If Seattle is the cool, cynical kid of the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver is the girl next door: effortlessly beautiful, unassuming and nursing a slight self-esteem complex. Sure, the Canadian city landed the 2010 Olympics, but some locals feel let down because the slick With Glowing Hearts Olympics commercial doesn't use one of its many great homegrown artists but instead British band Doves. Come to think of it, complex is a great way to describe Vancouver.



Though the middle leg of my vacation, Vancouver is by no means a middling city. Any time you can stand on a busy beach and look one way to see a thriving city and the other to see snow-capped mountains, you're somewhere special. (See this Facebook photo album for more images.)



I was also in Vancouver to see my very favo[u]rite band The Tragically Hip play live at the Orpheum Theatre. My friend Laura scored good tickets from someone who had to unload a pair at the last minute. Didn't realize how good until we got there and saw they were second row, right on the aisle! I had the next-closest thing to a front-row seat for lead singer Gordon Downie's zany antics and the band's magnificent musicianship. Close enough even my iPhone in low light could grab some superb shots.



We also spent an afternoon at Granville Island, a funky artsy community that features, among other things, the excellent Granville Island Brewery. I recalled seeing the area and brewery featured on a Travel Channel show and, while the brewery tours were long booked up, we did sample some of the local flavo[u]r.



In a previous entry, I chronicled our visit to the Guu Japanese restaurant, which is as much of a show as it is a meal. But so many places in Vancouver are full-sense experiences. Laura lives right near the culture-rich vein Robson Street and the city's constantly pounding pulse throbs through the pavement. But she also lives a few blocks from English Bay and Stanley Park. The first photo comes from my walk around the seawall that circumnavigates the peninsula, one of many great views offered in this seaside city.



Vancouver is most certainly not vanilla in any way. It's more like the green tea ice cream I enjoyed at Guu. It comes full of unexpected surprises, harbo[u]rs a variety of tastes and proves endlessly fulfilling.

The place isn’t for everyone. It’s loud. It’s chaotic. It’s a bit confusing. But if you drop all pre-conceived notions of staid, orderly eateries, the Guu Japanese restaurant in Vancouver’s West End may be one of the most entertaining meals you’ll ever enjoy.

The moment you enter, the hostess shouts hello, which is repeated by the uber-busy chefs in the very visible kitchen and the busy-as-bees wait staff. Every order and course delivery is shouted from one worker to another to another with the repetition taking on a comical rhythm. Side dishes of witty banter — albeit hard to understand unless you speak Japanese — break out among co-workers in the course of their job, and it’s very apparent they’re having fun.

Get beyond the seeming disorder and you’ll see the frenetic movements of the staff are more like a well-choreographed ballet. Three chefs work the long narrow kitchen dashing back and forth but with little wasted motion as the delicious dishes come together. The servers dart in, around and under people quickly delivering the various courses of meals. Service proves quick and exceedingly friendly. Visiting on a rainy Wednesday night, Guu projects a buzz of energetic activity where no table was open for more than a minute.

And practical business lessons are apparent if you pay attention. It’s a user-driven experience where you can order whatever you want whenever you want, with the attentive wait staff allowing (encouraging) you to re-order, add to an order or share plates all the time. The food is creative, delicious and well-priced. Whoever developed Guu’s restaurants -- four dot the Greater Vancouver area -- understood what Tom Peters calls spectacle: where businesses project a performance component while providing great customer service. Beyond the enthusiastic greeting, the staff always smiles and provides an infectious exuberance. It’s hard to imagine the atmosphere not putting you in a good mood.

Chances are you’ll leave a Guu restaurant energized, full and talking about it. Moreover, you’ll want to return … and wouldn’t you like that to be true of any place you go?

Had a really great time in Lake Placid last week for the SUNY CUAD conference. As the Web track chair, I should note we put together a pretty darn good program, though I cover details of who said what (and did it well) in the other blog.

I pulled into Lake Placid on Tuesday, a day early, using up a hard-to-burn vacation day. Had no reservations secured yet, so I pulled into the parking lot of one hotel at the end of the Main Street strip and started surfing Web sites for the hotels on that end of town on the iPhone. The Northwoods Inn won because I could actually find info -- including the all-important price -- easily, while others tried to send me through all manners of maze. Is Web usability good for business? My experience says yes.



Did I mention the Northwoods also had a kitchenette with a second TV?



And an outstanding view of Mirror Lake and downtown Lake Placid? Including this fabulous dusk scene.



Though the High Peaks Resort, where the conference took place, was absolutely amazing. The rooms, the service and -- of course -- the view.



I should note that I got to know the marketing guy for the High Peaks Resort, a very friendly and most helpful gentleman named Bill, through his Twitter handle of @HighPeaksResort before the conference. Through a series of connections, this led to the hotel hosting a very well attended Tweetup on Wednesday. Since I'm all about inclusion, one needed not be on Twitter to participate. You just had to be interested in having a good time.





The time, it just flew, and a mighty good time was had. Before I knew it, Friday loomed, the conference ended and we were on the road again. But I decided to take a side trip to the village of Boonville to visit the regionally (at least) famed Mercer's Dairy. In addition to serving up excellent ice cream, it's known for its specialty wine ice cream. The only time I've ever been proofed while purchasing a dairy treat. Yum! And did I mention I was introduced to this confection via a friend (and former Boonvillian) on Twitter?

On a daily basis, I preach the importance of using the Web well, including social media. So it wasn't a surprise that the Web and some Twitter connections helped me make some decisions in where I stayed, what I did, what I consumed. In short, it's foolish to ignore the impact of the Web, in any of its forms, upon our daily lives.