Canada/Seattle Trip Journal
Yay! I finally finished it. I scanned some of my photos, but I'm way too lazy to scan them all. Enjoy!
“Seattle is a moist cotton ball”
Here I am, sitting cozy in my airplane seat, but thanks to runway traffic, we’re not doing much of anything. I get the pleasure of sitting in front of the one infant on the plane, and listening to parent’s greatest hits album. First up, the smash hit “Toes.” It starts off with saying normally, and then breaking out into freestyle accapella. “Toes. Toes! Tooooooes…toe-toe-toe TOES!” It’s hard to hear as a single 23 year old, but when it’s me trying to put my kid to sleep, I’m sure my bra will end up on my head and I’ll be playing congo’s on the stove pots. The second track off the album was “You wanna go nigh-nigh? *deepen voice * NIGH NIIIIIIIIIIIIGH.” Which, I’d say, happened every 10 minutes. Suddenly, I feel tired.
Someone has lost a shoe. It’s become a plane gossip story. The attendant went on the overhead and asked if anyone had lost a brown shoe, and to please raise your hand. They then sent the jr. attendant down the aisle with said shoe and offered an additional snack pack is someone claimed it. I think the person hid for cover, since every passenger laughed heartily and brought us all together. Individual embarrassment has such a wonderful effect on group community. Makes you feel warm inside.
I arrived in Seattle at 11 pm and meet up with Laura at the airport. She introduced me to our rented, blue 2005 Ford Focus, that we lovingly named Homish Ishmael. We drove over to her brother’s (Ed) friend Sarah’s parents house. It was huge white home, with individually styled rooms. Nothing scarier than waking up to a room full of birds on the wall staring you down; except maybe a duck sex ring - but you had to be there.
-Saskwatch on drums- Alissa: “Imagine if he were your drum teacher? I’d mess up and he’d be like ‘mroooaoooohhhhroooo’…. Oh! You mean play note B!”
Woke up early, met Laura’s parents and the people we were staying with. They have the most amazing view of the harbor, complete with seals. We left to go to Pier 50 on Alaskan Way to pick up Alissa. There she is! I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since I had seen her last. We parked the car and walked along Pike Market to see foods, flowers and fish throwing. We had lunch on “nap hill” overlooking the ocean. We went to the Cheese Shop and watched curd being made. I had the chance to sample some, and I should have stopped while I was ahead. There’s another 4 letter word I can think of that describes curd …
Walked over to the Space needle, but didn’t spend the money to go up. The souvenir shop was nice though. From there, we went to the science center, which we didn’t pay to enter either. They had these large red dishes strategically placed across from each other that allow for long-range communication. I did my Frank Sinatra rendition of “Mary had a Little Lamb”, and I have to say, it brought the house down.
We then ventured towards the park/garden area and sat down at this funky artistic bench. As we were talking, we started to hear drums. We turned to the right and there was this truck dragging a drum platform being played by Saskwatch. They drove down the streets of Seattle like it was a bread delivery. Nothin’ to see here folks… just a guy in a wooley suit playing the drums. We moved on to walk through the park, play air hokey and sun tan in the large non-working water fountain. We had a great day, and I got one hell of a burn. We left to meet up with Ed and his parents at the Arboretum, and hiked though the park. We then went back to the city and had dinner at “Bitchin Burrito Kitchen”. It was good stuff with a black light bathroom. (Because we all need to see our underwear glow in the dark) After a full meal, we dropped Alissa back off at the pier and headed back to the house. We were both pretty tired so we just hung around, showered and called it a night.
Canadian Border Patrol: “Do you have any livestock in your vehicle?”
Laura: “No.”
Dianna: “Outside of the big cow in the backseat….”
Laura: -hysterical laughing-
Patrol: “Um….go….ahead.”
Woke up and ate breakfast with everyone. Lori made some crazy gourmet breakfast with juice, pastry, fruit and egg type masterpiece, topped off with whipped cream. Afterwards we went to the site where Ed’s hypothetical Cancer research center for his architecture dissertation was created. It was in an off limit naval base, so we got all inspector gadget on the joint and crept through. We walked down to the most amazing overlook, near the water, which reminded me a lot of Australia.
Soon after, we said our goodbyes and headed towards the Canadian border. Finally, we were in British Columbia! We drove all the way though and stopped off at an A&W (who knew they had actual restaurants?) and I treated myself to a Mozz burger and a root beer float in a frosty mug. We continued on to the resort in Kelowna, which turned out to be one massive trailer park. After freaking out that I was going to spend my week wearing a wife beater and throwing bottles at the dog, I saw that there were homes in addition to the trailers.
We entered our house, and liked what we saw. All the comforts of home -complete with a Jacuzzi tub. We had a big backyard with swings, a tennis court and a small library. There was wireless internet, which we were able to utilize. We ordered Canadian Pizza, which is apparently a rip-off of Dominos. We also spent more than I’d like to admit on groceries, but we planned our meals for the week, so it wasn’t that bad. However, we did buy a block of butter…for no apparent reason.
“Snickers, not so satisfying.” -Laura
Wake up in beautiful Kelowna. 7:15 am and I’m wide-awake, a watching TV and eating cheerios.
We walked around the resort and saw turtles at the lake - all shapes and sizes, with pretty red lining. We saw the “beach” which I wouldn’t swim in if you paid me. The indoor pool and gym were closed, but we had plenty of exercise. Went swimming in the conversational pool and adult Jacuzzi. A frog died in the filter and became our conversation of topic amongst me, Laura, the British elderly lady and some residential woman. Got some sun and hung out on the swings. Weather changed and we ended up staying in the rest of the night. I cooked pasta and salad for dinner. Spent some time online. I definitely feel guilty about not going to see Joely while I’m here. Maybe I should just take the car and drive through, spend and hour, and then drive back. It’ll only take, like two days.
“Romeo and Juliet killed themselves because they’re asshats.” - Twilight Zone
8:50 am and here I am with my bowl of cheerios in front of the TV. Farscape and Seaquest entertained my first few hours and then I’ve been watching the New Twilight Zone since. I insist on changing the motto “old faithful” from the geyser to my Aunt Flow. [Additional journal notes on this subject have been deemed too personal to share with you all. Sorry!]
Bought film at the Wal-Mart and drove to Downtown Kelowna. As it’s a Sunday, not much was open, but I found it a peaceful day and I enjoyed the social solitude. I really believe that when I get older, I will end up somewhere vacant, without people for miles. Sometimes people are more bother than they’re worth. (But only sometimes.)
Went to Kasugai Japanese Gardens and saw a mother duck protecting about a dozen of her very young offspring. Then we strolled through “Waterfront Park” which was a lot like Venice in a way. A lot of the homes were literally on the water, with their speedboats substituting as cars. Walked by the shops and spent some time in a local bookstore. I picked up “Stiff” which is about human cadavers; from what I can tell it’s kind of like a more educational “Six Feet Under”, complete with the morbid humor. Hurray!
We made our way back to the house and started dinner. Laura BBQ’d some burgers while I prepared a salad. It was quite tasty! Watched tv and packed for Vancouver. I read about a Battlestar Galactica shoot at Lynn Canyon tomorrow, which we’re going to try to catch.
(The question on the table is: Which way to get to the Battlestar Galactica filming location in Lynn Canyon?) Laura: “Oh, maybe we can follow the Battlestar Galactica sign.”
Dianna: -throws map down- “It’s an idea.”
Got the car packed and left for Vancouver. The ride over was interesting weather wise. It would pour and then would be hot and sunny. The rain dropped horizontally, never hitting the back window. The signs in the mountains warning about sudden weather changes didn’t exaggerate.
Our first stop was Lynn Canyon Park. Someone online told me that BSG would be filming there, and in my defense, I wanted to got here for the suspension bridge anyway. The weather was somewhat colder here and slightly rainy. We followed the BSG signs and parked. By the time we got down to their location, all that were left were empty tents and trucks ready to depart. We turned about and went over the suspension bridge. Bloody and shaky, it was beautiful. (I bled, this Dutch man bled, we all bled) We then hiked over to twin falls, which was also very pretty. From there, we did the Centennial trail and got back to the road. We stopped in the ecological center briefly, and took the car back to the hostel. Throughout Vancouver I wanted to take one of the crew arrows but Laura wouldn’t let me due to my pending profession. (Oh, right.)
We made it to the SameSun hostel on Granville Street, which is the main street in downtown Vancouver. It reminded me of the village with pot, leather and lots of tortured youth. We parked in the Holiday Inn parking lot, because apparently out-of-town plates are screaming to be broken into.
After we got settled in our small cubby hold of a room, we met our bunkmates, who were a young couple from Ontario. He’s a whitewater rafting guide in Chiliwack, and she, I think she just finished her Sesame Street days not too long ago. We went to the internet place and checked email. We ate dinner at this Japanese place on Granville and did some walking around the area. Robson Square (UBC) had a large covered platform that the local students used for dancing, fencing, and more. Old men played chess and it was just a general hangout.
We came back to the hostel and hung out in the TV room and watched “In the Army Now” with Pauly Shore. While we were walking back, we turned on Thurlow to see magical bubbles in the middle of the intersection. No one else seemed to notice, soooo we just kept keeping on. Anyway, after the movie, we headed on up to our room. They were some quality bunk beds. If you moved at all the bed makes high pitched squeeling noises. So between the 4 of us, combined with shorts bursts of snoring, it was like a demo off a Canadian Hip-Hop album, eh.
(The question on the table is: Which way to Science World?) Laura: “Maybe we should follow the big dome?”
Dianna: -throws map down- “You’d think after the first time, we’d have figured this out by now.”
Woke up around 9:45 am and started the day. We drove to Science World, which is Vancouver’s answer to Epcot enter. It was really for kids, but we had a great time there. Played on virtual ski, wheelchair racing and lots more visual and kinesthetic type stuff. I even got a chance to test out my rifle skills. There was a 70’s dance room, and a hippo lever where I practiced my agility course restraint technique. I played on this “world changing” computer for a while. The most interesting screens were that of the earthquakes and population growth since the beginning of society.
After the science world, we traveled into Burnaby which was a great little place. I think if I were going to live anywhere over here, this would be it. Downtown is just too much noise and crime contaminated. (says the cop from new York) It’s fine to visit; I just wouldn’t want to live there. We drove over to Boundary Road, home of The Bridge Studios, filming location for Stargate SG-1, Atlantis, and the short lived Dead Like Me (an awesome show, R.I.P - pun intended).
We weren’t able to go inside, but we walked around for like 5 minutes. They have a Home Depot next door, which makes a lot of sense actually since they are constantly building sets and what have you. Maybe I saw some people, maybe I didn’t. All I’ll say publicly is that SG-1 was definitely filming that day.
We drove back downtown and walked to Stanley Park. A little longer of a walk than I think either of us expected. I was a beautiful park, lots to do and plenty of people. We ended up on the Seawall, which overlooks 3 or 4 of Vancouver’s main beaches. Took some photos, (including the obligatory Dianna-on-rocks photo) and then headed back to the hostel. We ate dinner on Granville again, where I had the fanciest grilled cheese I’ve ever experienced. We had a 10-minute laugh session of the many uses of butter, referencing back to the block that remains untouched in our fridge in Kelowna. Why did we buy it? I’m still not sure.
After some more activities, we headed back to the hostel and had a lovely conversation with our roommates, as they tried to offer us their roasted chicken. Then we made our way to the main lounge to play a really stupid version of pictionary. We started writing in our journals when this Australian man with a broken arm approached me. He needed me to take notes from him, since he was using his good arm to talk to his business (and I use the word business loosely) partner in Perth. Once I was done taking notes for the drug lor… um, the kind gentleman, we made our way upstairs and went to sleep with our bunkmates to the sound of Canadian hip-hip.
Dianna: “We don’t even have a garbage can in here!”
Laura: “You’re sitting next to it.”
We started the day by eating yogurt and packing to go back to Kelowna. We left our hostel, and decided to make one last venture to the Centennial Police museum. On the way there, I saw a fight between two homeless men. One smashed in the other’s big tin box, so he got angry and threw the other guy’s bicycle in the street. A big crowd gathered, but we were in the car so we drove away before I saw any type of resolution. The next block up was the main precinct in Vancouver. I wish I understood the laws here - so many beggars, homeless, and destitute people roaming the streets. Marijuana looms the downtown air like substitute for oxygen. You would think, there would be more visible enforcement. But, maybe that’s an American logic.
The museum was fine, with the exception of the class of children who were trying to solve a fake crime. I saw the original Vancouver coroner’s office, complete with dead fetus’ on the wall. Took a photo in the jail and the cop car. Then we made our trip back to Kelowna. The drive was beautiful, much nicer than the way there.
We watched some TV and then I made burritos for dinner. Spent the rest of the night just hanging around and being somewhat gluttonous with my own private vat of Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Mom called to tell me that Rosemarie had a baby girl named Ava Grace.
“It’s not the strongest that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most respondent to change.” - Charles Darwin
Wake up later than usual. I really need to get back on NY time, so I think tomorrow I’m going to try for 7 am. Didn’t really do much today. Started packing for tomorrow and took a much-needed shower. Laura cooked chicken stir-fry for dinner. I did get a chance to finally see “Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith”. Amazing that it’s been out for a month and this was my first opportunity. I think we’ve officially maintained “Black Sheep” status amongst the Sci-Fi community for this. So, anyway, the movie was all right. You knew what was going to happen, just not exactly how. SO I felt indifferent.
We spent the night packing our bags and hanging around the house. I don’t know if I want to go back home or not. I wish I’d have passed my physical before I came here. It’s constantly in the back of mind during this entire trip. At least I have a month before the academy starts, to get my thoughts together - unlike last times mess. Lets just hope nothing wrong happens on Monday.
Dianna: “Hey! This is regular yogurt.”
Laura: -turns the yogurt around- “Or its just non-fat in French.”
Butter. The Butter has become a main theme of this entire trip. It’s been a week, and we still have no purpose for the butter. But who sells entire chunks of it anyway? Do they not know about small sizes, or the modernized conception of sticks of butter?
We got everything together and put the furniture back in place, and left Kelowna. By the time we got to the border, the rain had cleared up and started getting warmer. The customs officer asked me what I did, and I told him “becoming a cop.” Well, he just stopped asking me border patrol questions and flew over to 20-questions PD. I think, for the first time, I felt the power of the badge. Hmmm… isn’t that a song by Huey Lewis and the News? If not, it should be.
We ate lunch and I finally got my service back. I had 8 messages, holy cow. Real life is creeping up again, slowly, but efficiently. Weather in Seattle was sunny and warm. We met up with Ed, and drove over to his friend, Rob’s house. We spent the night there and were able to use his kitchen to finish up our pasta for dinner. All in all, the way the food lasted, I’m pretty proud of how that played out.
We took a walk down to “Gasworks Park” which is this refinery of sorts that they tuned into a park. Some great views, but the large rusty “works” that remain kind of have a futuristic-doomsday feel. Watch “Judge Dred” … you’ll know what I mean. Rob and the two of us spent the night watching an informative special on Bangladesh workers and how Wal-Mart continues to utilize factories that pay their workers horrifically with long hours. And then comes the choice. Do you buy things at a cheaper rate and continue to support this disgrace of humanity, or do you reach deeper into your own pockets with a possibility of nothing changing?
Dropped the car off at Enterprise and took the shuttle to the airport. After obsessing for a few hours over my own poverty in the food court of Sea-Tac, I hopped on the plane and watched hours of ridiculously unbelievable shark movies on SciFi. Ahh, it’s like I’m already home.
