A lot of times balancing travel and work is a labor of love. Every once in a while, though, the two dovetail perfectly. As you can probably guess, I’ll take just about any excuse to travel, including the work-related ones! Wyoming, Nome, Sitka, Seattle, Sand Point, I’ve gotten to go to all sorts of fun places because of work.
At an art education conference a couple of years ago, a friend of mine from Canada declared that at some point, I just had to attend the art educator conference in British Columbia. I laughed and absentmindedly agreed that it would be fun and at that point didn’t think much more of it.
Then last year everything sort of fell into place. I saw a post about preparations for the conference and thought hey, why not? The National Art Education Association conference was going to take place during my spring break, so I wasn’t planning on attending. Vancouver instead sounded like a great idea!
I bought my flights, found an AirBNB, and starting taking care of all the work responsibilities that go along with trips like this: requesting professional leave, writing sub plans, prepping my students and organizing materials, the list goes on and on. Oh, yeah, and I was planning a week-long trip to Mexico for Day of the Dead the following weekend. No big deal! Just spanning North America within seven days!
By the time I got to Vancouver I was exhausted but so excited to be there. The conference was great, the fall weather was stunning, and any chance to explore someplace new is always refreshing.
If you get a chance to visit Vancouver in the fall, I would suggest checking out the Granville Island shops and market. I’m a sucker for markets, and this Island hideaway of eclectic, artsy shops is no exception! Downtown also offers a lot of excitement, and I’m a little biased but my goodness their art museum is cool! Part of our conference included an evening at the museum amidst an amazing fashion show and it was so much fun. I also really enjoyed biking Stanley Park and hiking around the suspension bridges at Lynn Canyon. If you like beer there’s a great place called the Brewhall, and of course you have to eat in Granville!
Next up on my list of teacher traveler adventures? The National Art Education conference in Minneapolis!