I decided to cap off this past summer with a trip to Vancouver, BC to see a couple of recently graduated friends. If you have friends who live there, Vancouver is a great city to travel cheap. The best attractions — beaches, Grouse Mountain, Stanley Park — are accessible on foot and free of charge if you’re willing to walk. I did a lot of walking while I was in Vancouver.
One of the places I went isn’t your typical tourist destination. Insite is a facility where drug users can inject heroin using clean needles under the supervision of medical staff that can provide emergency care in cases of overdose. There is also a rehab center upstairs that addicts are encouraged to use. I wasn’t able to tour the entire facility while it was in use, but one of the doctors was kind enough to take a few minutes to explain the basics of the program to my friend and me.
