Vancouver, BC, October 28, 2009

I had quite the hectic travel schedule this week. I’d started in Las Vegas, been on a road trip to Death Valley, went back to Vegas, moved on to Pasadena and once I touched down at home in Seattle, I took the second packed bag at the door and set out in my car for Vancouver. This was all in a span of six days.

I adore British Columbia and consider Vancouver one of the most pleasant cities I’ve ever visited. Once I checked in to my hotel, I took a walk in the dark to my favorite local store (London Drugs) to stock up on Canadian goodies (Coke with no corn syrup, flavored Tetley teas, special candies). As I passed the various busy shops along Robson Street, I remembered all of the wonderful times I’d had there in the past.

I stopped into Chapters books to browse, then Starbucks for a hot cup of coffee. I retreated to my hotel room, checked my e-mail and relaxed the remainder of the night.

The following morning I grabbed a continental breakfast from the Hampton Inn dining room, then set out to meet Scott, his wife Leigh, and two of their friends at the stadium. We weren’t too far back in the general admission line (I don’t even remember our numbers), and the crowd was great, but it was so cold.

Though it didn’t begin to rain until shortly before we entered the venue, I remember taking turns going to my room across the street to defrost while the others held the place in line. I also remember us girls trading magazines and heading out for a hot lunch at one point.

My friend Becky from work was also in line, not too far behind us. Later on, we would run into Aaron (from Halifax) and Kim (from Portland), who we’ve been going to shows together for years. It really is like a family reunion when U2 hits the road.

The show itself was good, but the boys were showing their exhaustion. Adam had been sick and Bono’s voice was shot, then to top it off there were sound issues with his microphone throughout the night. I was glad that it was their last show of that leg of the tour, if only to give them time to re-charge.

When the show concluded, my friends returned to my room where they’d stashed their things, then headed out for their own hotel. I grabbed a cup of decaf coffee, drank it down to get warm, then packed and slept in my clothes.

I would be getting up at 4 a.m. the next day to make my flight to New York to see U2 perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Celebration. The plane was leaving from Seattle around noon.