i love this place.

If you're unfamiliar, this is a painting of Main St., Vancouver. On the right is the Ivanhoe Hotel, a place I call home 12 nights a year when I bring CBC students into Vancouver.

The Ivanhoe has a certain rhythm. A certain smell. A certain sound (usually the ancient heating system...or the sounds of the late-night crowd at the pub below...whichever is louder). A certain "I can't believe that just happened" feel, such as the time Steven Segal made a movie in the building (which went straight to DVD by the way). I walked into a lobby full of African-American "SWAT" men. I can't say that's ever happened to me anywhere else. I love it.

What I really have grown to love is the people of the Ivanhoe. There's Chris who runs the front desk; then there's Chris who runs the cafe; and there's Chris who runs the pub. Yup, I'm serious. (Ok, well actually Chris #3 just gave up the pub and took over the cafe from Chris #2, so now there's only 2 guys named Chris).

But honestly, there are some wonderful people with incredible willing and protective hearts who take care of me and my students when we come into Vancouver. (I even ran into one of the maintenance men on the ferry going to the Island for Christmas last year - we had a little conversation about life and I had to chuckle at how life unfolds as I walked away).

Each time I'm there, the routine is similar. When I lie in my bed on the fifth floor of the Ivanhoe, I look out my window and watch the lights of Science World as I drift to sleep. At least two hours later I am awoken by some craziness outside below on the street. But that's part of the charm. You never know what you'll get, but you can be sure it will be interesting.

All this to say, I've grown to appreciate a place that as a child I saw as dirty, dark, and scary. Whenever I eventually move on from my role at CBC, I'm going to miss the Ivanhoe, the Chris...es, and the "who knows what" that keeps it interesting. I may just have to visit.