Just when I was lamenting that my tan from my Paris trip had faded, I went and got myself sunburnt. Ack!
It was during the BC Day long weekend, a civic observance which translate to a 3 day weekend or otherwise known as “any reason for us Lotuslanders to party.” But hey, not that I’m complaining. We need more 3 day weekends, especially in the summer.
It was not at fake and bake, nor suntanning like rotisserie chicken at a beach that I got burnt at. Rather, it was attending a 4.5 hour boat party Sunday afternoon, departing from the Plaza of Nations pier and sailing out and around English Bay.
The boat party was attending by 200 weekend revellers, intent on dancing their hearts out on the top deck to the thumping beats of house music. We were the only big ship sailing out of the strait, into open waters and garnering attention every knot we clipped. I don’t know who was the bigger spectacle – the people waving at us from land (or in some cases, their small dingys/rafts/boats) or the bunch of us, getting down and grooving like we used 10 years ago.
Sidebar: The next day, when I was recounting the tale of our sailing adventure, my friend said, “Oh! So YOU were the booze cruise that my friend saw out in the water!”
You couldn’t ask for better weather and that coupled with great friends and hearty beats served to amplify the beauty that is Vancouver. I may sometimes bemoan Vancouver’s lack of cultural attractions and exhibitions, but I have nothing but good things to say in regards to the scenic surroundings. And getting carried away with admiring the beautiful environment is what led me to my getting way too much sun.
I came home drained, flushed and slightly dehydrated. Not a beach person to begin with (I’m laughed at by friends when we go to the beach and all I want to do is find some shade to sit under), it’s pretty much a guarantee that the same night after an extended time out in the sun would find me absolutely knackered on the couch, or if this was Victorian times, on a tufted brocade chaise lounge.
And although I may not all out dance at these boat parties like I used to in my 20s, I still appreciate this very scene that defined my partying years and from which made some of my very great friendships of today.
Only now I’m starting to show my age. My recommendation in the suggestion box?
Charter a small ship, with no more than a couple dozen friends whom some would also happily jump at the chance to do double duty as DJs and sail the waters of another locale. St. Lucia perhaps? What about the Greek isles? The canals of Amsterdam or Venice also has a nice ring to it. The world is made up of 70% water….I’d be happy anywhere we’d choose.
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