It's the Gosh Darndest Thing

The weekend started out to be a "work weekend" but turned into a "woohoo" weekend. More then I could have ever expected................It was to be packing and sorting and that kind of thing. And to admit it, I'm ready for this part to be over. What was I thinking? Moving is stressful, right, eh? Yes, now I remember............. But, in a spur of the moment thing, we headed out to the North Shore and Cypress Mountain. What beautiful views. We could see Vancouver and the ships in the harbor. Of course the pine trees, in fact all the trees, were just beautiful. Heck, even the weeds were fun to photograph.

TM had mentioned on Friday that he had plans for Friday and Saturday night so I took matters into my own hands and made plans with RUCO, of blogger fame, to have dinner together. What fun!

First, he arrived in a 93 White Lincoln Continental. How awesome is that? And, he cleans up very well - as can I! A drive to downtown Vancouver in a car to rival the "mafia mobile" of Vandy and Sue fame was indeed a pleasure. Nothing, in my opinion, rides like a big Lincoln or Caddy. It was heavenly.

Dinner was at a very chi chi restaurant right across from the marina. Dining out of doors in this magnificent weather was absolutely magical. RUCO is a delightful conversationalist who regaled me with stories of his life, raising his family and his adventures in Mexcio. He made me laugh out loud several times. What a character.

Above is my appetizer - prawns with cocktail sauce. I asked, what is the difference between prawns and shrimp? Nada. They sure were tasty. In addition, salmon was the entree. Woo hee, I was in "tall cotton" as we say down south. DEE licious.

Even the floral arrangement in the restroom was unique and beautiful. I HAD to photograph it. I hope the woman in the stall next to the sink wasn't freaked out.

So, that was Saturday...........what a full, fun day. Somewhere in there, we did do some packing.

Sunday arrived. People coming to pick up stuff that has been sold. More packing. Oy vey. But, to begin with TM needed to deliver some papers and more Malcolm Lowry things that turned up as he packed.

Off we went to MacLeod's Books. I could not believe my eyes when I walked in the door. I LOVE book stores like this - they are few and far between. Sadly. The owner, Don Stewart, is the most knowledgeable book dealer that I have ever met. He had purchased the Lowry collection from TM, among other things. I was awed by the books and his conversation. I could have spent a week just looking at each and every book he had....well, maybe two or three weeks!

THIS is the way a bookstore should look. Not those antiseptic places like Barnes and Noble. Astonishingly, not only in the book store but in the annex, he knew where each and every book that we asked about was located.

As we traversed Vancouver, the idea popped into our heads to head for the Flying Beaver one last time for lunch. It was a little late, but with the beautiful sun and weather along with the water, it just seemed like a natural decision.

So, I'm sitting at a table waiting for TM and a man comes up to me and he says, "Babs, I thought you had already headed back to Mexico!" I must have looked at him with the most amazed expression. Then he said something to the effect that he kept up with me on the blog. I was speechless. I finally pulled myself together and said, "How did you recognize me?" And he said, "From the blog!" Again I'm speechless - which you know for me doesn't happen very often.

It was Ben who had commented when I arrived in Vancouver. What a surprise, to put it mildly.

We talked until TM arrived and introductions between us and his wife and son occurred. I was just flabbergasted.

I then got the bright idea to have someone photograph all of us together. You know last weekend it was RUCO and now Ben. The blogger world is beyond amazing. So below are Ben of Vancouver, myself and Tequila Man.

Good food. The sparkling water. Biplanes taking off and landing. Friendly folks. What a "woo hoo" weekend this has turned out to be.

I'm a darn lucky lady....................