Need summer plans? Get towed in Vancouver. Know, though, that life isn't like that.
If you haven't yet made plans for the rest of your summer, I have a suggestion: Go to Vancouver and have your car towed.

First of all, to get towed in Vancouver you have to be in Vancouver. That's good right there. Vancouver is the new Seattle. Mountains. Ocean. Rain. But romantic rain, not moody rain.

Beautiful people, great dim sum.

You'd probably have a good time even if you didn't get towed.

Trust me, though. It's worth it.

The first thing you'll want to do is head for the in-town beach known as English Bay.

You read correctly. As if Vancouver didn't already have enough great stuff, it even has a beach right smack in the middle of town.

I'm not talking a lakeshore or a riverfront. I'm talking actual beach. With actual sand and actual kids shoving the faces of other actual kids under actual waves, all in actual good-natured fun unless, of course, the kids are siblings in which case there is an actual lifeguard to come to the rescue.

Word of caution: There are several beaches in the Vancouver area. Don't confuse this one with the others. You see, crucial to the towing experience is, well, getting towed. If you go to a beach with a parking lot, you risk your car being there when you come back. At this particular beach, you might park illegally on the street, thereby immeasurably improving your chances of your car being dragged off.

My 12-year-old son, Sam, and I didn't know that at the time. We just lucked into it when I parallel parked between two cars in a line of vehicles up and down the street, thinking the spot was legal.

Only after returning from swimming and seeing an empty space where my car used to be - empty spaces where all the cars used to be - did anything seem amiss. At first, I thought maybe everybody's car had been stolen.