Day Six: Richmond Tour
Ben’s teeth continued to trouble him in the morning. He woke us up at six in the morning and he cried until the Orajel kicked in (all praise Orajel, chewy cookies, and cool facecloths!).
We had breakfast at the ABC Country Inn. Of all the BC breakfasts, this was the least impressive, but Ben did enjoy his share of the pancakes and the home fried potatoes.
Ben was a little sleepy after breakfast, so we drove around until he fell asleep in the car seat. Then, we pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall and I checked out Imperial Hobbies, a very well-appointed gaming store. They had models, miniatures, wargaming, rows of RPGS, comics, old Avalon Hill board games…very nearly the works. Their CCG section was a little thin, but that’s it.
I found Dina and Ben sacked out in the car when I emerged from the store bearing the Munchkin Player’s Handbook, a couple of starters for Initial D, and the free adventure booklet for the revised Vampire: The Requiem RPG (hey, I said it was free).
Then, we went to Nan and Aunt Doreen’s for our long-awaited visit. They wanted to show us their favourite haunts in the neighbourhood. Aunt Doreen still wasn’t feeling one hundred percent, so she stayed behind while Nan took us around.
First we went to the mall across the street and took care of some small errands. Then we had lunch at the White Spot in the mall. Our hostess wasn’t having a very good day, and spilled a glass of ginger ale on the table in front of Ben. He got a little splashed and very upset, which made the hostess apologize all the more.
Don’t worry, Ben recovered quickly enough to flirt with our waitress as soon as she arrived. He does have his priorities, after all.
After lunch, Dina ducked away to a photo hut to have some pictures printed off her digital camera. We wanted to leave Nan and Aunt Doreen with a stack of photos from our visit. The clerk at the photo hut was very helpful, and Dina was done in no time.
Then, we walked down to the Richmond Public Library so Nan could look for a pair of books. The library is part of a community arts centre, and goes a long way to show the dearth of funding for cultural institutions in Montreal. Nan and Doreen have always raved about the quality of the libraries in BC, and they’re not wrong. I’m quite jealous.
Once we were finished in the library, we walked along this enormous public park running behind the community center all the way to the apartment. Dina took out the digital camcorder and filmed us walking along. Ben earned quite a few stares from the passing little girls and grandmas.
Finally, we repaired to the apartment for a slightly longer visit. Ben found his second wind and crawled everywhere he could. But all good things must come to an end, and we had to take our leave. We said our goodbyes, talked about a return visit, and then Dina, Ben and I headed back to our hotel room.
Right now, Ben’s sleeping in his playpen and we’re waiting for an order of Chinese food to arrive. Then we’ll start packing up our gear and getting ready for the next phase of our vacation.
Next stop: San Francisco!
Day Five: New Faces, New Teeth
Today was Family Day. We got up early-ish, and met Scott, Mom and Dad at Ricky’s restaurant in the nearby mall for breakfast. Ben devoured an array of pancake bits and pieces from everyone’s plate while the rest of us tucked into enormous plates of food.
Well, to be honest, only my plate was enormous. Though, to be fair, I was closest to Ben, so I did most of the sharing. Even bacon!
After breakfast, we took our delayed trip to Stanley Park. The weather was most cooperative, offering us a sunny view from Prospect Point, along the seawall, and at Third Beach. Ben went straight back to the water, this time joined by his Grammie and Uncle Scott. He found starfish and crabs and squealed as the waves rushed in to tickle his legs.
Ben spent a lot of time squealing at the beach. He had a terrific time.
Scott and my folks left after the beach visit to head back to Nan and Aunt Doreen’s for a visit, while Dina, Ben and I set off in search of the kids’ petting zoo. It was worth the trip!
Ben saw sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, mice, and pigs, but his wildest laughter and most frenzied clapping were reserved for the llama and the horses!
We then drove down to Nan’s apartment to meet the rest of the family and head out to my cousin’s house in Surrey. Barry and Marion had planned to host a party at their apartment for Nan, all their children and grandchildren, and us Easterners, but there’s no way we’d all fit in their living room.
I don’t believe I’d seen either of my cousins since a New Year’s Eve party in 1985. We’ve all changed, but not in the essentials. It didn’t take long before we were yakking away and laughing at how similar we all were. The fraternal relationships provided endless fodder, as Scott and I have a similar team sense of humour as Ron and Gordon.
Gordon’s children, Hayley and Nolan, took an immediate shine to Ben. Hayley is nine years old and loves babies. She took him walking up and down the hall. Nolan is seven, and was deeply concerned that Ben would mess up his room. Of course, that didn’t stop Nolan from offering Ben some of his favourite stuffed animals, including the Very Special Dachshund. And Ben was fascinated by Hayley and Nolan in turn. They formed quite the mutual admiration society.
That’s really no surprise to me. Ben’s easy to get along with, I say without a hint of conflict of interest, but he didn’t put on the best first impression at Gordon and Tara’s house.
You see, halfway during the drive to Surrey, he woke up in the car and started crying. Inconsolably. Uncle Scott did his best to cheer him, but no amount of peek-a-boo or signing worked.
When we arrived at the house and freed Ben from his car set, we immediately saw the cause of the problem: two new teeth. Eyeteeth, in fact. We’ve named them Mr. Pointy and Buzz.
(For those of you keeping score at home, that makes seven teeth: Old Chopper, Chopper Junior, Biter, Spike, Chip, Mr. Pointy, and Buzz.)
Gordon’s wife, Tara, is a blast. She and Dina got along immediately, and Tara won further points by teasing Scott in a good natured way.
Dinner and dessert were delicious. The party ran on until about ten, and then we started the long process of exchanging email addresses and saying goodbye. According to Tara, it takes the BC Warks about an hour to get out the door. I thought it was just the Eastern Warks, but it’s apparently a family trait.
We all drove back to the parents’ hotel and said our goodbyes. They had an early morning flight back to Windsor, and needed to get ready.
Marion and Barry gave Ben a birthday present: a pewter bank shaped like a locomotive. It runs on a short piece of track, and has “Ben” engraved on the top. The gift is particularly sweet because my grandfather worked for the railroad.
Day Four: Quarantine, Beaches, Dinner and Dock
The day began with news that the bug had spread further over night, affecting Aunt Doreen and Aunt Marion, and made a return appearance in Ben. Our poor little man was sick all morning, causing us to cancel our plans for a big breakfast with the parents.
We gave Ben a couple of very necessary baths, which also helped him feel a little better, and then we took turns comforting him. Eventually, he fell into a deep sleep and, when he woke up two hours later, he was fit as a fiddle.
While Ben slept, Dina and I searched for breakfast food. Room service was out, of course. No brioche, no matter how laden with rare honeys, is worth twelve bucks plus tax and delivery charges. Such a brioche simply does not exist.
Since Richmond is famous for its Chinese food, we considered take-out, but none of the local restaurants delivered before four a.m. We abandoned the notion of Chinese and went for Boston Pizza. Dina had the three-cheese special, and I had a delicious hodgepodge called Jambalaya Fettuccine.
We took advantage of Ben’s slumber to watch the tail-end of the Olympics. We missed the live coverage of the mugging at the men’s marathon, and then the closing ceremonies. The Organizing Committee did an excellent job. It’s too bad that the tourists stayed away, leaving a deficit that Greece is going to be paying for three generations.
Once Ben perked up, we decided to head out to Vanier Park for a walk along the shore. I popped Ben into his backpack, and then we all went for walk. We walked from the park to Kitsilano Beach, where Ben dipped his toes in his first ocean. The water was cold and the sand tickled his toes and he had a great time.
On our way back, we passed by a comic book shop that happened to be open. I popped in, looked at all the games, toys and books. I didn’t find any discounted or rare treasures, but I did pick up a Worst Pirate Ever T-shirt by Roman Dirge. I mean, really, how could I resist. Pirates!
I’ll probably go back there for some extra gaming goodies. I’m only human, after all.
My parents were feeling better after their own day of rest, so we got together and went out for Chinese food. We chose a restaurant recommended by Barry, and he was right on the money. The hot and sour soup was the tastiest I’ve ever had (not overbearingly spicy or sour), the sautéed beef was tender, not rubbery, the vegetables crackled, and the chicken melted on the tongue. Hmmm!
Dad and Scott returned to their hotel after dinner for some early shut-eye, while Mom and the rest of us drove down to Steveston to eat ice cream while walking along the boardwalk. Steveston is a popular tourist attraction, and I can understand why. It has a small marina where fishing boats dock in the morning to proffer their wares to buyers from the local restaurants. There were quite a few families enjoying a night-time stroll along the wharf. Everyone seemed to have a great time.
The evening came to an end, though not nearly as quickly as the end of Ben’s ice cream cone (no ice cream, just the cone).
Day Three: Something in the Air and the Aquarium
We woke up early in the morning. I think we’re adjusting to the time zone. Ben had a bottle, ate some cookies and Os, and helped me read the morning paper.
We were getting ready to meet the family for breakfast and then head over to Stanley Park for a day trip when we got the call from Dad: Mom and Scott were sick with a stomach bug, and they’d be in bed for the whole day.
We were disappointed and worried: Mom had been looking forward to walking Stanley Park ever since we’d been talking about this trip.
With that in mind, it was almost a relief when it started to rain. Dina and I decided that we’d spend most of our time at the Vancouver Aquarium and leave the soggy park for another day. But first, we had to have breakfast.
We were driving around Vancouver proper, looking for a place to eat and trying to figure out where we were on the map. Eventually, we stopped in at The White Spot, a Vancouver franchise, for breakfast. Ben was on his most charming behaviour for the waitress, busboy and other diners.
We ordered apple juice and a bran muffin for his breakfast. The muffin was oven-fresh, and he positively devoured share. He giggled as he chewed, which is always a good sign. I love how much he enjoys his food.
Despite my initial navigational troubles with the map, we found Stanley Park (which reminds me of nothing so much as Mount Royal Park) and the Aquarium. There were quite a few guests in line for admission, and we joined them.
Ben loved the aquarium. It’s well worth the price of admission. We toured the Tropical room, the BC exhibit and the Amphibian array, watched sea lions, harbour seals and otters swim around at feeding time, and watched the belugas swim their laps.
Ben certainly proved himself is mother’s son with his obvious love of otters. I bet he thinks they’re large swimming cats!
After stopping at the gift shop (and who could resist a gift shop?), we drove around the rest of Stanley Park and then downtown Vancouver. We passed right by the CBC broadcast studios. Much to my chagrin, we didn’t catch a glimpse of Ian Hanomansing. Maybe next time!
Then we made our way to Granville Island for the market. Francois had described the Kids’ Market as a treasure trove of fun things for kids, and we wanted to see for ourselves.
He was correct in every particular.
But before that, we had lunch at the Keg. All of Ben’s prior experience in restaurants was just practice for this meal. He positively stared at our waitress every time she passed by, waved his food around before eating it with gusto, and applauded every new bite-sized piece of chicken, bread and sweet potato French fry.
I had the grilled salmon, Dina had the chicken club salad, but Ben had more fun by far.
Our tour of Granville Market was pretty complete. We hit up every store that was open and saw some nifty items. Only the knowledge that we’d have to carry our purchases to San Francisco (or pay shipping to Montreal) kept our shopping impulses under control.
I called my folks for an update on their health on our way home. Mom and Scott are doing better. They went to a clinic in the afternoon and were told that there’s a stomach bug going around that doesn’t last longer than a day. So, they’re well on their way to recovery.
More alarming, however, was the news that Nan has the same bug. We have plans for lunch tomorrow, but those plans might change tomorrow. I hope that Nan gets well soon, and that Aunt Doreen doesn’t catch the same bug.
So far, both Dina and Dad have not been touched by the bug. Here’s hoping that continues!
Day Two: Family Time Over Breakfast and Naps, and Old Friends
We woke up at around seven o’clock, and enjoyed a quiet morning. Ben looked pretty confused when he woke up in the playpen, but he had a terrific time tromping around our king-sized bed.
We met my folks at their hotel, and we all went to the International House of Pancakes for breakfast. Ben presided over the function from his high-chair. He wolfed down is kid’s plate of silver dollar pancakes, and stared at our waiter. “Who is this person who brings me food?” he seemed to be thinking.
After breakfast, Dad and Scott returned to the hotel for a mid-morning nap, while we took Mom to the mall for some more shopping. There was a trip to the Old Navy, followed by a tour of the mall proper.
We dropped Mom off at her hotel, and then popped in for a quick visit. Their room is the same size as ours, but with two queen beds. There’s hardly room to move! Ben bounced around for a short while, and then we went back to our room.
We didn’t have any strict plans for the afternoon, and that turned out to be a good thing: we spent the afternoon dozing away. I can’t remember when the last time we took recreational naps, but it was well before Ben’s arrival, that’s for sure!
Just after five o’clock, Melissa phoned us with directions to her condo. Dina and Melissa used to work together at the now-defunct Eicon. They’ve always stayed in touch, and we were really looking forward to seeing her in her new digs.
This was also the only time we could meet, because she was planning her own trip down to San Francisco with her boyfriend, Tucker, and they were leaving the next day!
We had a great evening. Tucker and I weren’t talking for more than five minutes before we both had our Palm Pilots out, comparing notes and swapping games. Ben crawled around the floor and played with tissue paper from his birthday gift from Melissa. Soon, the pizza arrived and we adjourned to the dining room for more conversation. Time just flew by.
But, alas, we had to take our leave. As you’ll see from the pictures, Ben was too pooped to party, and wasn’t shy about letting us know! Poor little dude!
We stopped by a Safeway on our way home and bought some food for Ben and snacks for us. In the parking lot, a guy hit us up for spare change with an unconvincing story about being out of gas and the gas station not accepting his social insurance card as proof of ID (I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried!).
Ben fell asleep in the playpen with even less protest than before.
Day One: Departure, Arrival, and Reunions Both Planned and Unexpected
Wednesday night was a sleepless affair that lasted well into Thursday morning. I woke up every hour on the hour after dreaming of last-minute tasks to accomplish before our trip. For the first time in a year, I was happy when the cats woke me up for their 4:30 feeding.
After checking on Ben in his crib and assuring myself that he was still in pretty good shape after his bout with the stomach bug, I tried to go back to sleep, gave up, and decided to start the day. There were a surprising number of little household things to get done, notes to leave for the cat sitter, and suitcases to double-check.
This was, of course, our first time flying with Ben, so we were unsure of what to pack. Our initial plan was to bring everything Ben owned, but the freight charges were too high, so we scaled back. We ended up with five bags (three for Ben) and two carry-ons (1 for Ben).
The cab arrived at seven o’clock. I brought down the bags and thought they’d never fit in the trunk. However, our cabbie was pretty good at getting the bags to fit where they needed to be, and we were on our way in short order.
Check-in at the airport was pretty smooth. We loaded the bags into a pushcart, and then picked up our boarding passes. We had hoped to score a free extra seat for Ben, but the flight was oversold, so he’d have to spend the trip on our laps.
We waited at the gate for about 90 minutes. Ben spent most of the time crawling around, making the other travellers laugh with his chuckles as he tried to steal their shoelaces, newspapers and snacks.
All this activity had the desired effect of tiring him out. We boarded the plane early, found our seats, and he snuggled into Dina’s arms almost immediately. He slept through the taxiing and takeoff, and woke up when the attendants started serving breakfast. Ben particularly enjoyed the grapes and melons in the fruit cup.
He also enjoyed the earphones we wore during the in-flight show. He picked them up, swung them around and laughed happily. We kept him pretty busy with books and toys, and he didn’t let out anything but a happy squeak for most of the flight. Even the other passengers pitched in: a businessman seated behind us was quite happy to play peek-a-boo with Ben!
Ben was a little fussy on the descent to Vancouver. He wouldn’t take his bottle, but he did eat through a pair of cookies as a way of easing the pressure in his ears. That worked pretty well.
My parents met us at the baggage claim area. Mom was, naturally, overjoyed to see her grandson and quickly swept Ben away. While I waited for our bags to make their appearance at the carousel, Dad filled me in about the health of my grandmother and great-aunt (they’re older and more frail than when last we saw them, but still in pretty good health), and also delivered some surprising news: They had had dinner with his older brother the night before.
This is a big deal. Dad hasn’t spoken to his older brother, Barry, for seventeen years (Don’t ask for details. I’m not getting into them.). In fact, Dad would have been perfectly happy to have not seen Barry during the entire week of his stay, but he made a tentative approach to a reconciliation before leaving for Vancouver: an offer to meet for a beer, which Barry accepted.
Apparently, that was enough. Barry met my parents at the airport, ferried them to my grandmother and great-aunt’s apartment, and then went out for dinner at a nearby pub. They carried on as though nothing had happened, as though the seventeen years were nothing more than short separation.
So, Dad informed us that we were invited to Barry and Marion’s apartment for dinner. They wanted to meet Dina and Ben. So, we had new plans!
But first, we had to get our rental car, find our hotel, and get some lunch. The car was easy enough: Dina had confirmed the rental before our departure, so we simply waltzed up to the counter, chose a P.T. Cruiser over a Dodge Caravan, put Ben’s car seat in the back, loaded up our bags and drove off. The clerk at the rental counter gave us a map of the city and some excellent directions to the hotel. The directions were so simple that they boiled down to: “If you’re on the road longer than three minutes, you’re lost.”
Upon our arrival at the hotel, I looked for a bellhop to help with our bags. None were to be found, but I did grab a trolley from a parking attendant. I stayed with the bags and Ben while Dina looked for one of the guest parking. There wasn’t any to be found, so but she figured she’d ask at check-in.
Well, there is no free guest parking at the hotel. Parking is a $10/day surcharge. Dina cast a baleful eye at the parking attendant who informed us of this, but policy is policy and it wasn’t going to change.
During check-in, we were offered a room upgrade for $20/day that included parking, the morning paper and free local phone calls. I would have scoffed at the offer, but the free local calls won me over. I knew we’d be making lots of calls to the hotel where my parents and brother were staying, so I was happy not to pay the unreasonable hotel rates for those calls.
The other additional charge as for high-speed internet access: $10/24 hours, on demand. We didn’t plan on using the access each day of our stay, but we were going to make the most of it when we could. Those blogs aren’t going to update themselves!
Our room was okay. It’s certainly not worth the posted nightly rate, but the view of the Vancouver Marina is beautiful! After we checked in, the promised crib for Ben arrived. Except that it wasn’t a crib – it was a playpen. No matter; it’s good practice for San Francisco, where Ben will be sleeping in the playpen we gave Dan and Libby.
So, we settled down and rest for a couple of hours. I fired up the high-speed access, answered some work emails, chatted with my boss, posted some pictures from our trip, and checked Mapquest for directions to my grandmother’s apartment.
Then, we headed out. We left the car in the parking lot of the mall directly across the street from the apartment, and then stopped in at the food court for a quick bite to eat. With the time difference, it was dinner according to our tummies.
We walked across the street and made our way to the apartment. As we approached the building, we came up behind two old ladies using walkers. I recognized one of their voices. “Auntie Doreen?” I asked.
Aunt Doreen turned around and looked at me with surprise. “Stephen! I was looking for you!”
I introduced Dina and Ben, Doreen introduced us to her friend, and then we made our way up to the apartment. The door was unlocked, so we went in and surprised my grandmother.
“Did somebody order a great-grandson?” I asked. Nan’s smile lit up the room.
Ben made quite the first impression. He crawled up to Nan and Aunt Doreen, played with their walkers, tried to eat their plants, and babbled happily while we caught up.
A short while later, Barry and Marion arrived. They haven’t changed at all. Marion whisked Ben up in arms and he worked his happy baby charms on her. I’ll confess to a little awkwardness in talking with Barry (I always liked Marion), but I reminded myself that as long as things were okay between Barry and my parents, then it was really nothing to do with me.
And so it went.
Scott and my parents arrived soon thereafter, and then we organized ourselves to drive over to Barry’s apartment. It’s a swank place. I was taken with the photos of my cousins and their families on the wall. They’ve changed over the years.
The evening was a lot of fun. Ben was a real trooper even with the late hour, but we eventually had to take our leave and head back to the apartment. We stopped at a convenience store along the way to get some supplies, and then pretty much slept-walked back to our room.
Ben went to sleep in the playpen with hardly a peep of protest. It was 10:30 PST.
First Photos from our Trip
Ben slept through takeoff, and was a gem for the flight to Vancouver:
Dina loves her PT Cruiser!
Ben met his Nan (my grandmother) and his Great-Great-Aunt Doreen for the first time yesterday!
Time Flies, and So Will We
Friday was another typically quiet night, remarkable only for the fact that Ben was ravenous at dinner. Normally, he’ll eat a quarter of a veggie burger over the course of an hour-long meal. That night, he packed away three-quarters of a burger, all in about six bites. After he finished chomping on one, Dina would say “Give him some more! Let’s see what he does!” And I would listen.
Ben slept pretty well that night. I think we witnessed the fuelling stage of a growth spurt.
On Saturday, we went shopping for travel gear. We joined the crowds of back-to-school shoppers at the mall and picked up a travel suitcase for Ben’s gear, a hockey bag to hold his backpack, and I went all crazy and bought a new wallet (The last time I bought a new wallet was in 2001, while Dina and I were in Chicago for an STC conference, so I thought I was due).
Then, we stopped by Francois’ house to pick up some maps of Vancouver that he promised to loan us. Dina finally saw his famous gaming room: shelves and shelves of games of all varieties. Now she knows that I’m not that bad…yet!
On our way home, Dina returned that terrible Transformers game at the Blockbuster, and picked up Paycheck to watch. We still haven’t, but it’s not for a lack of trying.
Then we went home and planned which things to pack. I managed to pack my bag with a week’s worth of clothes during that time. Dina sneered at me.
Sunday was another trip to the Townships. We drove in separate cars, so I could drop off the Ford LTD for the duration of our West Coast trip. Dina’s already planning to ask our neighbours to move her car back and forth across the street to meet the parking restrictions, and one car is enough.
So, I had two concerns for the trip: one, would the construction traffic be bad, and two, would the car stall en-route.
You see, the Ford LTD is a groovy little road yacht, but it’s had two well documented problems. One is that it stalls intermittently. The other is that the gas gauge has no bearing on the amount of gas in the tank, and that the gas tank is at such an odd angle that it will shut off the gas pump before it’s actually full. You really need to fiddle around to ensure that you’ve filled the tank properly. I was caught out in November, and I’ve always feared a repeat performance.
Well, I shouldn’t have worried. I gassed up the car before leaving (putting in 17 litres on a 48 mile odometer), drove to Mansonville with nary a sputter, and refilled the tank: 9 litres on 92 miles.
The Ford may be balky for short-haul city driving, but it’s aces for highway driving. Whoo-hoo!
As per usual , Dina and I helped out with the housework and yardwork while we were there. Ben had a great time, too. I rode around in the mower, and Dina chased me with Ben in the stroller. She could hear him laughing over the roar of the engine.
The other highlight was the retrieval of 4 newborn kittens from the cat box. Dina’s parents have lots of wild cats, and they always keep an eye on the newborns. Sometimes, they try to domesticate them, but often the cats wind up feral. Dina found two that were left up in the woods, and I reached into the cat box (really, a two-storey feline hotel) and pulled out two more. All the kittens were mewling in a box.
Ben was fascinated. He practically quivered with glee at the prospect of petting the kittens. He poked at them. He reached down with his pudgy hand and gave them well-intentioned noogies. He cried when we told him to be gentle, and laughed when he reached for them again.
Oh, if only we had thought to take pictures!
Monday was a bit of a downer. I woke up in the morning with the dread certainty that I had either food poisoning or a 24-hour stomach bug. I thought I could just shuffle through the day, not eating much and being very still while Ben ran around the house, but I couldn’t. Dina stayed home and looked after the two of us and kept up with her office work. She’s terrific!
Fortunately, 6 hours of nap and a Gravol later, I was ready to roll. Adriana came by for dinner and a visit, and we had a great time talking about career paths and family vacations.
Yesterday, I caught up with all the work that I didn’t do on Monday, which made for quite the busy day. The, we capped the day with dinner at Ed and Martine’s place to talk about the must-see features of San Francisco. Ben chased their cat and stole the strawberries out of Martine’s bowl. He’s such a good guest!
Today is the day of final preparations. I’ll be tidying the house and getting the last of the laundry done, Dina’s at the office putting the finishing touches on what she can, and then, we’ll be off to the airport bright an early tomorrow morning.
Expect intermittent blogging during the trip.
Try Before You Buy
Yesterday, I rented Transformers for PS2. I’d read good reviews of the game, but wanted to give it a spin before I plunked down my dollars at the till.
The game’s not for me.
My biggest problem is that it’s a first-person shooter disguised as a third-person platformer. Sure, I’m looking over the shoulder of my main character all the time, but the targeting scope is always dead center in the screen and I have to move the camera to bring my target into the center of the scope! I’d much rather move the scope and engage with the game world in a more organic manner.
I returned the game today. I consider the rental fee to have saved me a good sixty bucks.
Papers, Please
Ben has his first passport!
Yes, Canadian law has changed to require all citizens, no matter what age, to carry their own passports when travelling. So, I took Ben off to get his official photo taken, then found a guarantor to sign the photo (though he certainly couldn’t vouch for knowing Ben for more than two years [grin]), and then processed the paperwork at the downtown Passport Office.
I picked up the finished passport yesterday. He looks serious…seriously cute. (Did I mention that you can’t smile on a passport photo anymore?)
But why a passport, you may ask? Because we’re going on a West Coast vacation next week! First, we’ll be heading out to Vancouver to visit my granmother and great-aunt. Scott and my parents will be there as well, which will make for a fine time.
Then, we’ll be flying South to San Francisco to spend time with Dan, Libby, and Little-Baby-Leibu-to-Be! We’ll be sure to wear flowers in our hair.