Being that I live in one of the driest climates in Canada, I am so not used to this. It definitely gives you a renewed appreciation for the sunny moments! It also gives you an appreciation for a good umbrella.
I brought my Roots travel umbrella with me. It's not tiny - but it's definitely not the largest umbrella out there. The first time I had occasion to use it, it was laughably inadequate. The wind blows the umbrella up and makes the rain come at you at an angle - I had to resort to pulling it down so it was sitting right on the top of my head and still managed to keep only the area above my shoulders dry.
Judging from the garbage bins full of abandoned, mangled umbrellas that I pass on the street on days like this, I'm not the only one who overestimates the usefulness of a small umbrella in Vancouver. (It does seem logical to keep a small umbrella with you at all times when out and about in a rainy city... I guess you just have to have lots of spares.)
Fortunately, the good people at my hotel realize that tourists and visitors will arrive woefully unprepared for the Pineapple Express. My room came stocked with a giant umbrella that would be completely ridiculous in Calgary - unless maybe you were using it for a shade umbrella - but is very appropriate for Vancouver.
The only problem is that most Vancouverites have already learned their lesson and carry similar monstrosities. As a result, I've quickly learned that umbrella etiquette is as important here as subway etiquette is in Toronto. Watch where you're going - look behind you before making a sharp turn - tilt or lift your umbrella when passing people on a busy street - and watch out for those who don't, or risk getting an umbrella spine to the eye!
Here is the link to the long-term forecast for Vancouver. Don't you love how they add more rain coming out of the cloud, to indicate a downpour??
(For the record, I am fully expecting a number of sympathetic comments when I check back in here.)
I never used to understand people who said, "I'd rather have rain than snow, you don't have to shovel rain"... I'd think, yeah well, I don't shovel the snow either. Whatevs.
However, 2 years going on 3, of brutally cold Calgary winters has me agreeing with them. I'd rather carry an umbrella in my purse everywhere I go, than stand at the bus stop when it's minus 40. Plus windchill.
Boy, it's gonna be a long winter.
