Bob Kronbauer is a freelance creative director and photographer as well as the editor of the local blog-turned-not-for-profit, VancouverIsAwesome.com. In this weekly roundup he’ll share with you his favourite people, places and things that make up the city he loves so much. Some might be obvious while others are hidden, and some might be current while still others may be slices of Vancouver’s past. The one thing they all have in common is that they fall under the category of totally awesome…

PERSON | He doesn’t live here anymore but Wayson Choy has put down some of my favourite words about Vancouver. Years ago I read his most popular book, The Jade Peony, and quickly added it to my favourites list. I’ve recently moved my office to Chinatown and was feeling like I needed to catch up on my Chinatown history so I picked up Not Yet (and quickly added it to the list as well) and All That Matters (which I’m currently reading and which will likely make the list).

PLACE | I lived in Kitsilano ten years ago (geez, when did I get so old?) and sometimes I still think back about a bench that’s in the small public park at the foot of Macdonald. It has the greatest view of the ocean and is one of many perfect places to sit and read a Wayson Choy book. There’s a long staircase 20 feet from said bench so when you’re done sitting you can do some walking on the beach, west towards Kits Beach during low tide or wast towards Jericho.

THING | Since the city semi-legalized backyard chickens last year I’ve been seeing coops popping up all over the city, and by “all over the city” I mean “all over East Van where I do most of my walking”. If I owned my house you’d see one in my backyard but until I become a homeowner I’ll be raiding coops like Teen Wolf…or trading things with friends who have coops and too many eggs. I think each chicken lays one a day, right? Who eats eggs every day?