made it.

At this point we were all at our wits end, screaming and yelling at each other (out of love ofc) because we are all so bad at directions that we can’t follow a straight line-

We stopped for dinner at somewhere, I can’t remember where, I think at Rockingham again, and then-

“We should go back to Aberdeen.” I say, and Mama laughs and asks why in hell we should go back. I told her that we had stayed in that area for multiple days and that I knew where the hotels in that area (Aberdeen, Pinehurst, Southern Pines, etc.) were-

It was nearly 6, and we were tired and exhausted and running low on money, so Mama agreed, because she didn’t want to spend another night in a shelter.

And, like I said, we couldn’t turn onto a straight line, so we got lost trying to find a hotel, but by a stroke of a lucky piece of my memory, I remembered where a Holiday Inn Express was in the city of Southern Pines, and we managed to find out way there in a darker-than-expected city. 

It was about 8:30 at night, and we were ready to just fucking perish when me and my sister went into the lobby, and asked the front manager if a room was available.

She said no, because a large part of the city had lost power itself and everybody in the town had crowded into the hotels. I felt my stomach drop just a tiny amount because we had been through direction illiterate hell to get there, just to not have a room for the night.

We asked her if there was any other hotel with a vacancy, and she checked and told us the nearest vacancy was in Durham, well over a hundred miles away. My sister, ever the conversationalist, ended up asking her if there was any way we could just crash in the lobby tonight. She said sure. So, we went out to tell Mama that we could stay in the lobby, and we got what we needed for the night to rest in the lobby.

We fully expected to be in the lobby all night, but then the desk lad left for a bit and told us that even though she wasn’t a housekeeper, she could clean a recently vacated room for us that night. We even got it for cheaper since we couldn’t afford the full price.

Lemme tell you, that was the quickest I’ve ever fallen asleep on a bed, and it was a gucci pillowtop bed too like 4 feet into the air, much better than the first hotel. Breakfast was a bit sparse, but that was understandable since power was limited throughout the city. We thanked her repeatedly for what she did; she had no obligation to actually get us a room, but she pulled a rabbit out of her Miracle Hat and gave us a good 8 hour night of deep sleep.

“See?” I said. “We should’ve gone back to Aberdeen.” My new favorite meme. Even though it was the next town over, it still counts as Aberdeen, right?

Over breakfast and leading up to our checkout time, we plotted our way home, and we headed out and started driving home at noon. And since we can’t follow our own directions, it was a tense few 10 miles or so before we got out onto open highway.

It took us a while, because our car is an older car and can’t get up the Sandhills that well, but we started seeing flatter land, and it was a blessed sight.

Mama saw a sign for the city of Benson, and she turned off the exit to go towards that city because she knew her way home from there.

Except like 300 feet from where she turned, the right front tire blew out. WE were nearly halfway home, and our fucking tire blows out. At the very least, I am thankful that it blew out 300 feet onto the exit and not 300 feet back, because if it had blown out on the Interstate we would’ve more than likely have crashed and killed bc no modern safety features on this old piece of beautiful junk.

We managed to roll it into a gas station on the left on the rim, the tire pushed inward and leaving the metal exposed, and that’s when we all had a coming to Jesus moment because back in Rockingham? Filling up the oil was a simple fix. Tire blowing out? We couldn’t do that on our own.

My sister went into the gas station to ask the clerk to call a nearby mechanic, while me and mama refilled our snacks then sat outside on a patio while we waited. Not 15 minutes later, an old, hunchbacked man came into an old, black truck that looked like it needed some repairs itself to check our tires.

Thank goodness that it was only hat one tire than had blowed out, having somehow been slashed all the way around. My sister, the socialite, told him about our harrowing journey up til that point, and I’m sure he could see the complimentary American Red Cross blankets strewn across the backseat along with everything else.

He only charged $40 for a used tire, a bad lugnut, and labor, which was amazingly cheap. He would only take $40, and he did a pretty damn good job because the ride was much smoother after that, and he even pointed out that the tires were misaligned. We got back on the highway, and started driving again.

The hills had started to flatten out when we got into Wayne county, and the trip was winding and calming down from all of our experiences earlier, but then we started to see signs of actual damage from Florence, not just rain and flooded roads.

It started out as just some snapped tree limbs, then smaller trees, then shingles and metal ripped off roofs and large trees snapped in half- and the smell- if you’ve ever smelt like, water mold or water that wasn’t were it was supposed to be (out of its basin), it was rancid and ripe, and not even rolling up the windows could keep it out of the air. I’ll never forget the smells.

The road was brown along lower areas, signs of recent standing water, and it was really visible as we went by Goldsboro. We didn’t go into the city because we had heard about the flooding, but we could literally smell the destruction.

It continued all the way thru Kinston, the smell of water mold and downed trees and damaged structures- we had to stop in New Bern to get some groceries because there were no more stores open after that stop to our city, and we went into a Food Lion in New Bern. There wasn’t much in there, but we got a few Pepsis and things, along with a tiny styrofoam cooler.

There prices were a little high, so we didn’t buy as much as we had planned on- plus their store was getting rather bare.

Someone stole a bottle of alcohol while we were in there, and that made us get the heck out of dodge super fast. Around that time, we had been passed by a fleet of 21 police cars/ SUVS heading towards New Bern and past it, lights on but no sirens.

We saw a few scattered in New Bern, Havelock, Newport- to stop the rioting and looting from earlier from happening again. When the news says people are looting these cities, they really are. New Bern had a lot of side roads closed, the road was a bit raggedy, and you could see what the constant winds did to the siding and roofs of structures.

Also I think one of those cops caught a guy we saw deliberately run a red light. Justice does work, people.

New Bern was bad, Havelock was worse. Nearly all of their side roads were closed, and over half of their street lights were off, which was not good for driving at like 10 at night. We saw cops lining a side street, and we just assumed that they were doing criminal shenanigans down there.

Plus I forgot to mention, frogs were everywhere. It was too dark to see them, but you could hear them for several counties in standing water. They were having frog orgies, I guess.

We knew the Newport River in Newport had flooded, so when the smell of river flooding was ripe, we knew where we were at. A lot more trees were down, and the road was dirty and brown with tree branches brushed to the middle lane or the side of the road, from what we could see in the dark.

My city  looked like someone took a fucking AOE chainsaw and went down the street and cut all the trees but with bad aim. The closer to the waterfront, the more it was obvious that there was damage, as quite a number of houses had gaping homes in their roofs.

The sister that stayed told us that the day after the storm, it looked like a bomb went off in the city, and even though they had gotten the worse of it off the roads and stuff by the time we got back, I believe that. The structures along the waterfront were flooded with the storm surge, and the cites across the Sound bore the brunt of it.

The power came back on for us just a few hours before we arrived home after 5 days of being gone, so it seems like we have perfect timing for that. Before the power started coming back on, it was like the county was a third world country Africa-style (still kinda is!) with the roads flooded making them cutoff from the outside world.

When people say they need donations, they need them. I’ve never had to go into a church to get a hot meal, but now I have. I’ve never slept in a shelter to get away from a natural disaster, but now I have. I’ve never gone to a store to scrounge around for food to restock our nearly empty shelves with, but now I have.

We didn’t get it nearly as bad as Wilmington, or Fayetteville, or Lumberton, but in the grand scheme, all the cities were affected in some way. 

Speaking of Lumberton, at the first hotel we met a very nice and polite black woman from the city of Lumberton, who said she lost everything in Matthew and was praying she didn’t lose everything this time. If she lost it all in Matthew, hen she probably lost everything including the kitchen sink this time as well. I hope there’s something left for her.

Also my Laptop broke (stupid Microsoft updates) at the first hotel on teh first night.

My apartment building sustained some damage (I wouldn’t call it major, but definitely some repairs are needed). It’s 2-story, and I’ve spent an hour today picking up some shingles and paint chips that had flown off the roof and onto the front side. Nobody else was gonna do it, and I didn’t want little kids to step on one with a nail in it and hurt themselves, and plus I wanted to help.

The wood for the balcony for the second definitely needs to be replaced, actually most of the balconies will need to be replaced, and the porch and lawn lights needs fixing bc many of them are bent or gone. A couple of apartments need extensive repairs in the back, and the trees that have snapped needs to be picked up- and the potholes need to be filled as well, but we’ve all been complaining for over 10 years to get them fixed and they haven’t been solved, and now there’s more- part of the sidewalk/driveway is gone somewhere.

The park across from us needs to have the trees picked up off of it, and it needs to be inspected so it’s safe for the kiddos. It could’ve been a lot worse if Florence hadn’t weakened, if it had stalled any longer.

IDK why u read all of this but for that I give u smooches. I guess this is just why I won’t be evacuating again unless its a Cat 5 barreling down on my ass because this was just 2 stressful 4 my frag ile ass. I guess if you wanna know more u can dm me but hey im just tryna survive in a third world city in America like the best boi i can be.

Just wanna shoutout the hotel desk girl who got us a room, the old tire man who spared out thin wallets and speedy service and that lady from Lumberton who I hope at least is somewhere warm and safe because GOTDAMN was our shelter cold as hell, like I felt like it was a solid 40 degrees in there. Plus all the little peeps along the way who helped us out in minor ways.

Also did I mention ppl driving in the Sandhills are rude and aggressive as hell? Yes? Well, I’m saying this again. They are the kind of ppl to road rage ur ass.

Just keep the smaller cities in the wide circle of Florence’s thot circle of destruction.

Yeet dabs

               ~Jek

[justiceforsendak]

VLD Rarepair week day 2 (yeah i missed day one, shush) Prompt: Roadtrip

Sendak wanted to get away from grad school for a while. This isn’t quite what he had in mind. (dedicated to @shiroklance bc this ship would never have occured to me if not for them)

When Sendak told Rolo he wanted to get away for a bit he was expecting a day trip into the city or something equally quick and simple, so when Rolo showed up in his dorm at almost midnight demanding that he pack for a few days and come outside he was understandably confused. Still, he grabbed enough clothes for a weekend and the essentials and stepped out into the night to find Rolo leaning proudly against a shiny purple corvette, so dark it was almost black, freshly waxed with the top down. "You finished it." Sendak observed. Rolo grinned, gently patting the passengers side door. "Just put the tags on it yesterday. Now come on, get in." Moments later they were on the highway heading out of town. The rush of wind through Sendak's hair was invigorating, and once they were out of the city he relaxed, letting the fresh air and twinkling stars overhead soothe him in a way nothing had since the semester started. It wasn't until they crossed the state line that Sendak started questioning their destination. "Someplace special." Was all Rolo said. He hit the gas and they sped down the empty highway, free as a pair of birds in the moonlight. They stopped for gas, mock-argued over who would pay, and ducked into an old diner that reminded Sendak of something out of a horror film. Rolo swore they had great burgers and the best pie in the country though, so Sendak decided to risk it. At least if he was horribly murdered he wouldn't have to take his business final. He was pleased to find that the owners were not murdering psychopaths and, after wolfing down the house special and two slices of pie, Sendak had to admit that Rolo was right. That was the best he'd eaten in months, and the place had damn good coffee. As a New Yorker, he was impressed.

With their hunger sated, they hit the road again, Sendak's fingers idly played with the ends of Rolo's hair as they wove through the hills. The longer Rolo drove, Sendak could see the tension in his shoulders melt away. Maybe he wasn't the only one who needed to get away fror a while. Finally, Rolo pulled onto a dirt road, winding through the trees. There was a slight chill on the air that told Sendak they were near water. A cabin appeared around the final bend, and a small smile appeared on Rolo's face with it. He turned to look at Sendak. "Well, this is it." Rolo announced with a vague wave of his hand. "I used to come out here with my brother and Mom when things got bad with dad. Ever since they split, I come out here when I need to get away for a bit. I thought you could use a little away time so, here we are." The moonlight was just enough for Sendak to catch the light blush on Rolo's face. Sendak smirked. "So, you picked me up in the middle of the night, drove me eight hours out of town and took me to your family's private cabin on the lake? I never pinned you at the 'romantic weekend getaway' type." He laughed. Rolo huffed and turned away playfully, blush darkening on his cheeks. "Well, maybe you're just special." He admitted quietly. Sendak slid an arm across Rolo's shoulders and pulled him close, resting his forehead against the blonde's. "You're gonna miss the view." Rolo murmured against his lips. "This is the only view I care about." Sendak replied. Rolo pulled away with a groan. "Aw jeez, and you say I'm the romantic one, you big sap." Sendak opened his mouth to defend himself, but was immediately shushed by Rolo, who pointed across the water. "Look!" Sendak reluctantly looked away from his boyfriend to where he was pointing. One breath, two, and the first rays of morning sun peeked between the hills, shooting across the lake like fire. It was beautiful, but the look on Rolo's face as the light spread over his skin was breathtaking. That look was what drove Sendak. The reason he pushed himself so hard in school, in his internship under Rolo's father, in everything. He wanted to put that awed look on Rolo's face forever, no matter what it took. "Alright, let's get inside." Rolo's voice broke through Sendak's focus. Sendak leaned heavily against Rolo as they made their way up the steps, feeling the fatigue of the all-nighter setting in. Rolo punched a few numbers into the lockpad with practiced ease and ushered Sendak inside. Taking both of their bags and throwing them to the side, Rolo grabbed Sendak by the front of his shirt and crowded into his space. "Here's the plan," He whispered hotly against Sendak's lips, "There are five beds in this house. Pick one to sleep in, and when we wake up you're going to help me defile the other four." "You know, suddenly I feel wide awake." Sendak said. Rolo just laughed and led him down the hallway. They'd have plenty of time for sleep and other things afterward, and maybe Sendak could put that awed look on his face for an entirely different reason.

[swiftsadprose]

Nashville : June 2017

This recent trip to Nashville was easily one of the top two vacations of my life. Since there are so many memories I want to hold on to, I decided to write them all down.. Early morning on Tuesday June 13th we headed out of Columbus. On our way down we stopped by Chik-fil-A, of course, and then at Dinosaur World in Kentucky. They have 150 dinosaur statues set up throughout their wooded park and allow dogs. It was the perfect place to stretch our legs for a bit before the final leg to Nashville. We got into Nashville around noon. It was too early to check into our airbnb so we headed downtown to the farmers market and bicentennial park. We let Samson cool his feet in the Rivers of Tennessee fountain park while we waited for our Bella Nova pizza. Then sat in the shade and ate lunch. After that we walked around the park seeing the Court of 3 Stars and Bell Carillon. We walked down the Pathway of History stopping to see their World War II Memorial and Statehood Memorial over the McNarry Spring. Next we killed time by driving around the east side, locating some spots we knew we'd be visiting and finding some iconic Nashville murals. We also stopped into Project 615, a clothing store in the Fatherland District. We bought each other a Nashville tee, since the traditional two year wedding anniversary gift is cotton. The girl working in the shop was so nice. She gave Samson treats and gave us 615 stickers. She also suggested we check out the pet shop a few doors down so we did. Samson had his fill of treat samples and we purchased him the most adorable rain poncho (even though it never ended up raining when he was out of the house, haha). Our airbnb was so cute. It's was a remodeled upstairs loft space near Eastwood. It was so close to everywhere we were going. My favorite feature was that we were able to leave Samson home alone when we went out to dinner or a show. (most dog friendly hotels won't let you leave dogs unattended in rooms FYI). Once we settled into the house we decided to just run out real quick and bring some dinner back to the loft. We decided on Dino's which was just 5 mins from us. Dino's is a serious hole in the wall but Chelsea Lankes swears by their burgers. Jerry and I agree, they were so good! Wednesday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn ready to start exploring the city. Our first stop was in the Gulch to find the #WhatLiftsYou wings. We then got some refreshing drinks from Starbucks to try and combat the already sweltering heat. We parked in Hillsboro and got some pastries from Provence Breads & Cafe. Everything we tried from there was delicious. They even gave us a free pastry for choosing them over a chain bakery. Hillsboro is such a great area full of local restaurants and cute shops. From there we walked over the Fannie Mae Dees Park in hopes of seeing the Dragon Statue but it was currently being repainted. But we carried on and traveled over to Love Circle. It's a large hill that has great views of downtown and the surrounding hills. At this point we were really second guessing our choice of this trek on such a hot day but since we were halfway through we carried on. We made our way up to Centennial Park. There was a great fountain right where near we entered which Samson loved walking through. Then we took a nice long rest on a bench swing in the shade. As we walked towards the Parthenon I bought some lemonade from the cutest little boy collecting donations for his friend at Children's. It was so refreshing on such a hot day. After Centennial we crossed through Vanderbilt campus to get back to Hillsboro. While passing by the football stadium we noticed the tunnel was actually open so Jerry walked onto the field. Once back in Hillsboro we got a patio table at Fido and had some delicious sandwiches for lunch. That evening, if you can believe it, Jerry and I got the amazing opportunity to meet and hang out with THE Chelsea Lankes. We've been such fans of her music for years. It's was indescribable to chat her up like a friend. We met at Barista Parlor in the Gulch and she bought us all a round of iced coffees. Chelsea and I had a bourbon vanilla iced coffee while Jerry had a caramel whiskey. We talked about mine and Jerry's trips to Nashville, Chelsea's time in LA, relationships, our jobs, dogs, how people don't know how to pronounce Lankes, true crime pod casts, long term goals, family and Chelsea's new music. At one point Chelsea checked her phone and said "it's 6:15" and Jerry and I both died, haha. She invited us out to her car to listen to some demos of some of her new songs which was seriously amazing. Every one she played for us was bangin', we can't wait for her to release the singles this summer. While listening, Julian pulled up. They're seriously so cute together. She got out of the car and they started dancing in the street. Jules climbed in the backseat with me and when Chelsea skipped to the next song he said "why'd you turn that off? it's about us cuddling". So cute. We snapped a quick photo together and had Chelsea sign our vinyls before she had to run off to hot yoga. At her suggestion, Jerry and I quickly checked out a roof bar at a nearby hotel and caught some great sunset views of downtown Nashville. After that Jerry and I being true tourists hit South Broadway. We grabbed a quick bite of hotdogs from a street vendor while we meandered through souvenir shops and listened to live music. We of course had to stop at Savannah's Candy Kitchen to load up on chocolate covered marsh mellows, rice krispy treats, candied apples and fudge. We stopped by Luigi's for a drink at the bar and a pizza to go. On the way back to the car we passed by the Country Music Hall of Fame to take a pic with the TS Education sign bc Taylor Swift owns my ass. So then we went back to our loft for the night. It was much later/darker than it had been the night before when we took Samson for his walk. The alley behind our house was basically pitch black. But honestly it was alright because as we were also smoking up ya feel. So we're walking and we turn up onto a main street. It was a little more lit but still pretty dark and we, ourselves, were feeling pretty lit. As we're walking up the street I see something just sitting there. At first I thought it was a rabbit because it wasn't moving. Then as we got closer I could tell it was just staring at us even though I couldn't see it's face, which is always a freaky feeling. For a second I thought it might be an opossum or a raccoon, both which would have freaked me the fuck out. As we got a little closer we realized it was just a cat and literally as we were realizing this we hear the nastiest low gurgling growl coming from a yard to our right. We look over and the whole yard and house are pitch black. We can only see a small white picket fence and hear this dog that sounds like it wants to kill us. So we're fucked up, already a little freaked out from the cat and now pretty sure some beefy dog is gonna lunge over this small ass fence and try to eat us. We power walked our asses out of that street as fast as we could! It was seriously the craziest experience! To update, we drove by that house like three more times trying to find out what breed of dog that was and how it was secured in that yard but never saw a dog there. Thursday morning, our anniversary, we woke up and took Samson with us to South Broadway to walk the John Seigenthaler pedestrian bridge, which Samson shit on haha. We saw some great views of the Titan's stadium and of the downtown skyline. Afterwards Jerry and I went out to breakfast at Fenwick's 300. Chelsea had recommended it because Julian works the bar there. It was a very cool restaurant. Their bar top was made from a lane from a bowling alley that had previously been in that location. The food was amazing. We toasted to our anniversary with some mimosas. Jerry got breakfast stir fry while I went with basic eggs, bacon and toast. We also shared the amazing french toast. It was great to chat up Julian. We mostly talked about dogs. I tried to talk him out of wanting a husky but I don't think it took. We were showing him a picture of Samson when another server brought our food. Julian elbowed her, "look that's Samson" and after briefly looking she responded, "uh huh, want some hot sauce?" Jerry and I thought it was too funny. We had planned to walk around 12 South for a bit after breakfast but 1) we'd misjudged our time and had a standing appointment at noon and 2) it had started raining. We decided to just drive through 12S to see if Amelia's flower truck was still there or if they'd left due to the downpour. Luckily, they were! We figured we better buy some flowers now rather than track them down again later. By this time the rain was really coming down. We maneuvered around swept away garbage cans to park on a side street. Jerry had to jump over a 3+ foot river flowing down the gutter to bring the umbrella around for me. Even with that, we were soaked through by the time we made it up to the truck. But I didn't mind. The flowers were so lovely. They traveled well and they're still giving off an amazing perfume in our bedroom. At noon we had an appointment at Gold Club Electric to get our matching 615 tattoos. It was so special to us to get the tats on 615 in the 615. The guys at the shop were so nice. Our artist chatted us up about Columbus, he used to live in Cleveland. The tattoos went so easy and quick. Once done the employees even helped us take an awesome pic of Jerry and I holding hands while showing off our matching tats. We then went just around the corner to Soda Parlor, probably one of the cutest places in town. They're known for their killer floats made from craft sodas and local ice cream. They're all topped with whipped cream and sprinkles and served in a Mason jar. I ordered the Freakin' Fosters which was a mix of Mike's vanilla ice cream and Sprecher's Orange Dream soda. Jerry got the All Hail Starstream with vanilla ice cream and Maine Root Mexicane Cola. They were both so delicious. Another very cool feature about the Soda Parlor is that they have a free arcade. I had to play TMNT. I just wish the game let me play as Michelangelo instead of Leonardo, haha, but I still kicked ass. Since the rain had stopped and we had some time to kill we decided to head back to 12 South and actually walk around. (We stopped by the airbnb to pick up Samson and change since we were still a little damp and the temp had dropped. When we walked in the house I asked Samson if he wanted to smell my Amelia's flowers. He did... and then tried to eat them. Haha, still laughing about that.) Walking around 12 South we mostly window shopped. But we did find the I Believe in Nashville mural as well as a few others. We never did find the "make music, not war" mural but that just means we'll have to go back. We also stopped into Five Daughter's Bakery. The donuts are expensive but seriously worth it. What I would give for a chocolate sea salt donut right now ladies. Later that evening we had tickets for the Bluebird Cafe. It's an iconic listening room in Nashville. Artists such as Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift were discovered there. We were ecstatic to get tickets since there are only about 60 seats able to be reserved. Luckily I was able get two tickets are soon as they went on sale. As for the show, I wish I could put into words how amazing it was. The artists, David Seger, JP Williams, Darryl Macquarrie, and Jeremy Busser were so personable. They joked with the crowd, told the stories that influenced their songs and played an amazing set. It's honestly a surreal experience and I'd recommend it to everyone. Friday was our last morning in Nashville. We didn't have to check out until noon so we decided to hit Shelby Park, a metro park right near our airbnb. We decided to walk around Sevier Lake. When we pulled up the parking lot was full of sleeping ducks and geese. I got out of the car and they literally came rushing over quacking and honking. Honestly, so sad I didn't have any duck feed on me. Walking around the lake we saw a man feeding the squirrels, lots of turtles and water birds. It was such a chill area of people just hanging out and fishing. My favorite part was a huge willow on the south end of the lake, so dreamy. We also hopped over to the Shelby Dog Park so Samson could run loose for a bit. After that we packed up the car to head home. Our last stop on our way out of Nashville was Consider the WLDFLWRS, a jewelry store that's owned by Emily (the wife of Ben who is the musical talents behind My Red + Blue). I've been following the shop's instagram and I love their pieces. Jerry bought me a small pendant with an H stamped into it. I adore it. The girl working the shop, Hannah, was so sweet. She loved meeting Samson and told us about her new pup Dolly. We got to chatting about how I knew about the store. Hannah mentioned that if I liked Ben's music I should check out Yøuth (aka Chelsea's boyfriend Julian). Turns out Julian was in Hannah's wedding and Chelsea is one of her very good friends! Nashville is such an amazing city, it's really like a big town. I cannot wait to go back xxx

[samanthasmeyers]

Work Trip Meets Mini Getaway: A Marketer’s Guide to Vancouver for Call to Action Conference

Conferences, conferences everywhere. SearchLove here, INBOUND there. There’s no shortage of great marketing conferences to choose from, but you’ve likely got a finite budget your marketing department can put toward them. How are you supposed to know which Martech events are the best bang for your buck?

We’ll make it easy for you. I mean, sure, we’re biased, but hear us out. This August’s fifth annual Call to Action Conference is not only:

Less expensive than most conferences of its caliber (tickets range from $749—$999 CAD), it’s also

designed for high-impact learning: you walk away with leading-edge tactics you can actually use when you get back to the office.

But the cherry atop the already awesome two days? The conference is held in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Vancouver, BC.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Barbershop Films

And not in an “it’s our hometown so we have to say it’s beautiful (lest we be Game of Thrones-style shamed in the streets)” way, either. It really is amazing: the ocean, the mountains, the diverse food scene, the beer-snob-approved breweries, and awe-inspiring wilderness that makes you forget about your inbox. There’s a reason tourists flock here in droves and I willingly pay a crazy amount in rent.

CTAConf 2018 also takes place in peak sunshine season, August 27-29th. So why not mix business with pleasure?

Many past attendees and speakers have added a few extra days on to their CTAConf excursion to enjoy this city. And if you’d like to do the same, we’ve created a visitor’s guide to CTAConf 2018 sourced from local influencers, this year’s speakers, past attendees, and our own favourite to-dos. See the pro’s suggestions below for turning this August’s work trip into a well-deserved getaway.

Wanna attend CTAConf for free? Scroll down to tweet this post for a chance to win a complementary ticket to CTAConf 2018, $500 toward your travel, and a “Destination Experience Pass” for free access to all local and many out-of-town attractions valued at $2000, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.* 

If you’ll be around a couple extra days…

The Call to Action Conference, insofar as the speaker’s talks, takes place August 28—29th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. There’s also an optional day of hands-on marketing workshops on August 27th at Unbounce HQ. If you tack on the weekend days before to your trip, or an extra few days at the end of the conference, here are some itinerary options to fill up your stay:

See the sea, walk the wall

Hands down, a walk, bike or run along the seawall is a must-do for every Vancouver visitor. Flanked by the Pacific Ocean and Stanley Park, it’s easily accessible from anywhere downtown and the simplest route to absorbing Vancouver’s natural beauty.

No need to bring the gear—rent a bike at Yes Cycle or Cycle City Tours, two of many rental shops.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Cycle City Tours.

Tour Granville Island: the island that’s not an island

Granville Island is like a tiny world unto itself, small in square footage but big on things to see and do. Peruse an art gallery, watch a play, go on a whimsical shopping spree at the many artisanal shops, and—most importantly—eat your heart out. There are tons of restaurants to hit, and be sure to poke around the Granville Island Public Market, an overwhelming smorgasbord of local fare.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Clayton Perry

Have a BBQ…on a boat!

While you’re at the Granville Island Public Market, load up a picnic basket and hop on Joe’s BBQ Boat—no explanation needed. Because what’s better than floating around on the open water and soaking up the sunshine? Doing so while working up a good meat sweat. Find fellow BBQ buffs to join you in the CTAConf Facebook group and fill that boat up! Conference networking at its finest.

Me, in the BBQ boat, living my best life.

Visit an East Van brewery (or two)

With fantastic breweries boasting some of the finest craft beers in the world, a good old fashioned crawl beckons any beer lover who visits. East Vancouver is your best bet for variety and walkability. You can check out: Strange Fellows Brewing, Andina Brewing Company, Parallel 49 Brewing, Postmark Brewing, Doan’s Craft Brewing, Callister Brewing Company, and Strathcona Beer Company.

Have your best brunch

It’s no accident that I’ve placed the brunch options after the brewery crawl. Whether you’re in dire need of a greasy spoon or looking to brunch in style, we’ve got you covered. Yolks showed up on everyone’s list when we asked around for favourite brunch spots, as did Chambar, Medina Cafe, and Fable Restaurant. Jam Cafe, Wildebeest, Catch 122, and The Distillery are guaranteed to please as well. As is Canadian brunch custom, you’re required to order a Caesar. Don’t ask what’s in it.

Image via yolks.ca.

Hit the Aquarium

If it does rain, your indoor options are covered. Conveniently tucked away in Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is a must-do. See giant sea lions and playful seals, watch penguins toddle and slide around (aw!), touch a starfish or manta ray (weird!) and try to find the octopus (you can’t, he’s too sneaky) as you journey through B.C. and beyond’s underwater world.

Oh canyon, my canyon

As past speaker Wil Reynold’s knows, the Capilano Canyon suspension bridge and cliff walk is worth a few anxious moments. Just a quick jaunt across the Lions Gate Bridge (an attraction on its own!), this otherworldly spot makes it hard to believe you’re so close to the city. Not too far away is another canyon and yes, another suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park—a little less crowded, 100% free, and as beautiful as ever.

Image via Tourism Vancouver

Lightning round recos for day trips and more:

Go to Queen Elizabeth Park at sunset. It has a beautiful view of the North Shore mountains and the city from west to east. The gardens are so beautiful in full bloom in August.  – Jaclyn Cummings

Head up to the Sea-to-Sky Gondola! You won’t regret it. It’s very accessible for most people and the views are incredible. – Rob Bucci

Stay in Kitsilano. It was a beautiful area! I would probably stay there every time I visit. I’d recommend bringing the fam—it was a great city to have the kid and felt really walkable, so take advantage of that. – Wil Reynolds

Go to Bowen Island and spend the day exploring. It has something for everyone from hiking and biking to eating and drinking. Check out my favourite store, Branch and People. Then go eat seafood and drink a good old Canadian Caesar. – Kathleen Reid

Drive up to Squamish via the Sea-to-Sky Highway, stop for a burger lunch at the Watershed Grill, then head up to Whistler for dinner and drinks. The drive itself is breathtaking. It’s the journey, not the destination.-  Sandy Pell

I feel like the Grouse Grind is a rite of passage. But for something more mellow, I think Prospect Point at sunset is a must see! – Sunny Lenarduzzi

Check out Stanley Park. It is truly a unique aspect of Vancouver – the park is huge (840 acres) and wilder than one would expect. Among other things, it has a record-breaking Big Leaf Maple tree that is over 800 years old. – Michael Aagaard

If you’re here for workshop and conference days only…

Depending on whether you’ve signed up for the August 27th workshops, Monday through Wednesday will be jam-packed with marketing learning. Monday’s workshops are optional and on a first-come, first-served basis after registration is sent out to ticket holders.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday are busy with talks starting at 9am sharp. These days you likely won’t want to miss anything in the theatre (save for trips to the food trucks outside). There’s a stellar lineup gracing our stage, after all.

But, if you fancy grabbing your own breakfast or want to meet up with fellow conference-goers for dinner or drinks, there are plenty of local places to do so. Even if you aren’t tacking extra days onto your trip beyond the actual conference, you can hit up some local spots before and after Tuesday (remembering that both Monday and Wednesday evenings are the reception and after party nights respectively).

Here are some suggestions for excellent pre-and-post conference free time:

I loved the food at Maenam, it was so good I went twice! I also liked all the breweries in the Mount Pleasant area. – Wil Reynolds

Elysian Coffee bakes their own chocolate chip cookies in-house and they are incredible. They also have great coffee. – Rob Bucci

One of my favorite places is Forage. They have an incredible brunch menu and their dinner as absolutely amazing too. Another spot that is worth checking out for dinner/drinks is Vancouver Urban Winery – yum! – Michael Aagaard

A chance to enjoy it all for free

In partnership with the fine folks at Tourism Vancouver, we’re excited to offer the chance at a Call to Action Conference Vancouver getaway worth $3,500 CAD! This includes one ticket to CTAConf, $500 toward your travel expenses, and a “Destination Experience Pass” that gives you free access to the attractions listed here—plus many, many, many more. All you have to do is click below and tweet.

Share this post via the button provided to enter for your chance at the ultimate work trip. The contest period runs until June 28th at 11:59pm PT and one entry per person is counted.

Or—if you’re not feelin’ lucky and simply can’t miss out—grab your tickets now with an additional 15% off using the code “CTAConfVancouver” at checkout. Good luck and we hope to see you in August!

The “CTAConf Vancouver Getaway!” Sweepstakes begins on June 15, 2018 at 12:00 am PST and ends on June 28, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the US & Canada, excluding Quebec and British Columbia. Entrants must be of 19 years of age or older.

One winner will receive a $500 CAD flight voucher, a ticket to Call to Action Conference, and a Tourism Vancouver Destination Experience Pass (approximate total retail value $3500 CAD).

Enter the sweepstakes during the promotion period online by sharing the prefabricated Click-to-Tweet on Twitter. Only one entry per individual or organization. Automated or robotic entries submitted by individuals or organizations will be disqualified. Any attempt by entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries will void entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified.

The winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received throughout the promotion period. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. The random drawing will be conducted within 24 hours after the promotion period. Winner will be notified by direct message on Twitter approximately within 24 hours after the random drawing. Potential winner must reply within four business days of being notified. Any winner notification not responded to may result in prize forfeiture.

Any personal information supplied by you will be subject to the privacy policy posted at unbounce.com/privacy. By entering the sweepstakes, entrants release Twitter of responsibility and agree to Twitter’s terms of use.

*Terms and conditions apply.

from Marketing https://unbounce.com/call-to-action/ctaconf-vancouver-getaway/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[josephkchoi]

Work Trip Meets Mini Getaway: A Marketer’s Guide to Vancouver for Call to Action Conference

Conferences, conferences everywhere. SearchLove here, INBOUND there. There’s no shortage of great marketing conferences to choose from, but you’ve likely got a finite budget your marketing department can put toward them. How are you supposed to know which Martech events are the best bang for your buck?

We’ll make it easy for you. I mean, sure, we’re biased, but hear us out. This August’s fifth annual Call to Action Conference is not only:

Less expensive than most conferences of its caliber (tickets range from $749—$999 CAD), it’s also

designed for high-impact learning: you walk away with leading-edge tactics you can actually use when you get back to the office.

But the cherry atop the already awesome two days? The conference is held in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Vancouver, BC.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Barbershop Films

And not in an “it’s our hometown so we have to say it’s beautiful (lest we be Game of Thrones-style shamed in the streets)” way, either. It really is amazing: the ocean, the mountains, the diverse food scene, the beer-snob-approved breweries, and awe-inspiring wilderness that makes you forget about your inbox. There’s a reason tourists flock here in droves and I willingly pay a crazy amount in rent.

CTAConf 2018 also takes place in peak sunshine season, August 27-29th. So why not mix business with pleasure?

Many past attendees and speakers have added a few extra days on to their CTAConf excursion to enjoy this city. And if you’d like to do the same, we’ve created a visitor’s guide to CTAConf 2018 sourced from local influencers, this year’s speakers, past attendees, and our own favourite to-dos. See the pro’s suggestions below for turning this August’s work trip into a well-deserved getaway.

Wanna attend CTAConf for free? Scroll down to tweet this post for a chance to win a complementary ticket to CTAConf 2018, $500 toward your travel, and a “Destination Experience Pass” for free access to all local and many out-of-town attractions valued at $2000, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.* 

If you’ll be around a couple extra days…

The Call to Action Conference, insofar as the speaker’s talks, takes place August 28—29th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. There’s also an optional day of hands-on marketing workshops on August 27th at Unbounce HQ. If you tack on the weekend days before to your trip, or an extra few days at the end of the conference, here are some itinerary options to fill up your stay:

See the sea, walk the wall

Hands down, a walk, bike or run along the seawall is a must-do for every Vancouver visitor. Flanked by the Pacific Ocean and Stanley Park, it’s easily accessible from anywhere downtown and the simplest route to absorbing Vancouver’s natural beauty.

No need to bring the gear—rent a bike at Yes Cycle or Cycle City Tours, two of many rental shops.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Cycle City Tours.

Tour Granville Island: the island that’s not an island

Granville Island is like a tiny world unto itself, small in square footage but big on things to see and do. Peruse an art gallery, watch a play, go on a whimsical shopping spree at the many artisanal shops, and—most importantly—eat your heart out. There are tons of restaurants to hit, and be sure to poke around the Granville Island Public Market, an overwhelming smorgasbord of local fare.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Clayton Perry

Have a BBQ…on a boat!

While you’re at the Granville Island Public Market, load up a picnic basket and hop on Joe’s BBQ Boat—no explanation needed. Because what’s better than floating around on the open water and soaking up the sunshine? Doing so while working up a good meat sweat. Find fellow BBQ buffs to join you in the CTAConf Facebook group and fill that boat up! Conference networking at its finest.

Me, in the BBQ boat, living my best life.

Visit an East Van brewery (or two)

With fantastic breweries boasting some of the finest craft beers in the world, a good old fashioned crawl beckons any beer lover who visits. East Vancouver is your best bet for variety and walkability. You can check out: Strange Fellows Brewing, Andina Brewing Company, Parallel 49 Brewing, Postmark Brewing, Doan’s Craft Brewing, Callister Brewing Company, and Strathcona Beer Company.

Have your best brunch

It’s no accident that I’ve placed the brunch options after the brewery crawl. Whether you’re in dire need of a greasy spoon or looking to brunch in style, we’ve got you covered. Yolks showed up on everyone’s list when we asked around for favourite brunch spots, as did Chambar, Medina Cafe, and Fable Restaurant. Jam Cafe, Wildebeest, Catch 122, and The Distillery are guaranteed to please as well. As is Canadian brunch custom, you’re required to order a Caesar. Don’t ask what’s in it.

Image via yolks.ca.

Hit the Aquarium

If it does rain, your indoor options are covered. Conveniently tucked away in Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is a must-do. See giant sea lions and playful seals, watch penguins toddle and slide around (aw!), touch a starfish or manta ray (weird!) and try to find the octopus (you can’t, he’s too sneaky) as you journey through B.C. and beyond’s underwater world.

Oh canyon, my canyon

As past speaker Wil Reynold’s knows, the Capilano Canyon suspension bridge and cliff walk is worth a few anxious moments. Just a quick jaunt across the Lions Gate Bridge (an attraction on its own!), this otherworldly spot makes it hard to believe you’re so close to the city. Not too far away is another canyon and yes, another suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park—a little less crowded, 100% free, and as beautiful as ever.

Image via Tourism Vancouver

Lightning round recos for day trips and more:

Go to Queen Elizabeth Park at sunset. It has a beautiful view of the North Shore mountains and the city from west to east. The gardens are so beautiful in full bloom in August.  – Jaclyn Cummings

Head up to the Sea-to-Sky Gondola! You won’t regret it. It’s very accessible for most people and the views are incredible. – Rob Bucci

Stay in Kitsilano. It was a beautiful area! I would probably stay there every time I visit. I’d recommend bringing the fam—it was a great city to have the kid and felt really walkable, so take advantage of that. – Wil Reynolds

Go to Bowen Island and spend the day exploring. It has something for everyone from hiking and biking to eating and drinking. Check out my favourite store, Branch and People. Then go eat seafood and drink a good old Canadian Caesar. – Kathleen Reid

Drive up to Squamish via the Sea-to-Sky Highway, stop for a burger lunch at the Watershed Grill, then head up to Whistler for dinner and drinks. The drive itself is breathtaking. It’s the journey, not the destination.-  Sandy Pell

I feel like the Grouse Grind is a rite of passage. But for something more mellow, I think Prospect Point at sunset is a must see! – Sunny Lenarduzzi

Check out Stanley Park. It is truly a unique aspect of Vancouver – the park is huge (840 acres) and wilder than one would expect. Among other things, it has a record-breaking Big Leaf Maple tree that is over 800 years old. – Michael Aagaard

If you’re here for workshop and conference days only…

Depending on whether you’ve signed up for the August 27th workshops, Monday through Wednesday will be jam-packed with marketing learning. Monday’s workshops are optional and on a first-come, first-served basis after registration is sent out to ticket holders.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday are busy with talks starting at 9am sharp. These days you likely won’t want to miss anything in the theatre (save for trips to the food trucks outside). There’s a stellar lineup gracing our stage, after all.

But, if you fancy grabbing your own breakfast or want to meet up with fellow conference-goers for dinner or drinks, there are plenty of local places to do so. Even if you aren’t tacking extra days onto your trip beyond the actual conference, you can hit up some local spots before and after Tuesday (remembering that both Monday and Wednesday evenings are the reception and after party nights respectively).

Here are some suggestions for excellent pre-and-post conference free time:

I loved the food at Maenam, it was so good I went twice! I also liked all the breweries in the Mount Pleasant area. – Wil Reynolds

Elysian Coffee bakes their own chocolate chip cookies in-house and they are incredible. They also have great coffee. – Rob Bucci

One of my favorite places is Forage. They have an incredible brunch menu and their dinner as absolutely amazing too. Another spot that is worth checking out for dinner/drinks is Vancouver Urban Winery – yum! – Michael Aagaard

A chance to enjoy it all for free

In partnership with the fine folks at Tourism Vancouver, we’re excited to offer the chance at a Call to Action Conference Vancouver getaway worth $3,500 CAD! This includes one ticket to CTAConf, $500 toward your travel expenses, and a “Destination Experience Pass” that gives you free access to the attractions listed here—plus many, many, many more. All you have to do is click below and tweet.

Share this post via the button provided to enter for your chance at the ultimate work trip. The contest period runs until June 28th at 11:59pm PT and one entry per person is counted.

Or—if you’re not feelin’ lucky and simply can’t miss out—grab your tickets now with an additional 15% off using the code “CTAConfVancouver” at checkout. Good luck and we hope to see you in August!

The “CTAConf Vancouver Getaway!” Sweepstakes begins on June 15, 2018 at 12:00 am PST and ends on June 28, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the US & Canada, excluding Quebec and British Columbia. Entrants must be of 19 years of age or older.

One winner will receive a $500 CAD flight voucher, a ticket to Call to Action Conference, and a Tourism Vancouver Destination Experience Pass (approximate total retail value $3500 CAD).

Enter the sweepstakes during the promotion period online by sharing the prefabricated Click-to-Tweet on Twitter. Only one entry per individual or organization. Automated or robotic entries submitted by individuals or organizations will be disqualified. Any attempt by entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries will void entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified.

The winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received throughout the promotion period. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. The random drawing will be conducted within 24 hours after the promotion period. Winner will be notified by direct message on Twitter approximately within 24 hours after the random drawing. Potential winner must reply within four business days of being notified. Any winner notification not responded to may result in prize forfeiture.

Any personal information supplied by you will be subject to the privacy policy posted at unbounce.com/privacy. By entering the sweepstakes, entrants release Twitter of responsibility and agree to Twitter’s terms of use.

*Terms and conditions apply.

Work Trip Meets Mini Getaway: A Marketer’s Guide to Vancouver for Call to Action Conference published first on https://nickpontemrktg.wordpress.com/

[kennethmontiveros]

Work Trip Meets Mini Getaway: A Marketer’s Guide to Vancouver for Call to Action Conference

Conferences, conferences everywhere. SearchLove here, INBOUND there. There’s no shortage of great marketing conferences to choose from, but you’ve likely got a finite budget your marketing department can put toward them. How are you supposed to know which Martech events are the best bang for your buck?

We’ll make it easy for you. I mean, sure, we’re biased, but hear us out. This August’s fifth annual Call to Action Conference is not only:

Less expensive than most conferences of its caliber (tickets range from $749—$999 CAD), it’s also

designed for high-impact learning: you walk away with leading-edge tactics you can actually use when you get back to the office.

But the cherry atop the already awesome two days? The conference is held in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Vancouver, BC.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Barbershop Films

And not in an “it’s our hometown so we have to say it’s beautiful (lest we be Game of Thrones-style shamed in the streets)” way, either. It really is amazing: the ocean, the mountains, the diverse food scene, the beer-snob-approved breweries, and awe-inspiring wilderness that makes you forget about your inbox. There’s a reason tourists flock here in droves and I willingly pay a crazy amount in rent.

CTAConf 2018 also takes place in peak sunshine season, August 27-29th. So why not mix business with pleasure?

Many past attendees and speakers have added a few extra days on to their CTAConf excursion to enjoy this city. And if you’d like to do the same, we’ve created a visitor’s guide to CTAConf 2018 sourced from local influencers, this year’s speakers, past attendees, and our own favourite to-dos. See the pro’s suggestions below for turning this August’s work trip into a well-deserved getaway.

Wanna attend CTAConf for free? Scroll down to tweet this post for a chance to win a complementary ticket to CTAConf 2018, $500 toward your travel, and a “Destination Experience Pass” for free access to all local and many out-of-town attractions valued at $2000, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.* 

If you’ll be around a couple extra days…

The Call to Action Conference, insofar as the speaker’s talks, takes place August 28—29th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. There’s also an optional day of hands-on marketing workshops on August 27th at Unbounce HQ. If you tack on the weekend days before to your trip, or an extra few days at the end of the conference, here are some itinerary options to fill up your stay:

See the sea, walk the wall

Hands down, a walk, bike or run along the seawall is a must-do for every Vancouver visitor. Flanked by the Pacific Ocean and Stanley Park, it’s easily accessible from anywhere downtown and the simplest route to absorbing Vancouver’s natural beauty.

No need to bring the gear—rent a bike at Yes Cycle or Cycle City Tours, two of many rental shops.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Cycle City Tours.

Tour Granville Island: the island that’s not an island

Granville Island is like a tiny world unto itself, small in square footage but big on things to see and do. Peruse an art gallery, watch a play, go on a whimsical shopping spree at the many artisanal shops, and—most importantly—eat your heart out. There are tons of restaurants to hit, and be sure to poke around the Granville Island Public Market, an overwhelming smorgasbord of local fare.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Clayton Perry

Have a BBQ…on a boat!

While you’re at the Granville Island Public Market, load up a picnic basket and hop on Joe’s BBQ Boat—no explanation needed. Because what’s better than floating around on the open water and soaking up the sunshine? Doing so while working up a good meat sweat. Find fellow BBQ buffs to join you in the CTAConf Facebook group and fill that boat up! Conference networking at its finest.

Me, in the BBQ boat, living my best life.

Visit an East Van brewery (or two)

With fantastic breweries boasting some of the finest craft beers in the world, a good old fashioned crawl beckons any beer lover who visits. East Vancouver is your best bet for variety and walkability. You can check out: Strange Fellows Brewing, Andina Brewing Company, Parallel 49 Brewing, Postmark Brewing, Doan’s Craft Brewing, Callister Brewing Company, and Strathcona Beer Company.

Have your best brunch

It’s no accident that I’ve placed the brunch options after the brewery crawl. Whether you’re in dire need of a greasy spoon or looking to brunch in style, we’ve got you covered. Yolks showed up on everyone’s list when we asked around for favourite brunch spots, as did Chambar, Medina Cafe, and Fable Restaurant. Jam Cafe, Wildebeest, Catch 122, and The Distillery are guaranteed to please as well. As is Canadian brunch custom, you’re required to order a Caesar. Don’t ask what’s in it.

Image via yolks.ca.

Hit the Aquarium

If it does rain, your indoor options are covered. Conveniently tucked away in Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is a must-do. See giant sea lions and playful seals, watch penguins toddle and slide around (aw!), touch a starfish or manta ray (weird!) and try to find the octopus (you can’t, he’s too sneaky) as you journey through B.C. and beyond’s underwater world.

Oh canyon, my canyon

As past speaker Wil Reynold’s knows, the Capilano Canyon suspension bridge and cliff walk is worth a few anxious moments. Just a quick jaunt across the Lions Gate Bridge (an attraction on its own!), this otherworldly spot makes it hard to believe you’re so close to the city. Not too far away is another canyon and yes, another suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park—a little less crowded, 100% free, and as beautiful as ever.

Image via Tourism Vancouver

Lightning round recos for day trips and more:

Go to Queen Elizabeth Park at sunset. It has a beautiful view of the North Shore mountains and the city from west to east. The gardens are so beautiful in full bloom in August.  – Jaclyn Cummings

Head up to the Sea-to-Sky Gondola! You won’t regret it. It’s very accessible for most people and the views are incredible. – Rob Bucci

Stay in Kitsilano. It was a beautiful area! I would probably stay there every time I visit. I’d recommend bringing the fam—it was a great city to have the kid and felt really walkable, so take advantage of that. – Wil Reynolds

Go to Bowen Island and spend the day exploring. It has something for everyone from hiking and biking to eating and drinking. Check out my favourite store, Branch and People. Then go eat seafood and drink a good old Canadian Caesar. – Kathleen Reid

Drive up to Squamish via the Sea-to-Sky Highway, stop for a burger lunch at the Watershed Grill, then head up to Whistler for dinner and drinks. The drive itself is breathtaking. It’s the journey, not the destination.-  Sandy Pell

I feel like the Grouse Grind is a rite of passage. But for something more mellow, I think Prospect Point at sunset is a must see! – Sunny Lenarduzzi

Check out Stanley Park. It is truly a unique aspect of Vancouver – the park is huge (840 acres) and wilder than one would expect. Among other things, it has a record-breaking Big Leaf Maple tree that is over 800 years old. – Michael Aagaard

If you’re here for workshop and conference days only…

Depending on whether you’ve signed up for the August 27th workshops, Monday through Wednesday will be jam-packed with marketing learning. Monday’s workshops are optional and on a first-come, first-served basis after registration is sent out to ticket holders.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday are busy with talks starting at 9am sharp. These days you likely won’t want to miss anything in the theatre (save for trips to the food trucks outside). There’s a stellar lineup gracing our stage, after all.

But, if you fancy grabbing your own breakfast or want to meet up with fellow conference-goers for dinner or drinks, there are plenty of local places to do so. Even if you aren’t tacking extra days onto your trip beyond the actual conference, you can hit up some local spots before and after Tuesday (remembering that both Monday and Wednesday evenings are the reception and after party nights respectively).

Here are some suggestions for excellent pre-and-post conference free time:

I loved the food at Maenam, it was so good I went twice! I also liked all the breweries in the Mount Pleasant area. – Wil Reynolds

Elysian Coffee bakes their own chocolate chip cookies in-house and they are incredible. They also have great coffee. – Rob Bucci

One of my favorite places is Forage. They have an incredible brunch menu and their dinner as absolutely amazing too. Another spot that is worth checking out for dinner/drinks is Vancouver Urban Winery – yum! – Michael Aagaard

A chance to enjoy it all for free

In partnership with the fine folks at Tourism Vancouver, we’re excited to offer the chance at a Call to Action Conference Vancouver getaway worth $3,500 CAD! This includes one ticket to CTAConf, $500 toward your travel expenses, and a “Destination Experience Pass” that gives you free access to the attractions listed here—plus many, many, many more. All you have to do is click below and tweet.

Share this post via the button provided to enter for your chance at the ultimate work trip. The contest period runs until June 28th at 11:59pm PT and one entry per person is counted.

Or—if you’re not feelin’ lucky and simply can’t miss out—grab your tickets now with an additional 15% off using the code “CTAConfVancouver” at checkout. Good luck and we hope to see you in August!

The “CTAConf Vancouver Getaway!” Sweepstakes begins on June 15, 2018 at 12:00 am PST and ends on June 28, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the US & Canada, excluding Quebec and British Columbia. Entrants must be of 19 years of age or older.

One winner will receive a $500 CAD flight voucher, a ticket to Call to Action Conference, and a Tourism Vancouver Destination Experience Pass (approximate total retail value $3500 CAD).

Enter the sweepstakes during the promotion period online by sharing the prefabricated Click-to-Tweet on Twitter. Only one entry per individual or organization. Automated or robotic entries submitted by individuals or organizations will be disqualified. Any attempt by entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries will void entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified.

The winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received throughout the promotion period. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. The random drawing will be conducted within 24 hours after the promotion period. Winner will be notified by direct message on Twitter approximately within 24 hours after the random drawing. Potential winner must reply within four business days of being notified. Any winner notification not responded to may result in prize forfeiture.

Any personal information supplied by you will be subject to the privacy policy posted at unbounce.com/privacy. By entering the sweepstakes, entrants release Twitter of responsibility and agree to Twitter’s terms of use.

*Terms and conditions apply.

Work Trip Meets Mini Getaway: A Marketer’s Guide to Vancouver for Call to Action Conference published first on http://nickpontemktg.blogspot.com/

[archiebwoollard]

Work Trip Meets Mini Getaway: A Marketer’s Guide to Vancouver for Call to Action Conference

Conferences, conferences everywhere. SearchLove here, INBOUND there. There’s no shortage of great marketing conferences to choose from, but you’ve likely got a finite budget your marketing department can put toward them. How are you supposed to know which Martech events are the best bang for your buck?

We’ll make it easy for you. I mean, sure, we’re biased, but hear us out. This August’s fifth annual Call to Action Conference is not only:

Less expensive than most conferences of its caliber (tickets range from $749—$999 CAD), it’s also

designed for high-impact learning: you walk away with leading-edge tactics you can actually use when you get back to the office.

But the cherry atop the already awesome two days? The conference is held in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Vancouver, BC.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Barbershop Films

And not in an “it’s our hometown so we have to say it’s beautiful (lest we be Game of Thrones-style shamed in the streets)” way, either. It really is amazing: the ocean, the mountains, the diverse food scene, the beer-snob-approved breweries, and awe-inspiring wilderness that makes you forget about your inbox. There’s a reason tourists flock here in droves and I willingly pay a crazy amount in rent.

CTAConf 2018 also takes place in peak sunshine season, August 27-29th. So why not mix business with pleasure?

Many past attendees and speakers have added a few extra days on to their CTAConf excursion to enjoy this city. And if you’d like to do the same, we’ve created a visitor’s guide to CTAConf 2018 sourced from local influencers, this year’s speakers, past attendees, and our own favourite to-dos. See the pro’s suggestions below for turning this August’s work trip into a well-deserved getaway.

Wanna attend CTAConf for free? Scroll down to tweet this post for a chance to win a complementary ticket to CTAConf 2018, $500 toward your travel, and a “Destination Experience Pass” for free access to all local and many out-of-town attractions valued at $2000, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.* 

If you’ll be around a couple extra days…

The Call to Action Conference, insofar as the speaker’s talks, takes place August 28—29th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. There’s also an optional day of hands-on marketing workshops on August 27th at Unbounce HQ. If you tack on the weekend days before to your trip, or an extra few days at the end of the conference, here are some itinerary options to fill up your stay:

See the sea, walk the wall

Hands down, a walk, bike or run along the seawall is a must-do for every Vancouver visitor. Flanked by the Pacific Ocean and Stanley Park, it’s easily accessible from anywhere downtown and the simplest route to absorbing Vancouver’s natural beauty.

No need to bring the gear—rent a bike at Yes Cycle or Cycle City Tours, two of many rental shops.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Cycle City Tours.

Tour Granville Island: the island that’s not an island

Granville Island is like a tiny world unto itself, small in square footage but big on things to see and do. Peruse an art gallery, watch a play, go on a whimsical shopping spree at the many artisanal shops, and—most importantly—eat your heart out. There are tons of restaurants to hit, and be sure to poke around the Granville Island Public Market, an overwhelming smorgasbord of local fare.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Clayton Perry

Have a BBQ…on a boat!

While you’re at the Granville Island Public Market, load up a picnic basket and hop on Joe’s BBQ Boat—no explanation needed. Because what’s better than floating around on the open water and soaking up the sunshine? Doing so while working up a good meat sweat. Find fellow BBQ buffs to join you in the CTAConf Facebook group and fill that boat up! Conference networking at its finest.

Me, in the BBQ boat, living my best life.

Visit an East Van brewery (or two)

With fantastic breweries boasting some of the finest craft beers in the world, a good old fashioned crawl beckons any beer lover who visits. East Vancouver is your best bet for variety and walkability. You can check out: Strange Fellows Brewing, Andina Brewing Company, Parallel 49 Brewing, Postmark Brewing, Doan’s Craft Brewing, Callister Brewing Company, and Strathcona Beer Company.

Have your best brunch

It’s no accident that I’ve placed the brunch options after the brewery crawl. Whether you’re in dire need of a greasy spoon or looking to brunch in style, we’ve got you covered. Yolks showed up on everyone’s list when we asked around for favourite brunch spots, as did Chambar, Medina Cafe, and Fable Restaurant. Jam Cafe, Wildebeest, Catch 122, and The Distillery are guaranteed to please as well. As is Canadian brunch custom, you’re required to order a Caesar. Don’t ask what’s in it.

Image via yolks.ca.

Hit the Aquarium

If it does rain, your indoor options are covered. Conveniently tucked away in Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is a must-do. See giant sea lions and playful seals, watch penguins toddle and slide around (aw!), touch a starfish or manta ray (weird!) and try to find the octopus (you can’t, he’s too sneaky) as you journey through B.C. and beyond’s underwater world.

Oh canyon, my canyon

As past speaker Wil Reynold’s knows, the Capilano Canyon suspension bridge and cliff walk is worth a few anxious moments. Just a quick jaunt across the Lions Gate Bridge (an attraction on its own!), this otherworldly spot makes it hard to believe you’re so close to the city. Not too far away is another canyon and yes, another suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park—a little less crowded, 100% free, and as beautiful as ever.

Image via Tourism Vancouver

Lightning round recos for day trips and more:

Go to Queen Elizabeth Park at sunset. It has a beautiful view of the North Shore mountains and the city from west to east. The gardens are so beautiful in full bloom in August.  – Jaclyn Cummings

Head up to the Sea-to-Sky Gondola! You won’t regret it. It’s very accessible for most people and the views are incredible. – Rob Bucci

Stay in Kitsilano. It was a beautiful area! I would probably stay there every time I visit. I’d recommend bringing the fam—it was a great city to have the kid and felt really walkable, so take advantage of that. – Wil Reynolds

Go to Bowen Island and spend the day exploring. It has something for everyone from hiking and biking to eating and drinking. Check out my favourite store, Branch and People. Then go eat seafood and drink a good old Canadian Caesar. – Kathleen Reid

Drive up to Squamish via the Sea-to-Sky Highway, stop for a burger lunch at the Watershed Grill, then head up to Whistler for dinner and drinks. The drive itself is breathtaking. It’s the journey, not the destination.-  Sandy Pell

I feel like the Grouse Grind is a rite of passage. But for something more mellow, I think Prospect Point at sunset is a must see! – Sunny Lenarduzzi

Check out Stanley Park. It is truly a unique aspect of Vancouver – the park is huge (840 acres) and wilder than one would expect. Among other things, it has a record-breaking Big Leaf Maple tree that is over 800 years old. – Michael Aagaard

If you’re here for workshop and conference days only…

Depending on whether you’ve signed up for the August 27th workshops, Monday through Wednesday will be jam-packed with marketing learning. Monday’s workshops are optional and on a first-come, first-served basis after registration is sent out to ticket holders.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday are busy with talks starting at 9am sharp. These days you likely won’t want to miss anything in the theatre (save for trips to the food trucks outside). There’s a stellar lineup gracing our stage, after all.

But, if you fancy grabbing your own breakfast or want to meet up with fellow conference-goers for dinner or drinks, there are plenty of local places to do so. Even if you aren’t tacking extra days onto your trip beyond the actual conference, you can hit up some local spots before and after Tuesday (remembering that both Monday and Wednesday evenings are the reception and after party nights respectively).

Here are some suggestions for excellent pre-and-post conference free time:

I loved the food at Maenam, it was so good I went twice! I also liked all the breweries in the Mount Pleasant area. – Wil Reynolds

Elysian Coffee bakes their own chocolate chip cookies in-house and they are incredible. They also have great coffee. – Rob Bucci

One of my favorite places is Forage. They have an incredible brunch menu and their dinner as absolutely amazing too. Another spot that is worth checking out for dinner/drinks is Vancouver Urban Winery – yum! – Michael Aagaard

A chance to enjoy it all for free

In partnership with the fine folks at Tourism Vancouver, we’re excited to offer the chance at a Call to Action Conference Vancouver getaway worth $3,500 CAD! This includes one ticket to CTAConf, $500 toward your travel expenses, and a “Destination Experience Pass” that gives you free access to the attractions listed here—plus many, many, many more. All you have to do is click below and tweet.

Share this post via the button provided to enter for your chance at the ultimate work trip. The contest period runs until June 28th at 11:59pm PT and one entry per person is counted.

Or—if you’re not feelin’ lucky and simply can’t miss out—grab your tickets now with an additional 15% off using the code “CTAConfVancouver” at checkout. Good luck and we hope to see you in August!

The “CTAConf Vancouver Getaway!” Sweepstakes begins on June 15, 2018 at 12:00 am PST and ends on June 28, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the US & Canada, excluding Quebec and British Columbia. Entrants must be of 19 years of age or older.

One winner will receive a $500 CAD flight voucher, a ticket to Call to Action Conference, and a Tourism Vancouver Destination Experience Pass (approximate total retail value $3500 CAD).

Enter the sweepstakes during the promotion period online by sharing the prefabricated Click-to-Tweet on Twitter. Only one entry per individual or organization. Automated or robotic entries submitted by individuals or organizations will be disqualified. Any attempt by entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries will void entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified.

The winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received throughout the promotion period. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. The random drawing will be conducted within 24 hours after the promotion period. Winner will be notified by direct message on Twitter approximately within 24 hours after the random drawing. Potential winner must reply within four business days of being notified. Any winner notification not responded to may result in prize forfeiture.

Any personal information supplied by you will be subject to the privacy policy posted at unbounce.com/privacy. By entering the sweepstakes, entrants release Twitter of responsibility and agree to Twitter’s terms of use.

*Terms and conditions apply.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 https://unbounce.com/call-to-action/ctaconf-vancouver-getaway/

[maxslogic25]

Work Trip Meets Mini Getaway: A Marketer’s Guide to Vancouver for Call to Action Conference

Conferences, conferences everywhere. SearchLove here, INBOUND there. There’s no shortage of great marketing conferences to choose from, but you’ve likely got a finite budget your marketing department can put toward them. How are you supposed to know which Martech events are the best bang for your buck?

We’ll make it easy for you. I mean, sure, we’re biased, but hear us out. This August’s fifth annual Call to Action Conference is not only:

Less expensive than most conferences of its caliber (tickets range from $749—$999 CAD), it’s also

designed for high-impact learning: you walk away with leading-edge tactics you can actually use when you get back to the office.

But the cherry atop the already awesome two days? The conference is held in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Vancouver, BC.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Barbershop Films

And not in an “it’s our hometown so we have to say it’s beautiful (lest we be Game of Thrones-style shamed in the streets)” way, either. It really is amazing: the ocean, the mountains, the diverse food scene, the beer-snob-approved breweries, and awe-inspiring wilderness that makes you forget about your inbox. There’s a reason tourists flock here in droves and I willingly pay a crazy amount in rent.

CTAConf 2018 also takes place in peak sunshine season, August 27-29th. So why not mix business with pleasure?

Many past attendees and speakers have added a few extra days on to their CTAConf excursion to enjoy this city. And if you’d like to do the same, we’ve created a visitor’s guide to CTAConf 2018 sourced from local influencers, this year’s speakers, past attendees, and our own favourite to-dos. See the pro’s suggestions below for turning this August’s work trip into a well-deserved getaway.

Wanna attend CTAConf for free? Scroll down to tweet this post for a chance to win a complementary ticket to CTAConf 2018, $500 toward your travel, and a “Destination Experience Pass” for free access to all local and many out-of-town attractions valued at $2000, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.* 

If you’ll be around a couple extra days…

The Call to Action Conference, insofar as the speaker’s talks, takes place August 28—29th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. There’s also an optional day of hands-on marketing workshops on August 27th at Unbounce HQ. If you tack on the weekend days before to your trip, or an extra few days at the end of the conference, here are some itinerary options to fill up your stay:

See the sea, walk the wall

Hands down, a walk, bike or run along the seawall is a must-do for every Vancouver visitor. Flanked by the Pacific Ocean and Stanley Park, it’s easily accessible from anywhere downtown and the simplest route to absorbing Vancouver’s natural beauty.

No need to bring the gear—rent a bike at Yes Cycle or Cycle City Tours, two of many rental shops.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Cycle City Tours.

Tour Granville Island: the island that’s not an island

Granville Island is like a tiny world unto itself, small in square footage but big on things to see and do. Peruse an art gallery, watch a play, go on a whimsical shopping spree at the many artisanal shops, and—most importantly—eat your heart out. There are tons of restaurants to hit, and be sure to poke around the Granville Island Public Market, an overwhelming smorgasbord of local fare.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Clayton Perry

Have a BBQ…on a boat!

While you’re at the Granville Island Public Market, load up a picnic basket and hop on Joe’s BBQ Boat—no explanation needed. Because what’s better than floating around on the open water and soaking up the sunshine? Doing so while working up a good meat sweat. Find fellow BBQ buffs to join you in the CTAConf Facebook group and fill that boat up! Conference networking at its finest.

Me, in the BBQ boat, living my best life.

Visit an East Van brewery (or two)

With fantastic breweries boasting some of the finest craft beers in the world, a good old fashioned crawl beckons any beer lover who visits. East Vancouver is your best bet for variety and walkability. You can check out: Strange Fellows Brewing, Andina Brewing Company, Parallel 49 Brewing, Postmark Brewing, Doan’s Craft Brewing, Callister Brewing Company, and Strathcona Beer Company.

Have your best brunch

It’s no accident that I’ve placed the brunch options after the brewery crawl. Whether you’re in dire need of a greasy spoon or looking to brunch in style, we’ve got you covered. Yolks showed up on everyone’s list when we asked around for favourite brunch spots, as did Chambar, Medina Cafe, and Fable Restaurant. Jam Cafe, Wildebeest, Catch 122, and The Distillery are guaranteed to please as well. As is Canadian brunch custom, you’re required to order a Caesar. Don’t ask what’s in it.

Image via yolks.ca.

Hit the Aquarium

If it does rain, your indoor options are covered. Conveniently tucked away in Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is a must-do. See giant sea lions and playful seals, watch penguins toddle and slide around (aw!), touch a starfish or manta ray (weird!) and try to find the octopus (you can’t, he’s too sneaky) as you journey through B.C. and beyond’s underwater world.

Oh canyon, my canyon

As past speaker Wil Reynold’s knows, the Capilano Canyon suspension bridge and cliff walk is worth a few anxious moments. Just a quick jaunt across the Lions Gate Bridge (an attraction on its own!), this otherworldly spot makes it hard to believe you’re so close to the city. Not too far away is another canyon and yes, another suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park—a little less crowded, 100% free, and as beautiful as ever.

Image via Tourism Vancouver

Lightning round recos for day trips and more:

Go to Queen Elizabeth Park at sunset. It has a beautiful view of the North Shore mountains and the city from west to east. The gardens are so beautiful in full bloom in August.  – Jaclyn Cummings

Head up to the Sea-to-Sky Gondola! You won’t regret it. It’s very accessible for most people and the views are incredible. – Rob Bucci

Stay in Kitsilano. It was a beautiful area! I would probably stay there every time I visit. I’d recommend bringing the fam—it was a great city to have the kid and felt really walkable, so take advantage of that. – Wil Reynolds

Go to Bowen Island and spend the day exploring. It has something for everyone from hiking and biking to eating and drinking. Check out my favourite store, Branch and People. Then go eat seafood and drink a good old Canadian Caesar. – Kathleen Reid

Drive up to Squamish via the Sea-to-Sky Highway, stop for a burger lunch at the Watershed Grill, then head up to Whistler for dinner and drinks. The drive itself is breathtaking. It’s the journey, not the destination.-  Sandy Pell

I feel like the Grouse Grind is a rite of passage. But for something more mellow, I think Prospect Point at sunset is a must see! – Sunny Lenarduzzi

Check out Stanley Park. It is truly a unique aspect of Vancouver – the park is huge (840 acres) and wilder than one would expect. Among other things, it has a record-breaking Big Leaf Maple tree that is over 800 years old. – Michael Aagaard

If you’re here for workshop and conference days only…

Depending on whether you’ve signed up for the August 27th workshops, Monday through Wednesday will be jam-packed with marketing learning. Monday’s workshops are optional and on a first-come, first-served basis after registration is sent out to ticket holders.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday are busy with talks starting at 9am sharp. These days you likely won’t want to miss anything in the theatre (save for trips to the food trucks outside). There’s a stellar lineup gracing our stage, after all.

But, if you fancy grabbing your own breakfast or want to meet up with fellow conference-goers for dinner or drinks, there are plenty of local places to do so. Even if you aren’t tacking extra days onto your trip beyond the actual conference, you can hit up some local spots before and after Tuesday (remembering that both Monday and Wednesday evenings are the reception and after party nights respectively).

Here are some suggestions for excellent pre-and-post conference free time:

I loved the food at Maenam, it was so good I went twice! I also liked all the breweries in the Mount Pleasant area. – Wil Reynolds

Elysian Coffee bakes their own chocolate chip cookies in-house and they are incredible. They also have great coffee. – Rob Bucci

One of my favorite places is Forage. They have an incredible brunch menu and their dinner as absolutely amazing too. Another spot that is worth checking out for dinner/drinks is Vancouver Urban Winery – yum! – Michael Aagaard

A chance to enjoy it all for free

In partnership with the fine folks at Tourism Vancouver, we’re excited to offer the chance at a Call to Action Conference Vancouver getaway worth $3,500 CAD! This includes one ticket to CTAConf, $500 toward your travel expenses, and a “Destination Experience Pass” that gives you free access to the attractions listed here—plus many, many, many more. All you have to do is click below and tweet.

Share this post via the button provided to enter for your chance at the ultimate work trip. The contest period runs until June 28th at 11:59pm PT and one entry per person is counted.

Or—if you’re not feelin’ lucky and simply can’t miss out—grab your tickets now with an additional 15% off using the code “CTAConfVancouver” at checkout. Good luck and we hope to see you in August!

The “CTAConf Vancouver Getaway!” Sweepstakes begins on June 15, 2018 at 12:00 am PST and ends on June 28, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the US & Canada, excluding Quebec and British Columbia. Entrants must be of 19 years of age or older.

One winner will receive a $500 CAD flight voucher, a ticket to Call to Action Conference, and a Tourism Vancouver Destination Experience Pass (approximate total retail value $3500 CAD).

Enter the sweepstakes during the promotion period online by sharing the prefabricated Click-to-Tweet on Twitter. Only one entry per individual or organization. Automated or robotic entries submitted by individuals or organizations will be disqualified. Any attempt by entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries will void entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified.

The winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received throughout the promotion period. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. The random drawing will be conducted within 24 hours after the promotion period. Winner will be notified by direct message on Twitter approximately within 24 hours after the random drawing. Potential winner must reply within four business days of being notified. Any winner notification not responded to may result in prize forfeiture.

Any personal information supplied by you will be subject to the privacy policy posted at unbounce.com/privacy. By entering the sweepstakes, entrants release Twitter of responsibility and agree to Twitter’s terms of use.

*Terms and conditions apply.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 https://unbounce.com/call-to-action/ctaconf-vancouver-getaway/

[racheltgibsau]

Work Trip Meets Mini Getaway: A Marketer’s Guide to Vancouver for Call to Action Conference

Conferences, conferences everywhere. SearchLove here, INBOUND there. There’s no shortage of great marketing conferences to choose from, but you’ve likely got a finite budget your marketing department can put toward them. How are you supposed to know which Martech events are the best bang for your buck?

We’ll make it easy for you. I mean, sure, we’re biased, but hear us out. This August’s fifth annual Call to Action Conference is not only:

Less expensive than most conferences of its caliber (tickets range from $749—$999 CAD), it’s also

designed for high-impact learning: you walk away with leading-edge tactics you can actually use when you get back to the office.

But the cherry atop the already awesome two days? The conference is held in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, Vancouver, BC.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Barbershop Films

And not in an “it’s our hometown so we have to say it’s beautiful (lest we be Game of Thrones-style shamed in the streets)” way, either. It really is amazing: the ocean, the mountains, the diverse food scene, the beer-snob-approved breweries, and awe-inspiring wilderness that makes you forget about your inbox. There’s a reason tourists flock here in droves and I willingly pay a crazy amount in rent.

CTAConf 2018 also takes place in peak sunshine season, August 27-29th. So why not mix business with pleasure?

Many past attendees and speakers have added a few extra days on to their CTAConf excursion to enjoy this city. And if you’d like to do the same, we’ve created a visitor’s guide to CTAConf 2018 sourced from local influencers, this year’s speakers, past attendees, and our own favourite to-dos. See the pro’s suggestions below for turning this August’s work trip into a well-deserved getaway.

Wanna attend CTAConf for free? Scroll down to tweet this post for a chance to win a complementary ticket to CTAConf 2018, $500 toward your travel, and a “Destination Experience Pass” for free access to all local and many out-of-town attractions valued at $2000, courtesy of Tourism Vancouver.* 

If you’ll be around a couple extra days…

The Call to Action Conference, insofar as the speaker’s talks, takes place August 28—29th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. There’s also an optional day of hands-on marketing workshops on August 27th at Unbounce HQ. If you tack on the weekend days before to your trip, or an extra few days at the end of the conference, here are some itinerary options to fill up your stay:

See the sea, walk the wall

Hands down, a walk, bike or run along the seawall is a must-do for every Vancouver visitor. Flanked by the Pacific Ocean and Stanley Park, it’s easily accessible from anywhere downtown and the simplest route to absorbing Vancouver’s natural beauty.

No need to bring the gear—rent a bike at Yes Cycle or Cycle City Tours, two of many rental shops.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Cycle City Tours.

Tour Granville Island: the island that’s not an island

Granville Island is like a tiny world unto itself, small in square footage but big on things to see and do. Peruse an art gallery, watch a play, go on a whimsical shopping spree at the many artisanal shops, and—most importantly—eat your heart out. There are tons of restaurants to hit, and be sure to poke around the Granville Island Public Market, an overwhelming smorgasbord of local fare.

Image: Tourism Vancouver/ Clayton Perry

Have a BBQ…on a boat!

While you’re at the Granville Island Public Market, load up a picnic basket and hop on Joe’s BBQ Boat—no explanation needed. Because what’s better than floating around on the open water and soaking up the sunshine? Doing so while working up a good meat sweat. Find fellow BBQ buffs to join you in the CTAConf Facebook group and fill that boat up! Conference networking at its finest.

Me, in the BBQ boat, living my best life.

Visit an East Van brewery (or two)

With fantastic breweries boasting some of the finest craft beers in the world, a good old fashioned crawl beckons any beer lover who visits. East Vancouver is your best bet for variety and walkability. You can check out: Strange Fellows Brewing, Andina Brewing Company, Parallel 49 Brewing, Postmark Brewing, Doan’s Craft Brewing, Callister Brewing Company, and Strathcona Beer Company.

Have your best brunch

It’s no accident that I’ve placed the brunch options after the brewery crawl. Whether you’re in dire need of a greasy spoon or looking to brunch in style, we’ve got you covered. Yolks showed up on everyone’s list when we asked around for favourite brunch spots, as did Chambar, Medina Cafe, and Fable Restaurant. Jam Cafe, Wildebeest, Catch 122, and The Distillery are guaranteed to please as well. As is Canadian brunch custom, you’re required to order a Caesar. Don’t ask what’s in it.

Image via yolks.ca.

Hit the Aquarium

If it does rain, your indoor options are covered. Conveniently tucked away in Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is a must-do. See giant sea lions and playful seals, watch penguins toddle and slide around (aw!), touch a starfish or manta ray (weird!) and try to find the octopus (you can’t, he’s too sneaky) as you journey through B.C. and beyond’s underwater world.

Oh canyon, my canyon

As past speaker Wil Reynold’s knows, the Capilano Canyon suspension bridge and cliff walk is worth a few anxious moments. Just a quick jaunt across the Lions Gate Bridge (an attraction on its own!), this otherworldly spot makes it hard to believe you’re so close to the city. Not too far away is another canyon and yes, another suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park—a little less crowded, 100% free, and as beautiful as ever.

Image via Tourism Vancouver

Lightning round recos for day trips and more:

Go to Queen Elizabeth Park at sunset. It has a beautiful view of the North Shore mountains and the city from west to east. The gardens are so beautiful in full bloom in August.  – Jaclyn Cummings

Head up to the Sea-to-Sky Gondola! You won’t regret it. It’s very accessible for most people and the views are incredible. – Rob Bucci

Stay in Kitsilano. It was a beautiful area! I would probably stay there every time I visit. I’d recommend bringing the fam—it was a great city to have the kid and felt really walkable, so take advantage of that. – Wil Reynolds

Go to Bowen Island and spend the day exploring. It has something for everyone from hiking and biking to eating and drinking. Check out my favourite store, Branch and People. Then go eat seafood and drink a good old Canadian Caesar. – Kathleen Reid

Drive up to Squamish via the Sea-to-Sky Highway, stop for a burger lunch at the Watershed Grill, then head up to Whistler for dinner and drinks. The drive itself is breathtaking. It’s the journey, not the destination.-  Sandy Pell

I feel like the Grouse Grind is a rite of passage. But for something more mellow, I think Prospect Point at sunset is a must see! – Sunny Lenarduzzi

Check out Stanley Park. It is truly a unique aspect of Vancouver – the park is huge (840 acres) and wilder than one would expect. Among other things, it has a record-breaking Big Leaf Maple tree that is over 800 years old. – Michael Aagaard

If you’re here for workshop and conference days only…

Depending on whether you’ve signed up for the August 27th workshops, Monday through Wednesday will be jam-packed with marketing learning. Monday’s workshops are optional and on a first-come, first-served basis after registration is sent out to ticket holders.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday are busy with talks starting at 9am sharp. These days you likely won’t want to miss anything in the theatre (save for trips to the food trucks outside). There’s a stellar lineup gracing our stage, after all.

But, if you fancy grabbing your own breakfast or want to meet up with fellow conference-goers for dinner or drinks, there are plenty of local places to do so. Even if you aren’t tacking extra days onto your trip beyond the actual conference, you can hit up some local spots before and after Tuesday (remembering that both Monday and Wednesday evenings are the reception and after party nights respectively).

Here are some suggestions for excellent pre-and-post conference free time:

I loved the food at Maenam, it was so good I went twice! I also liked all the breweries in the Mount Pleasant area. – Wil Reynolds

Elysian Coffee bakes their own chocolate chip cookies in-house and they are incredible. They also have great coffee. – Rob Bucci

One of my favorite places is Forage. They have an incredible brunch menu and their dinner as absolutely amazing too. Another spot that is worth checking out for dinner/drinks is Vancouver Urban Winery – yum! – Michael Aagaard

A chance to enjoy it all for free

In partnership with the fine folks at Tourism Vancouver, we’re excited to offer the chance at a Call to Action Conference Vancouver getaway worth $3,500 CAD! This includes one ticket to CTAConf, $500 toward your travel expenses, and a “Destination Experience Pass” that gives you free access to the attractions listed here—plus many, many, many more. All you have to do is click below and tweet.

Share this post via the button provided to enter for your chance at the ultimate work trip. The contest period runs until June 28th at 11:59pm PT and one entry per person is counted.

Or—if you’re not feelin’ lucky and simply can’t miss out—grab your tickets now with an additional 15% off using the code “CTAConfVancouver” at checkout. Good luck and we hope to see you in August!

The “CTAConf Vancouver Getaway!” Sweepstakes begins on June 15, 2018 at 12:00 am PST and ends on June 28, 2018 at 11:59 pm PST. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the US & Canada, excluding Quebec and British Columbia. Entrants must be of 19 years of age or older.

One winner will receive a $500 CAD flight voucher, a ticket to Call to Action Conference, and a Tourism Vancouver Destination Experience Pass (approximate total retail value $3500 CAD).

Enter the sweepstakes during the promotion period online by sharing the prefabricated Click-to-Tweet on Twitter. Only one entry per individual or organization. Automated or robotic entries submitted by individuals or organizations will be disqualified. Any attempt by entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries will void entrant’s entries and that entrant may be disqualified.

The winner will be selected in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received throughout the promotion period. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. The random drawing will be conducted within 24 hours after the promotion period. Winner will be notified by direct message on Twitter approximately within 24 hours after the random drawing. Potential winner must reply within four business days of being notified. Any winner notification not responded to may result in prize forfeiture.

Any personal information supplied by you will be subject to the privacy policy posted at unbounce.com/privacy. By entering the sweepstakes, entrants release Twitter of responsibility and agree to Twitter’s terms of use.

*Terms and conditions apply.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 https://unbounce.com/call-to-action/ctaconf-vancouver-getaway/

[arcisfoodblog]

The next destination of our British Columbia road trip was Courtenay, one of 4 stops on Vancouver Island. 

Courtenay is just a 90-minute ferry ride and a 15-minute drive away from Powell River. This was one of the ferry services for which we could make a reservation. Therefore, we left at 11.50am from the Westview terminal in Powell River to arrive at 1.20pm at the Little River terminal in Comox. As we wouldn’t be able to check into our hotel anyway, we took the opportunity to first explore nearby Campbell River.

We drove the 50 kilometers / 35 miles over the scenic South Island Highway 19A. But, first after the arrival: a great late lunch at Quay West (921 Island Hwy)

Clockwise:

Quay West Burger: Beef with aged white cheddar, bacon, and burger sauce

Ahi Tuna Poke Power Bowl: Quinoa, tuna poke, avocado, edamame, sesame seaweed, cucumber, radish, green onion, pineapple salsa, tobiko, gyoza crisps, and spicy mayo

Ultimate Burger: Beef with aged white cheddar, bacon, mushrooms, BBQ sauce, and onion ring

We washed down the food with some refreshing beers from Vernon, BC’s Okanagan Spring Brewery: The 1516 Bavarian Lager and the Extra Special Pale Ale.

We walked off lunch by strolling south past the Fishermans’ Wharf. Campbell River is the self-proclaimed salmon capital of the world and – under strict regulations which spring you can keep depending on the Chinook salmon season – you can a permit and get out your fishing rod and try to catch one from the Discovery Fishing Pier.

The weather was magnificent that day, so we enjoyed a late dinner on the enclosed patio of Il Falcone Restaurant (536 6th St).

Salumi Board with Bocconcini, Dove Creek Melon, Fruit preserves, Fresh figs from their garden, and grilled toast. Too bad that the latter were a bit caramelized…

Crisp, lightly battered Zucchinis & their ricotta-stuffed Flowers, Shishito peppers, Pesto aioli

The kids choose the classics with Buccatini: the Amatriciana (Bacon, Garlic, Basil, Green Chili, Olive Oil, Tomato Sauce, Pecorino) as well as the Carbonara (Bacon and egg sauce, Parmigiano Reggiano and cracked black pepper)

We had the daily specials: Chantal had the Eggplant Caponata with Tuna Steak, and I choose the oven-roasted lamb with 12 different roasted vegetables in a red wine jus. The 2016 Tuscan red Promis by Gaja was an elegant accompaniment with both dishes.

The next day we started with brunch at the cozy Atlas Cafe (250 6th St). Besides fresh smoothies and fresh fruit and yogurt smoothies, I had the Classic, being two eggs, scrambled, spicy Italian sausages, caramelized onions, and focaccia toast. Chantal had the Frittata (three eggs, arugula, tomatoes, leeks, and goat cheese, with focaccia toast) which was very good, but very filling. Not fancying anything with eggs, the kids choose the Chicken Quesadillas from the kids’ menu.

It was a good start for our hike in the Seal Bay Nature Park, where we took the southern part of the trails through the regenerated second-growth forest. We took the well-groomed trails on the waterside part of the park from the North/West side of the parking on Bates Road. Three trails lead down to the waterfront, where you have about one kilometer of beachfront to explore before heading back to the parking through Douglas firs, big-leaf maples, and red alders.

The next hiking stop that day was Nymph Falls Nature Park, about 5 kilometers to the east Courteney on the Forbidden Plateau Road. We didn’t know that the falls were relatively low and had loads of swimming opportunities, so we just hit the trails in this park.

Later that afternoon, we had a walk through downtown Courtenay, with stops at the small microbrewery Forbidden Brewing Company (Suite A, 1590 Cliffe Ave) and Blue Spruce Ice Cream (526A Cliffe Ave), No pictures, but the Spruce Tip (Locally harvested young spruce tips steeped in their custard base with a touch of lemon), Raspberry White Chocolate (Tart, tangy, and sweet raspberries mixed with white chocolate shavings) and the Krupnik Honeycomb (A spiced honey liqueur from Wayward Distillation swirled with sweet, salty caramel sauce and topped with made in house honeycomb candy) were absolutely outstanding.

With the rest of the family chilling at the hotel, watching bunnies hopping through the garden, I needed to fill up the car and chose a gas station close to Comox’ Land & Sea Brewing Co. (2040 Guthrie Road). No time for sampling, but I got a quart can of their delicious Glacier Cream Lager to go and also got some great tips for Vancouver Island craft breweries for the remainder of our road trip. Land & Sea started only late 2018, and the rate of expansion of craft breweries on Vancouver Island is insane: 33 during the summer of 2019, and there will be 39 by the end of the year!

Final Dinner while in Courtenay was at Gladstone Brewing Co. (244 4th St). You place your food order – options are limited to burgers and a few salads and sides – and pay at the food bar counter. Then you pick-up and pay for your drinks at the tap counter and find yourself a spot inside or on their patio. The food will come out when ready.

With 2 taster trays, we got to sample the entire range that was on tap that day: The Core Line up consisting of the Belgian Single, Pilsner, Hazy Pale Ale, and the IPA. The Seasonal ones were the Cream Ale, Kölsch, Czech Dark Lager, and Dry Irish Nitro Stout. The kids had some craft malt sodas from Victoria’s Phillips Soda Works, defintately their favorites.

The beers were great, as were the burgers. I had the superb 50/50 (Smoked brisket & locally-sourced ground beef patty, bacon, red currant ketchup, mozzarella, and smoked asiago). The kids had the Weekly Cheeseburger with Natural Pastures cheese and  additional bacon. When ordering, we totally missed the fine print that the burger’s standard serving was with Brioche buns and Aioli. Our fault for not noticing upfront given my son’s egg allergy, but the staff were so kind as to redo one with a lettuce wrap, and without aioli. Chantal had the delicious vegetarian Daredevil burger: Roasted yam & quinoa patty, guacamole, and smoked asiago.

The accompaniments were a bit underwhelming. We picked the Curry Salt Fries (great flavor, but the mix contained way too much salt) and the Poutine, which had a surprisingly bland gravy (typically, the breweries try to work in some of their own dark beers to give it more oomph). Nevertheless, a great place to hang out and enjoy some beers and burgers.

Around the World – British Columbia Roadtrip (2019) – Courtenay The next destination of our British Columbia road trip was Courtenay, one of 4 stops on Vancouver Island.