Back in the USA

Today was the day we traveled back to the US and the reality of cell phone service (yes, my email caught up with me today). We fixed the last of our Coach's Oats for our breakfast this morning and then packed up and headed out. We were on the road by 8:30 AM. We enjoyed our visit to Vancouver, but both agree we won't need to go back. We felt the same way about NYC when we visited there a few years ago. Glad we saw it, but been there, done that.

Bubb wanted a photo of this sign. The security measures on our building in downtown Vancouver were extreme (for instance the bellhop carts were chained to the wall and you needed a key to get one to use). We took this advice very seriously.

I am standing at the car ready to go. Bubb said we would need some photos of today. When we got to the US/Canadian border, they signs said a 50 minute wait was indicated. I saw a short line that said something about "Nexus". I didn't have a clue what that was, but I liked the short line. We got in it, and sure enough 25 minutes later I was apologizing to the Canadian Border Patrol for being in the wrong line. He didn't even chastise me. Just smiled, explained what Nexus means, asked me a few questions, and sent us through. I was smiling for at least the next 50 minutes.

We decided to track down a Triple D spot for our lunch, and we stopped in at Bobby's Hawaiian BBQ in Everett, WA. The menu was about what you would expect at a Hawaiian spot. Bubb had tempura fried shrimp, rice (with sugar of course), and mac salad. I wanted the seared ahi tuna, but had to settle for chicken katsu, rice, and a green salad. It was a fun spot.

We drove down to the docks in Seattle and did some walking around, since we couldn't check in to our motel until after 4:00. We even made it to Pike's Place Market, where for a very uptown price one could by lots of interesting things. None of it tempted us, except at a little stand down on the dock where my old pal Tom Mackie took us a few years ago. Bubb and I shared an early dinner of smoked halibut and a cup of chowder. It was probably the best seafood of the trip. The halibut was to die for.

They had beautiful flowers for sale for $10-$30 a bouquet. Bubb said if she lived nearby, she would have been tempted. We sure saw a lot of people taking them home. Our motel is a real dive, but we only needed a place near the airport, and we fly out at 6:00 AM, so it didn't need to be fancy. We are repacking a getting ready to go. We should be home by 1:00 PM tomorrow, which is good. The guy who scraped, re-textured, and painted our ceilings this week reported via email that all went well, except he "broke" one of my sprinklers in the front yard. I will wonder all night whether it is the sprinkler or the pipes attached to it. I will be digging into that question tomorrow afternoon. Vacation doesn't end until church on Sunday. In the mean time, we will enjoy. Buboppy