The Leamington Post (You know, like the newspaper)
This is going to be huge. Prepare thineselves.
Prepared? Okaygo.
On Tuesday, May 17, myself and Erica flew to London, Ontario. There I met her parents, and we were taken back to Leamingon. They were really great, very nice, and did a great job of welcoming me into their home and making sure I always had enough food to eat. (So much so, in fact, that I lost a belt notch while staying there. Don't worry, I've almost got it back.)
We did all sorts of cool things (for me, anyways, they were probably all kind of mundane for Erica, but she's a sweetie and saw me through it) such as go for bubble tea, check out the marina at Lake Erie, and so on.
On Thursday Erica had an appointment for a massage. I brought my book, expecting to sit in a waiting room for an hour while she got massaged. Turns out, we drive to this place outside of town and it turns out to be pretty much the nicest yard I've ever seen. And me with no camera. Shazbot. Well, like I said in an earlier post, we had an opportunity to go back. I came equipped.
On Friday, Erica's mother drove us to Detroit where we boarded a bus and took a six and a half hour trip to Elkhart, Indiana, where we were picked up by Erica's sister, Ruth. We went back to Goshen (where Ruth and her husband Noah live) and I was made to feel equally comfortable there. They did an excellent job of making me feel like a friend. Saturday morning, we piled in the car and took a two hour trip to Chicago where we spent the day. If I say it out loud even now, it still feels not true, like there's no way it could have actually been me in that fabled city. I don't even think that city exists, save in movies and on television. Perhaps a book or two. I was fascinated, and easily saw why Erica loved that city. We went to an art gallery which had much of the original artwork of the album covers of Pink Floyd and The Mars Volta. Each band also had some other art there, and I was completely floored by how awesome it was.
Back in Leamington, Erica and I had a chance to visit Colisante's (sp?), which was both a greenhouse with many-a-purchaseable-plant, as well as a petting zoo. I appreciated that trip revy chum.
Monday night was pretty crappy, because that's when it really hit that I would have to leave Erica behind for an indeterminate amount of time. Would it be only ten or 11 days? Will it be until the end of summer when she comes back for school in September? I still don't know, and the worry that I feel is like a slow but ravenous worm working its way between the two lobes of my brain. Getting on the plane all by myself was easily one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was not something that got done dry-eyed.
Alas, the memory chip in the camera I had could only hold 40 pictures, so even though I took 79 or 80, I had to erase them as I went along. But I do have a goodly amount to share with you, so if you feel so inclined, you can check out the behind-cut content and be satisfied, pictorally speaking.
Obligatory shot from the plane
The Leamington Marina
Lake Erie
Lake Erie again
I'm enjoying some passion fruit bubble tea
Vietnamese karaoke
Erica and Ruth at Goshen University
Where is Gene's Smoke Shop?
Ruth and Noah in Chicago
Erica and myself in Chi-town
The Cheesecake Factory
The Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd times three
Erica in front of a fountain
Chicago skyline as we were leaving
Burmese Python at Colisante's
Why, yes, that is me petting a deer
Why yes, that is Erica petting a llama
Erica's massage therapist's front yard
Erica's massage therapist's back yard
Huge tree in the back yard...
"...which I totally cimbed
So, I hope you enjoyed reading this edition of the Leamington Post. Erica, hopefully you get a chance to see this soon. Hopefully it'll be right after you email me and tell me you're coming home on Sunday. I miss you.
Prepared? Okaygo.
On Tuesday, May 17, myself and Erica flew to London, Ontario. There I met her parents, and we were taken back to Leamingon. They were really great, very nice, and did a great job of welcoming me into their home and making sure I always had enough food to eat. (So much so, in fact, that I lost a belt notch while staying there. Don't worry, I've almost got it back.)
We did all sorts of cool things (for me, anyways, they were probably all kind of mundane for Erica, but she's a sweetie and saw me through it) such as go for bubble tea, check out the marina at Lake Erie, and so on.
On Thursday Erica had an appointment for a massage. I brought my book, expecting to sit in a waiting room for an hour while she got massaged. Turns out, we drive to this place outside of town and it turns out to be pretty much the nicest yard I've ever seen. And me with no camera. Shazbot. Well, like I said in an earlier post, we had an opportunity to go back. I came equipped.
On Friday, Erica's mother drove us to Detroit where we boarded a bus and took a six and a half hour trip to Elkhart, Indiana, where we were picked up by Erica's sister, Ruth. We went back to Goshen (where Ruth and her husband Noah live) and I was made to feel equally comfortable there. They did an excellent job of making me feel like a friend. Saturday morning, we piled in the car and took a two hour trip to Chicago where we spent the day. If I say it out loud even now, it still feels not true, like there's no way it could have actually been me in that fabled city. I don't even think that city exists, save in movies and on television. Perhaps a book or two. I was fascinated, and easily saw why Erica loved that city. We went to an art gallery which had much of the original artwork of the album covers of Pink Floyd and The Mars Volta. Each band also had some other art there, and I was completely floored by how awesome it was.
Back in Leamington, Erica and I had a chance to visit Colisante's (sp?), which was both a greenhouse with many-a-purchaseable-plant, as well as a petting zoo. I appreciated that trip revy chum.
Monday night was pretty crappy, because that's when it really hit that I would have to leave Erica behind for an indeterminate amount of time. Would it be only ten or 11 days? Will it be until the end of summer when she comes back for school in September? I still don't know, and the worry that I feel is like a slow but ravenous worm working its way between the two lobes of my brain. Getting on the plane all by myself was easily one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was not something that got done dry-eyed.
Alas, the memory chip in the camera I had could only hold 40 pictures, so even though I took 79 or 80, I had to erase them as I went along. But I do have a goodly amount to share with you, so if you feel so inclined, you can check out the behind-cut content and be satisfied, pictorally speaking.
Obligatory shot from the plane
The Leamington Marina
Lake Erie
Lake Erie again
I'm enjoying some passion fruit bubble tea
Vietnamese karaoke
Erica and Ruth at Goshen University
Where is Gene's Smoke Shop?
Ruth and Noah in Chicago
Erica and myself in Chi-town
The Cheesecake Factory
The Mars Volta, Pink Floyd, Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd times three
Erica in front of a fountain
Chicago skyline as we were leaving
Burmese Python at Colisante's
Why, yes, that is me petting a deer
Why yes, that is Erica petting a llama
Erica's massage therapist's front yard
Erica's massage therapist's back yard
Huge tree in the back yard...
"...which I totally cimbed
So, I hope you enjoyed reading this edition of the Leamington Post. Erica, hopefully you get a chance to see this soon. Hopefully it'll be right after you email me and tell me you're coming home on Sunday. I miss you.