Well it wasn't really an invasion, but it was most certainly Aussie. Earlier this week, my friends Brian and Jo arrived in Vancouver en route to Brian's son's wedding in Toronto in a few days. They departed Melbourne in late May, and prior to arriving in Vancouver, they had stops along the way in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, to visit other relatives.
The last time we saw each other was slightly more than 5 years ago, when I was in Melbourne, so it was wonderful to have an opportunity to spend time together again, even though it was only for a couple of days. Naturally, there was much to talk about and the conversation flowed freely. Of course there is always a tendency to reminisce in a situation where you haven't seen someone for an extended length of time, and we were no different. The memories we talked about certainly produced a significant amount of laughter. There was even an opportunity to bring up the subjects of energy, and climate change and other associated topics, and for the first time in a very long time, it seemed to go quite well. Brian and Jo were very thoughtful about these things. Perhaps my delivery is getting slightly better, or maybe it's because Brian has a son in LA who is very familiar with these topics. Whatever the reason, it was rewarding to have the discussion.
During our first day together, we did an extended walk from Gastown, where they were staying, all along the waterfront of Burrard Inlet, then over to English Bay, and eventually to Granville Island. This was perhaps the longest walk I have taken on since my accident, and unfortunately I am paying the price at the moment, with a pronounced limp again.
Brian was fascinated with the float plane traffic on the harbour as he had never seen a float plane take off or land before. Day two saw us heading across Burrard Inlet on the seabus in order to visit the Q market and later on in the afternoon we spent time at another market which was adjacent to where we had been at the Q.
The time went by way too fast, and by yesterday afternoon I was returning to Harrison Hot Springs, arriving here in the early evening. My brain wasn't in the mood to write last night, hence the one day delay. As I write these words, I am certainly feeling a bit flat, due to our goodbye yesterday. Still, I count myself fortunate to have had the opportunity just the same. As I may have mentioned before on this blog, I really don't expect that it will be too much longer before the age of jetting around the world will become a thing of the past. I continue to be amazed at the fact that things appear to be "normal" on this front in the year 2014.
Time now to settle back in to the countryside and enjoy the peace and quiet, after being in the noisy city. As an added bonus, I get to say hi to my four legged friends down the road from here.
Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
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