End of Eras (Seattle, WA, USA and Vancouver, BC, Canada)

With Chris, Casey and Holly at the final Eras show in Vancouver

December 6, 2024

Two days ago my son asked me if I were really going all the way to Vancouver to see Taylor Swift. And the answer is yes. And no. It's more complicated than that. Am I going to what will arguably be the BIGGEST event of the night in the entire WORLD on Sunday night? Yes. However, I'll be one of the few people there who isn't there for Taylor. Or even her opening act, Gracie Abrams. I'll be a screaming fan, all right, but for my beautiful and talented cousin, Casey. Casey plays the keyboard, sings back-up and is the Musical Director for Gracie Abrams. Casey has always been destined for greatness and it doesn't get much greater than the Eras tour. So, yes. I am really going all the way to Vancouver to see Taylor Swift. But she's not the reason I'm going.

Packing all the essentials

So early on this fine morning, I find myself headed to the airport with my brother. Chris and I are flying up to Seattle to meet up with Holly and Howard for the weekend. We have to fly to Seattle because all flights to Vancouver have long been booked. No matter. It's an adventure!

It's an easy flight up to Seattle and then reality sets in. We are joined by HUNDREDS of Swifties in the line for the rental car bus. I guess many, many, MANY other people had the same idea we had. Luckily, Howard and Holly have already picked up the rental car so off we go. And it's slow going indeed. It's around 3:45 or so when we leave and we had hoped to make a 7:15 dinner reservation, but early on we realize that will not be happening. We have been worried about the border crossing when we should have been concerned with traffic. Oh well. We chat and laugh and make the best of it. It's a road trip, after all! Chris calls the concierge at our hotel to relinquish our dinner reservation and we make someone else's night by giving up our prime time table for four at a wonderful restaurant.

What's a family road trip without a stop for fast food! And we are SO happy to see the border!!!

The border crossing** takes less than 15 minutes and we end up arriving at our hotel around 8:30. It's a beautiful hotel right on the water and we look forward to exploring downtown Vancouver over the weekend.

Waiting for us in the room with a nice note. Love!!! Fairmont, for the win!

But first, we drop our bags and walk across the street to Miku for a late dinner. The concierge is able to get us in after all. It's a sushi place literally across the street from the Fairmont Waterfront. And it is SO delish. We are all so pleased to be starting our adventure and to be together and to be eating wonderful food. We start with an amazing lobster ceviche and O.M.G. is it fabulous. Chris and I split some rolls, Holly gets the Wagyu beef, Howard gets an array of sushi. It's alllllllll good. It's a few hours later than we would have liked, but we make it work.

Did someone say dessert????

The last vacation I went on with my brother was in May of 2020 when we got an airbnb together in Sedona with our families. We see each other as frequently as we can, but it's always with my niece and nephew and, while I love them dearly, it's nice to have adult time. Chris and I are on a road trip vacation and sharing a hotel room AND without our kids for probably the first time since we were kids and it's hilarious to me. He is an easy travel companion and it's nice to not have responsibilities for the next few days.

**At the border the guard asks why we are going to Canada. We say, for the concert. Which concert, he says. Hahahahahahahahaha. Well played, Canadian border guard with a dozen friendship bracelets on your arm.

December 7

Holly and I are up before the sun for our swim. The pool is heated and we are the only ones out doing laps.

We have breakfast in the hotel and then walk around a bit before Casey stops by the hotel.

Also, total bonus!!!! A chance to meet the sister of my travel soul mate, Wendy. You may remember Wendy from last summer's Bali blogs and she will be featured again in an upcoming travel blog as I'm meeting up with her next week in the Caribbean. I have known Wendy for about 20 years but how has it taken this long to meet her sister!!!! Especially a sister who lives in the same state as me! I guess it takes the Taylor Swift concert in a different country. At any rate, Kara is in town and staying at the hotel right across from ours so she heads over to say hi and for her daughter, Sam, to meet Casey. Sam is a big Gracie fan so I'm glad it worked out for her to meet up with Casey.

Casey has a bit of free time before she has to get ready for tonight's show so we walk around the area and have lunch at Cactus Club. And we marvel about how great she has it being on this tour. She can walk around town unrecognized and do her thing and have lunch with her family, but then later tonight will have an all-access pass at the arena and will get to perform in front of 70,000 people. And lucky us, we get to come along for the ride!!!

Cousin photo!

We say goodbye to Casey and drop off Howard's lunch in the hotel and then we have a few hours before our dinner reservation. What to do? Well, on the drive in from the airport we saw a sign for this place and figure why not:

And those smiles on Holly and Chris are BEFORE the foot massages!!!

A foot massage is always a good idea.

I'm not really sure what is going on in the photo behind me. The Eiffel Tower in the water??? Whatevs, once they give me a cozy blanket and commence foot rubbing it suddenly seems to matter not at all.

The only thing left to do to cap off such a fun day is to eat again, which we do. This time it's at a place called Riley's. It's a cute, cozy steak place that we walk to from our hotel that is also very upscale and has incredible food. Holly and Howard always find the BEST places to eat. I'm still blissed out from the foot massage and decide I don't need a drink, until bad influence Holly (see the Vegas blog from last September for more evidence of her coercion)

points out the Coco Mo on the cocktail menu. The drink is fab, the food is yummy--so much so that I only take a few photos. That's a sign of a good meal. When you are too busy eating to snap pictures!

December 8

CONCERT DAY!!!!!

Holly and I are up early to do our laps. Try as I might to be quiet while gathering up my swim things, I wake up Chris. Who then plays Bob Marley to lull him back to sleep. Hilarious. Only Chris. On a separate but similarly amusing note for me, Chris spends a good amount of time talking to himself when he's getting ready. It's really funny to see particular shared mannerisms in your sibling.

After laps and breakfast, we grab the car and take a drive around Vancouver and see some sights. Howard and Holly wisely decide to stay in the car while Chris and I walk down (and then back UP) 477 steps to check out Wreck Beach.

We cruise around Kitsilano and it's chilly but a pretty day.

We head back to the hotel and drop off the car and walk to Gas Town to see the Gas Town Clock. It's important to note that, like many towns, Vancouver has rolled out the red carpet for Taylor Swift and there is evidence of it all over town.

The Gas Town Clock is no exception:

You be the judge:

At any rate, it's a fun outing!

Then it's time to head back to the hotel to get ready for the show!!!!

All sparkled up with some place to go!!!!

It's a long, chilly walk to the arena but it's SO much fun being out on the streets with all of the Swifties. They bring such a fun energy and the crowd is buzzing with anticipation. We are swept along in a sea of people.

Even the police horses get friendship bracelets!

Someone can barely contain himself:

Chris trading friendship bracelets

Casey has graciously gotten 4 tickets for the show but we are down to 3 of us because #reasons. One of Dmitri's good friends, Jesse, lives in Vancouver and his wife and nieces went to the show on Friday. I send him a photo of me getting ready and excited to go and he says to have fun and that his lovely wife and superfan, Erica, was trying her hardest to get a ticket for tonight's show. I'm like HOLD THE PHONE. We have an extra. Erica, in mere minutes, gets ready and heads downtown to meet us. Keep in mind, this is literally minutes--I'm not even kidding when I say literally, being a former English major and all and yes, I KNOW I'm rambling but it's my blog--before we leave the hotel to walk over to the show! It all works out!

Holly and Chris head in to find our seats while I wait outside for Erica to arrive. While I'm waiting I take group photos of fans and trade bracelets and whatnot. It's very festive. With time to spare, Erica arrives and we make it inside and eagerly await the start of the show.

With Erica

Casey is at the far left of the stage, in white, on keyboards.

Casey on the big vision boards!!!!! Whaaaaaat!

And the whole Gracie part of the show is so surreal. Holly is about to fall over with pride and we are having so much fun and I can't even put into words how excited we are for Casey! Wow wow wow WOW. All too soon, they are taking their bows and the arena is getting ready for Taylor.

I went to Eras in Santa Clara in July 2023 and when Gracie opened, the stadium was patchy with attendance. Since then, her career has taken off like a rocket and tonight when Gracie (and Casey) play, pretty much all the people are in their seats singing and dancing! That's a lot of fun to see. How Taylor fans who missed her songs earlier in the tour because they were in line to buy merch now make sure they are in their seats to catch her whole set!

With Mac, Gracie's tour manager

One funny note. Holly and I have our clear, plastic bags that we take to USC football games with us in Vancouver to bring to the concert. At the hotel she was packing hers and found her game day binoculars and I encouraged her to bring them. I told her she could get a closer look at Casey on stage. Anyway, at the arena, she gets stopped by security and they have to bring over another security person because the first security person has NO IDEA WHAT BINOCULARS ARE. As if we aren't already feeling old surrounded by young Swifties. Hilarious.

Another note and one Holly may never live this down. Just before we were to leave for the concert Holly is offered floor seats to the show. Which she turns down. Aaaaaghhhhh. But it's all good--she wanted Chris to be able to see the scope of the show and you can't get that scope from the floor. Still.

But back to the show.

Casey joins us and we get ready for Taylor. Who proceeds to bring down the house.

Chris, being Chris, can't sit for the whole show. He comes and goes and meets the people selling t shirts and befriends a police officer working the show. Erica keeps our energy high, as she knows ALL the songs and all the words. She is a true Swiftie!

And, a mere 3 hours later, Eras comes to an end. Wow. What a show. And we got to be here for it!!!!

December 9

One last session of laps for Holly and me and breakfast for the four of us and a quick photo and we are on our way back to Seattle to fly home. We go off the main route a bit and have a lovely drive along Chuckanut Bay, stop for lunch at Elemental Pizza in University Village, return the rental car, and fly back home. We are tired, but happy and grateful for this amazing weekend that is beyond our "Wildest Dreams." Taylor's Version, naturally.

If you have read this far, you get to hear one of my favorite anecdotes of the weekend! Howard, for all of those of you who know him, is a very highly intelligent man with a few years under his belt. He has so much information in his brain that peripheral details that aren't central to his day-to-day life or important to him in any way can get muddled, as they can for all of us. Taylor Swift, probably THE most well-known singer in the world at this particular time, is not a name Howard can remember. He has called her Terry Smith and Tyler Smith and Tracy Swift and every funny iteration you could possibly come up with. No matter how many times you tell him Taylor Swift, he is just not going to have it stick. And we love him for it. This is well-known in Howard lore and word got to Gracie Abrams, who told Taylor Swift and I can't even tell you how happy it makes me to live in a world where Taylor Swift can be amused and tickled that Howard cannot get her name straight.

Thanks for reading. Xx.