We’re fans of Jeff Dunham, the world-famous ventriloquist. If you periodically watch YouTube videos, then you’ve likely seen reels of his various routines and characters (Achmed the Dead Terrorist, Walter, Little Peanut, etc). Once we had made our reservations for wintering in Issaquah, WA, MFI discovered Dunham would be performing at the hockey arena in Abbotsford, BC (population 110,331), and she purchased advanced tickets for the February 2024 show.
When the time finally came, I reserved the Thomas Crown Suite at the Brookside Inn Boutique Hotel, hosted by innkeepers, Chris and Sandi. Each of the six suites was movie themed and appointed accordingly. Chris register us upon arrival and was our chef the following morning. He prepared and served a delightful, complimentary meal in the Breakfast at Tiffany’s Dining Lounge. Sandi was responible for the detailed decoration of each suite. Our one-night stay was in a word, fantastic, but we were too tired to watch either of the DVDs.
Here are interior pictures of the suite with closeups of the unique wall sculptures. Seems that no expense was spared. However, people with coulrophobia (fear of clowns) perhaps could not stay or sleep in this room.
The show was titled “Jeff Dunham, Still Not Canceled.” We were part of a crowd I estimated at 5,000 strong. Our seats were on the floor and pretty far back; however, everything was projected onto a jumbotron for easy viewing. Dunham skillfully updated his performance for the Canadian audience and spoke about how he was already preparing for his 2024 Christmas TV special. He even tried out some of his potential Christmas material on us. We enjoyed the evening and laughed our asses off.
Abbotsford was only an hour east of Vancouver (population 2.6 million), so rather than return to Issaquah the next morning, we decided to check out the city first. Sarah and Michael had been to Vancouver while they lived in Seattle, and recommended we visit Granville Island. While once a real island in Vancouver’s False Creek waterway, Granville is now a peninsula located under the south end of Granville Street Bridge. This former industrial sector has been transformed into a multi-use area with a substantial public market, restaurants, a marina, a community center, numerous art studios and workshops, and a variety of performing arts theaters. Very poplar and well attended.
We spent nearly half a day walking through the extensive market (fruits, vegetables, meats, fishes, leather goods, and chocolatiers to name a few), taking in views of the city, contributing to the economy with some purchases, speaking with some interesting retailers, and eating an authentic German meal at Kaisereck. We base authentic German cooking on the preparation and taste of their spaetzle. This place got a thumbs up! I couldn’t get past one of the artistic chocolatiers, and they convinced me to get MFI an early Valewntine’s Day gift. These pieces tasted absolutely as delicious as they looked.
We took advantage of driving south on I-5 to stop at Bellingham, WA (population 91,482) and visit the port facility where we would expect to end our 3-day cruise from Skagway, AK (population 1,179) in September. Very nice facility! Walking through it gave us a certain level of increased comfort about our future travel on the Alaska Marine Highway.
