YVR Food

One of the most beautiful cities in North America is Vancouver, Canada. I'm always surprised how many people have never visited this amazing city. It's just a couple hundred miles to the north of Seattle! Vancouver, much like Portland, is known for its food and coffee culture. I think Portland may have a bit of an edge when it comes to coffee. When it comes to food though; especially fresh seafood, Vancouver has us beat. I have to have my favorites when I'm in town. On that long list are ramen, sushi and ocean-to-table shellfish!

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Bourbon Bonanza

We got into a little bit of bourbon over the holidays. While I'm not a huge spirits guy, I don't mind a good cocktail once in awhile. My co-writer for this piece, Al, enjoys a scotch on the rocks every now and again. So we tried a couple of new bottles and discovered a few gems.

Portland's own Burnside Bourbon paired perfectly with homemade Bananas Foster, continuing along with our steakhouse-themed Christmas dinner. Then we prematurely popped the cork on the Jefferson's Reserve a night before our official New Year's Eve toast. It was an amazing bottle; still lingering on the palette nearly an hour after our last sips.

A summer sipper that we have also enjoyed is Long Table Distillery's Bourbon Barrel Aged Gin. While not whiskey-based; with a hint of caramel and smoke, it's a great alternative for those who prefer clear spirits, but are open to a little more depth and complexity. It's only available at the downtown distillery in Vancouver, Canada. I would say well-worth the trek.

Back On the Run

Within the first week of January, I have already been to Canada, California, and Las Vegas. It's good to be busy!

While the fundraising part of the auction business doesn't get rolling until February, January is chock-a-block full of collector car and vintage motorcycle auctions.

First up is Scottsdale, where a week-long collector car feast made up of seven auction companies competing for the business of car enthusiasts world-wide. It also happens to be a multi-million dollar week! Barrett-Jackson alone, is expecting to sell in excess of $100 million in cars; with the rest of the auction houses coming close to match that same amount too. You're playing with the big boys here.

Next up in the week immediately following, the focus shifts from cars to motorcycles in Las Vegas; where hundreds of motorcycles will cross the combined auction blocks of Mecum and Bonhams auction companies. At Bonhams (www.bonhams.com), a rare Crocker motorcycle is expected to go for $500 to $600 thousand. Over at Mecum (www.mecum.com), it is offering a fantastic selection of motorcycles at no-reserve. It's sure to be an excitement-filled week. I'll be there, so I hope to run into some of you. Drop me a line on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter; or just swing by to say hello.

Happy New Year everyone and happy bidding and browsing to those of you heading down to Arizona and Nevada!

Crash

I just saved myself $150,000 this weekend. That was the cost of the damage I racked up on the 2015 BMW M4 DTM race car that I crashed into a wall, once or twice.

Well, I wasn't actually driving the real thing; but it sure felt like it. I did get the chance to drive that exact BMW model on the famed Watkins Glen road course. It was the most advanced racing simulator I've ever had the chance to try out to-date. The simulator was set up at the grand opening of the new service center at the BMW Store in Vancouver, Canada. Racing simulators have come a long way in design and development. They can really  give you the feel of the road with very realistic feedback of what it actually feels like to drive a car to its limits. The simulator I got to drive costs $60,000 and is quite popular. While that may seem like a lot for an over-the-top video game, it is invaluable for a driver who is trying to learn a new track or one who wants to freshen up his skills before the race season begins.

Facts and figures aside, it was an absolute blast to drive. What a great event to be invited to. BC beer and wine were poured; the new 7 Series was unveiled; and the latest BMW i8 was also on-hand.

Fall is Here

I had a great summer this year. Though like most of them, it went by too quickly. I had a chance to do a couple road trips - out to the Oregon Coast, the Gorge and up to Vancouver Canada, my favorite city, second to Portland. I feel really lucky to live here in the Pacific Northwest and I get out as often as I can, to enjoy all that it has to offer.

I had a pretty easy summer in regards to my workload. Without the weekly trips between Portland and Seattle, I was only on a plane every other week. Summer isn't a particularly busy time for fundraisers; though we had a couple of fundraising auctions. So I get to start this fall fundraising season completely refreshed and ready to go.

We're working on a couple of exciting new ventures for the New Year. As soon as we have some 2016 details finalized and dates set, we'll make an announcement. Keep checking back here to be in the know.

Ali, our one-woman Communications team, will also be starting a seasonal e-newsletter to keep srdorsey clients and friends appraised of what's happening. So if you want to stay current on the world of auctions or where we are and what we're doing; drop me a line and we'll make sure we keep in touch with you. Please feel free to include any topic requests or inquiries and we'll do our best to help you out.

Grey Bowl? Super Cup?

 
 

Did you catch the Civil War Game between the Ducks and the Beavers?

I was just sitting down to deep fried spicy squid and a cold Canadian beer in a Downtown Vancouver restaurant. Low and behold, what's on the television screen in front of me? Halftime at the University of Oregon Ducks versus the Oregon State Beavers football game. Funny thing since I happened to be in town during Grey Cup weekend, the Canadian Football League's version of the Superbowl. We came across the parade procession on a walk through the city after a bit of breakfast at a popular Italian cafe.

I love Vancouver, but especially on clear sunny days like today. After we caught a glimpse of the actual Grey Cup trophy, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police bagpipe band, and two dozen plus Blues Brothers; we found ourselves in a French pastry shop to have a warm beverage and an apple tarte. Then swung by the Tesla showroom followed by a walk in a big loop of downtown on the sunny side of the street. Ended up on the beautiful bustling seawall, across from Granville Island and underneath the Burrard and Granville Street bridges. Finally back to where the story began, in a Yaletown resto.

Quack quack!