Ever Seen a Grown Man Act Like a Kid?

Remember that excitement of doing something new when you were a kid? How you would get so anxious for the experience that falling asleep the night before was practically impossible. That’s what travel does. It makes grown-ups all excited for something new.

That’s what Vancouver did to my husband.

“We’re trying Japadog” were Frank’s words after booking the flight. Japadog is a like a fusion hotdog place, where they put a whole new spin on the traditional hotdog. There’s okonomi and yakisoba hotdogs on the menu, to  name a few.

So he booked the hotel, which was coincidentally very close to Japadog. Excitedly, we made our way over the restaurant only to see a sign that said Japadog was closed for the entire week. Our faces dropped. We kicked invisible rocks back to the hotel reminding ourselves that this is why we don’t have expectations for travel: you could be let down.

That isn’t to say that we were disappointed by our trip. In fact, Vancouver was a lot of fun. It’s such a gorgeous city with a lot of cool things to look at.

Like the Hotel Europe in Gastown.

The flat as an iron Flatiron.

Or how at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden, my wish to be a billionaire will come true because I hit the gong with my lucky Croatian 5 kuna coin. That’s the power of a little patience and a C- minus in PE softball.

How to be a billionaire: all it takes is one lucky shot.

How we rented bikes to ride around Stanley Park, a gorgeous park with forested paths and open bike and walkways along the Vancouver Harbor. We took some photos of a lighthouse and some totem polls. And managed to piss off some Canadians (which is actually pretty hard to do) because I fixed my bike on the sidewalk.

The sunniest day. Ever. Totem poles lighthouse in Stanley Park

And that special moment I saw how hard my husband works to plan our trips. He’s the travel planner for our all our travels and he does a really good job at. But, homeboy needs a break. He needs to feel like a kid again.

See that? That’s the face of research. And the other face..travelers constipation

On our way to Richmond on the metro, Frank saw two signs fly by. “Is that a Taiwanese Grocery Store?” he asked. Sure enough, it was a entire store dedicated to every Taiwanese grocery item and snack you could possibly think of. Like a kid in a candy store, he stocked up on chips, candies and milk tea drinks. As he walked up to the cash register, reality set in that we only had a backpack-sized storage. So, like a kid whose mom just told him he could only have a pound of candy and not two pounds, he settled for a few bags of chips and a couple of bottles of tea.

As we hopped back on the train, Frank asked: “what’s that sign say over there.”

“It says: ‘night market,’” since my best job on our travels is to be the eagle eye.

His mouth dropped.

See that? That’s excitement.

Sure enough, the Richmond Night Market was modeled to be just like the beloved night markets he grew up with in Taiwan. With some grilled squid, boba tea, french-fried coated corn dogs, and some cereal killa ice cream, Frank was a like a kid in Disneyland: with his eyes bigger than his stomach and way too much cotton candy… or in this case, too much squid. He didn’t want to leave that night. Every food stall was like a brand new surprise or a proverbial ride on Magic Mountain.

Nce 2000. Stinky tofu baybee! Squid Ice cream on a stick. All good things come on sticks.

That’s how a grown man gets to be a kid again. And of course, with no expectations.

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