Becky and I went to Vancouver the week after Memorial Day weekend. I won’t bore you with the details, but here are some of the highlights.<\/p>\n
– We departed Oakland on May 26, 2006.<\/p>\n
– We saw my old friend Katie Saxon<\/a> and her master’s recital at the University of Oregon in Eugene.<\/p>\n May 27, 2006 :<\/p>\n – Then, en route to Sasquatch (in George, WA<\/a>), we stopped in Portland. We tried to have lunch at the Montage Bistro<\/a>, but it was closed. (Fear not, we went back en route home.) <\/p>\n – Undeterred, we went to Powell’s<\/a>. They have a lot of books<\/a>.<\/p>\n – After traveling alongside the Columbia River (it’s really sweet) for a long time, we crossed into Washington<\/a>.<\/p>\n – We stopped in Yakima, WA<\/a> to get gas, and more importantly, an horchata, taco and a burrito. Apparently the Washington State Republican Party<\/a> was having a convention there too.<\/p>\n – The Columbia River<\/a> continues to be sweet.<\/p>\n May 28, 2006 :<\/p>\n – We hung out with folks<\/a> waiting to get into Sasquatch on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n – Apparently Dharma<\/a> has something to do with Sasquatch. They showed this symbol in between sets all day long.<\/p>\n – Nonetheless, Blue Scholars<\/a>, were indeed, the place to be.<\/p>\n – The Decemberists<\/a> were quite enjoyable too.<\/p>\n – Matisyahu<\/a> rocked the house. He got these guys<\/a> to dance.<\/p>\n – Becky and I<\/a> had a great time.<\/p>\n – The Gorge<\/a> is beautiful at dusk.<\/p>\n May 29, 2006 : <\/p>\n – On to Seattle. First stop was the Pike Place Market. We saw a monkfish<\/a>.<\/p>\n – Found poem: “Love is everyone named Fred reborn as seedless jam.<\/a>”<\/p>\n – Pike Place has a lot of awesome signs<\/a>.<\/p>\n – We had lunch at Three Girls Bakery<\/a>.<\/p>\n – And we learned some sobering history about Pike Place Market<\/a>. <\/p>\n – Then, like all good tourists, we went to the Space Needle<\/a>. It’s got a spectacular view<\/a>. (Apparently the way to avoid the $14 admission fee is to go to the restaurant upstairs and buy something cheap, like dessert.)<\/p>\n – We went to Victrola Coffee<\/a>. Becky fueled up on caffeine, and we both used the WiFi<\/a>.<\/p>\n May 30, 2006 : <\/p>\n – Then we went to The Great White North<\/a>.<\/p>\n – While the Canadian border guard admired our passports<\/a>, they wouldn’t stamp them — saying that “too many of you come up here” — but in a really friendly Canadian way.<\/p>\n – We found our hotel in Vancouver, and pondered our existence in the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden<\/a>.<\/p>\n – The Globe and Mail<\/a> is full of interesting news that we don’t get south of the border. Like stuff about some guy named Stephen Harper? He’s important, I think. Not sure why.<\/p>\n – We stumbled across something called “steamed burritos”<\/a>. As we walked away from this place, I quipped that a steamed burrito was “like a fried bagel.” A friendly Vancouverite, walking about three meters in front of me, turned around and said: “Hey man, don’t knock ’em until you try one.” He then reached into his wallet to pull out $6 CDN to buy me a burrito, but he discovered he didn’t have change. I told him that if he was going to vouch for them, I’d try one. I didn’t get around to it — so I suppose I’ll have to come back.<\/p>\n – Then I tried to arm-wrestle a bear<\/a>.<\/p>\n May 31, 2006 :<\/p>\n – Totem poles<\/a> are pretty amazing.<\/p>\n – We discovered that a Girl in a Wetsuit<\/a> goes really well with sulfur<\/a>. Or at least I thought so.<\/p>\n – After a couple hours of trekking around Vancouver, I procured some Havana Club<\/a>.<\/p>\n June 1, 2006 : <\/p>\n – We learned that humans in the Northwest came from an oyster<\/a> that was pried open by a hawk.<\/p>\n – I was excited to go to Wreck Beach<\/a>, which is “clothing optional.”<\/p>\n – But I was mystified as to why there were no naked people<\/a> when I got there.<\/p>\n June 2, 2006 : <\/p>\n – We returned Stateside via Seattle and Portland and spent the night in Waldport, Oregon.<\/p>\n June 3, 2006 : <\/p>\n – Driving south for a long time on Highway 101 eventually gets you back to California<\/a>. <\/p>\n – We crossed the street and pretended like we were entering Oregon<\/a>, because we didn’t get a photo of the sign on the way north.<\/p>\n – We set up camp at Patrick’s Point State Park<\/a>. Dinner was had at Hurricane Kate’s<\/a> in Eureka, CA.<\/p>\n June 4, 2006 :<\/p>\n