To introduce the characters, Ashley is Gm's three years older sister, and Becky and Kristen are her roommates from Vassar who all flew in to go on the road trip with us (Gm and me).

We left early Saturday and drove all the way to Seattle, then checked into the hotel and decided we should just walk around and see what was there for a while, then went to the Experience Music Project, which is the big history of rock and roll music museum. It was lots of fun, all filled with guitars and drums and microphones for you to embarrass yourself with, or laugh at other people discreetly. There was a special exhibit on Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix as well, so I guess I learned something about them too, given that I knew absolutely nothing beforehand. There was some girl's old yearbook that Bob Dylan had signed and he was so awkward and uncomfortable it just hurt! Good thing he got to grow up and write better songs than he did prose!

Ashley and her friends went out that night and met up with an exboyfriend from her summer in Seattle last year, so they got in late (they were happy drinkers and smokers), but we ordered Alexander on the hotel movie channel and promptly fell asleep, perhaps ten minutes in. Pathetically uncool. . . That night we were supposed to have gone to a dinner at some fancy restaurant where they were having some special price set four course meal for twenty five dollars to promote eating out, but it turns out that was only Sunday thru Thursday, sneaky, and we couldn't afford it otherwise, so we ended up at some grill with burgers and such, congratulating ourselves on a cheerier atmosphere and lower prices.

The next morning we all just wandered around downtown and went where Ashley deemed attractive. We walked all about Pike Street Market, yicking at the fish and crabs, admiring all the flowers, smelling cookies and hot bread, listening to a barbershop quartet of black men singing outside the original Starbucks, then sitting on that lawn watching sailboats. We went to the Gasworks park later which is essentially a massive hill overlooking the water and city next to what appears to be a bunch of pipes and sketchy looking machinery. But it was gorgeous, and we watched kites and debated running down the hill. Gm and Ashley's friend Becky did, but they were just about flying towards the bottom and upon repeats, Gm completely wiped out, so we decided it was time to go on. So we headed toward Vancouver and had no problem at the border except for the incredulity of the customs agent that we were from all over like we were (Texas, Maryland, NY, Florida, and somewhere else). We got in to the hostel about ten or so, then went out to eat, then just about collapsed in bed. The next morning, Gm and I got up early, maybe eight, and went for a walk down to the harbor, maybe eight or ten blocks down, and just watched boats and a sea plane take off, tried to climb on these weird tent like architectures on their convention center that looked like the Sailboat of God, and upon getting breakfast in the mall, decided we couldn't find a single black person. Then we went on back, roused Ashley and them and went out to a little "funky" neighborhood that actually just turned out sketchy, a bunch of Thai restaurants, Mediterranean bakeries, and weird delis. But oh well! After that, we went to this suspended bridge in a gorge over a waterfall and rapids and beautiful bluey-green water. It was like Indiana Jones! So we did that, then walked all over these trails, up and down the rocks, and jumped about on the shore trying to impress each other, and it was just great! Everyone in the world seems to have these beautifully behaved dogs that go without leashes and deposit sticks and balls at stranger's feet for them to throw, so we got to play with some of those too. After that, we were exhausted, but we found out the hostel "kitchen" didn't have a range or an oven, so we bought a pizza and watched Jack Bauer.

The next morning, we got up and went to this massive Stanley Park, which covers miles (I think three) of driving paths along the waterfront and Indian totem poles and a petting zoo and a miniature train and kid baby water parks and huge trees that are all hollowed and old and the man eating flowers and all sorts of things we probably didn't manage to see. After that, we went up to Grouse Mountain that our waiter the first night in Canada had told us about. It's massive and covered in trees and has skiing and such at the top, so we rode a gondola up to the top and walked around for a while, admired the vie and threw dirty snowballs at each other since there wasn't actually much snow left, then ate dinner in the restaurant up top, watching the sunset from way high up. It was perhaps the best meal we had the whole trip. So we went back down and Ashley and her friends went out while we stayed in and watched TV or something equally exciting.

We got up early early the next morning (sort of) and loaded up the car to try and catch the nine o'clock ferry to Vancouver Island, but we were perhaps thirty cars too late and so while we were first on the one o'clock ferry, had to amuse ourselves for two hours there. So I worked on Ender's Game and slept and did the same on the ferry, then we were in Vancouver. We checked in and admired the view and sunset up on our exclusive frequent visitor floor (hurray for Gm's dad traveling a lot for work), but by then it was so late that just about everything was closed. We walked around anyway, planning for the next morning, looking in shop windows and trying to find a place to eat. We ended up at some Irish pub and had another really fantastic meal- apparently food is just better in Canada. And then we stayed in while Ashley and her friends met up with some guy they'd met in Vancouver for a drink or something, but Gm felt sick so we ended up asleep by ten forty five or so.

Thursday morning we got up to get the continental breakfast and take on our day, but the maitre'd (spelling?) said that our ticket was only good for one and we'd have to buy the rest and we were too poor, so we checked out, dropped off the car at the ferry and tried to go to museums and such. Ashley had read online about this special museum pass that got you into all of them for nine dollars, but it turns out that was part of a special local tourism promotion the past weekend, as was our High Tea at a fancy hotel nearby. Since we obviously couldn't afford the regular thirty dollars a person price, we went in search of brunch before our ferry ride, and ended up at this little cafe. It was fantastic! It was so sunny and pretty and had the world's biggest muffins ever. And they were particularly perfect because the pan was designed so there was a minimal amount of base, but had been cut oddly so that the top was just huge, atom bomb mushroom cloud style. So yummy for that. I love muffin tops! After that, Ashley and her friends went shopping and Gm and I walked from bookshop to music shop and magic shop, where this charming little man dazzled us with all sorts of card tricks and coin things and was just great. And I bought a candy apple from a gorgeous window display and charming Indian salesman who was so friendly, if a bit confused by my English, as well as some chocolates. Again, food is a million times yummier in Canada- perhaps it's just that same mentality that keeps Europeans thin and attractive despite having all sorts of exciting cuisine. It's just tastier and more important to enjoy it, rather than fast food McDonald's, though there were plenty of those, at least downtown in Vancouver. That was sort of dirty and sleazy, and reminded me faintly of downtown Mexico, but Victoria was beautiful, full of cathedrals and castles and lights and flowers and funny accents saying, "eh?"

And then we went through Customs and loaded up into the ferry, which took off late by almost an hour. I tore through my next Ender book, and we got into the US about six or so, then drove to Seattle. We dropped off Ashley and her friends, then drove back to Portland, where we finally got back into Reed about twelve thirty, banged on Alex's window and told her excited stories for a while and watched bad TV for a few minutes to wind down and finally go to bed.

But it was such an amazing trip. I absolutely loved it.