Back from Vancouver

The weekend trip to Vancouver, Canada went very well and I had a great time.

Sandra dropped me off at the Kingston ferry terminal at about 7 AM on Friday and it was a very short walk from the Edmonds terminal to the train station, giving me plenty of time to catch Amtrak train 510 at 8.07 AM.

Train travel is so much different from economy class air travel.  The slow and easy pace of the passengers and crew, big windows, large comfortable seats, and ample leg room contrasted sharply with the cattle yard experience that I've become accustomed to in efficient, cheap, yet suffocating air travel.  The announcements to passengers is a good example of the difference.  On the train the conductor made his announcements slowly, calmly, and very clearly, whereas on an airplane the cabin staff speak so fast that most times I cannot understand what they are saying.

The man sitting next to me and I kept to ourselves for the first half an hour, but then necessary courtesies were followed by brief pleasantries, and soon we were in full conversation.  He spoke of working in Washington DC then showed me on his tablet the location of a rural property that he has on an island on Chesapeake Bay that is his weekend refuge.  I told him about my sailing adventures on Pachuca.  As we approached Vancouver I gave him my boat card he responded by giving me his card.  I noted that Anthony is president of an IT company and commented that I was in privileged company.

Nigel, Self, Patrick at the Beach

Enjoying the Fine Weather

Picking Pumpkins for Halloween

Feeding Ducks at Migratory Bird Sanctuary

I had been wondering how customs and immigration processing would be handled.  The train made several stops on the way to the Canadian border picking up passengers then rolled right through the border to Vancouver and it was at Vancouver that all of the passengers were processed.  The agent asked me the purpose of my visit and when I replied that it was to visit friends he asked me how I had met these friends.  I thought to myself  "Shit, mate, do you want my life story? Do you want a bedtime story?" I gave a brief outline of my friendship with Nigel and Patrick and if challenged further I was prepared to spend 30 minutes boring him with the entire story, which started in Australia over 20 years ago.  Mercifully for both of us, the agent let me through.

Outside of the train station Anthony and I hugged each other farewell and I knew that I was saying goodbye to a friend. He hopped into the cab to head for his conference and I set off on foot for the center of town where I was to meet Nigel and Patrick at 4 PM at Starbucks on the corner of Robson and Howe streets.  I had a map showing my destination but asked a man sitting on a park bench for the general direction.  "Five blocks that way then three blocks to the left, but it's a big rough."  "Why rough?"  "It's a drug haven."  "Will I be safe?"  "Yes, but don't stop.  Just keep walking."  Gulp!  Welcome to Vancouver, Robert.  I set off  with my back pack firmly strapped on and trying to give the appearance of a bored local who knew what he was doing.  Soon I was in Chinatown and felt safe.  I took a fortunate wrong turn which put me at an HSBC bank where I had no trouble in drawing out $100 in Canadian currency.  Another local pointed the way and soon I was in Starbucks drinking coffee and reading a copy of the NY Times that I had picked up on the train.

Plenty of Fresh Fish

Nigel and Patrick met me just before 4 PM and it was good to see them again. We visited one of the local beaches where we had a stroll then a drink at a local watering hole.  Then we headed to their home in the suburb of Ladner, south of the city.  They live very well, in a large modern duplex in a small private community within walking distance to a marina its restaurant.  The location suits them because it is very close to their respective places of work.  Their home is impeccably furnished with quality and taste and when I thought back to the spartan setting of my home back in Australia I felt somewhat like a backwoods hillbilly.  I commented that though I had the funds to refurbish my house after I returned to Australia I would not be able to match their taste and style.  (But that's OK: I'll get help on this.)

We then went out for a good meal at a Japanese restaurant and made a visit to the train club that Patrick belongs to.

On Saturday morning Nigel gave me a tour of the township of Ladner then we headed out through some pleasant countryside to a large sanctuary for migratory birds.  Unfortunately it was too late in the season for me to see the migratory birds but nevertheless I enjoyed walking through the reserve and watching the resident birds.  Afterwards we picked up Patrick and the three of us headed for the very colorful local Fisherman's Wharf. This was the real deal, with perhaps 30 boats backed up to the jetties and selling all sorts of fresh seafood, much of it still alive.  We then had a very good lunch at packed out restaurant overlooking the floating fish market.

The plan for the evening was to have a small dinner party where I would present some of the photographs and videos of my trip around the Horn.  Patrickl had introduced me to Windows Live Movie Maker, which comes with Windows 7, and had asked me to arrange my material in the order that I thought appropriate.  During the afternoon I watched as he whizzed through the software creating a movie complete with neat transitions, background music, title, and credits.  Then he pricessed the movie through more software so that we could run it through their wide HD TV screen under my control.

The guests were Gary and Raymond from the city and Richard and Mindy from next door. They completed the mix of sharp and experienced people and I certainly enjoyed their company.  After drinks and conversation we sat down for dinner where Patrick presented us with gigantic T-Bone steaks that he had grilled outside  (I could only eat half of mine.) then we moved to the den for the sailing movie.  That went quite well mainly because the videos spoke for themselves, although I hit the pause button several times to give some explanations.  Fortunately I had split the material into two The Horn and Argentina, and we found that the 35 minutes of the Horn movie was sufficient for the evening.

I found Gary a particularly interesting person.  He joined the Canadian navy at the age of 16 and rose to become the only officer who had served all three services.  He took a year off his military career to knock around the Caribbean in a 30 ft boat and eventually left the service as a master mariner with electronic skills.  There were several interesting stories, such as when he captained a broken down freighter through the Panama Canal to the military junta in Ecuador with a cargo of grenades and ammunition from Israel.  It was all quite legal but as he had expected he had to fend off two attacks from bad guys trying to board the ship to get their hands on the ordinance.  I enjoyed the company of this fascinating man and told him that I hoped to see him again on a future visit.

We had a quiet Sunday morning, starting with the three of us chatting over a full breakfast of bacon and eggs.  At mid afternoon we headed back to the city where we had a good light lunch which for me was accompanied by a tall cold lager beer.  We then set off for the train station, arriving at 5.10 PM for the 5.45 departure of Amtrak train 517. The US customs and immigration processing was done at the station before boarding.  We said our goodbyes and I thanked Nigel and Patrick for their wonderful hospitality.  The agent asked my the purpose of my visit to Vancouver and I turned and pointed to Nigel and Patrick and said "To visit those two great guys."  He saw us waving to each other and passed me through.

Living and Dining Rooms

My Guest Room

Watching TV in Comfort

Patrick the Breakfast Chef

The train ride back was uneventful.  We were on board a new train that had bigger windows, more personal space, and seats that could be reclined far back with leg supports that could be lifted up.  The lass next to me was focused on her magazine and didn't want to talk.  After passengers got off at Bellingham she moved across to a window seat across the aisle.  At the next stop the conductor seated a young man next to her and I noticed that they didn't say a word to each other.  She was engrossed in her magazine and he was engrossed in his Kindle.  Arnold told me later that this is the way young people are these days.

I  got off the train at Edmonds at 9.30 PM and at 10.15 PM I boarded the ferry for Kingston.  I was able to telephone Arnold from the terminal and when I arrived at 10.45 PM there he was walking down to meet me.  After two stiff bourbons and an hour of talking I hit the sack at about 1 AM.  It had been a great weekend.