They do exist!
So I got a few things cleared up. The couple I spoke with on Friday are Frida and Dennis, and they are the parent's of John's ex-wife, who is still living. Which seems a little strange, but I guess not really, as Mom and Grammy are still on good terms with each other.
When we got the rental car in Seattle and started heading north, what surprised me most was the abundance of trees. Wow, I thought, There sure are a lot of trees in Seattle. It took me a half an hour, but I finally realized it wasn't so much the abundance of trees, but the fact that they were in full leaf. Same here in Vancouver, where the azaleas and lilacs are in bloom as well. The weather's been great, but from what Dad's heard, the weather in Syracuse has been very nice, too. Now watch, as soon as we land on Tuesday, the clouds'll come rolling in, and the temperature will drop to 40°F.
Yeah, temperature conversion is something I've had to do up here, as well as monetary and volume conversions, at some times more successfully than at others. We stopped to get gas today, and I thought, 85 cents a gallon? And that in Canadian funds! We should probably fill up before we cross the border. It wasn't until Dad paid 15CD for 3/8 of a tank that I realized, Oh, that's 85 cents a litre. Yeah, gas is definitely cheaper in the States.
I got Amy and Heather's e-mail addresses, so I'll be able to keep in touch with them. Turns out Heather is very interested in Japanese culture, and knows more of the language than I do. And Amy plays the violin--I hadn't known that. She played for Beth's wedding. I met her older daughter, Katie. And Stephen and his wife were there, with their daughter Autumn; they're expecting their second child in June. Annie, too, who now goes by Ann. And I've seen Lauren every day, since she's 14 and lives with her parents. She sang at the wedding, too. Good voice, for a 14-year old.
We're planning to drive up to downtown Vancouver tomorrow. Jim's house is actually in Surrey, about 40k south of the city. If all goes well, I'll be able to meet some of the folks at Ludicorp HQ, developers of GNE and Flickr. And that'll be cool.
Oh, and subtract three hours, again.
Edit June 27, 2004: About a month ago (Memorial Day weekend?) I happened across the ginger Altoids at a local gas station, and couldn't pass up the opportunity to try them. "Curiously strong" is an accurate description.
Old Comments (1)
