Go be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard

Today, it was sunny. It's not sunny that often in Vancouver and we wanted to get the most out of it.

So, we went and sat on a patio. Now, if you've ever spent a sunny afternoon drinking a beer in Gastown, Vancouver, it's likely you spent it on this patio. It's huge, covered in brick and brilliantly placed on the north side of the intersection for maximum sun exposure. (Being in the northern hemisphere, this is the only way.)

Yes, we should have been in the office working on Oistr but once in a while you have to take an afternoon off and go for a walk. Enjoy the sun. Then, go back to the office and struggle to cross everything off your to do list. Maybe take a nap. But, at 8pm when you're still working, you can feel proud of what you've accomplished - maybe.

Back to the idea of being a tourist in your own town, I decided to climb up on a statue of Gassy Jack. Legend has it when Vancouver was nothing but a small collection of miners and fishermen, Gassy Jack said, "If you build me a bar, I will serve you the liquor."
Unsurprisingly, the bar was put up in a day.

Gastown is a very historic area of our great city of Vancouver and I have never once explored it. There are bus and walking tours, plaques all over the place and a lot of history. I've never looked for any of it.

That made me think. People go on vacation, take the tours, take pictures of themselves with mascots and statues and monuments, but they never do that in their own city. I think people should more often.

For Oistr we're going to have contests to get people to go do this stuff, learn about their own city and have a good time doing it. Then, as luck would have it, they'll be able to put up their pictures, their thoughts and let other people enjoy them.... Think about it, if you're planning a vacation, wouldn't you want to see pictures of the locals doing the cool activities? Wouldn't that be useful to you?

I think it would.