Good Friday morning, we set out from my sister's lovely home in Vancouver and made our way to Matt's parents' house for breakfast. Although we knew that this would set us back considerably with the border line-ups, Matt's mother had been gone for some time and really wanted to visit with the kids before our big trip. Understood... it meant that, by the time we left for the border, there were two to three hour waits at ALL the crossings.
We took our chances and headed for the Aldergrove crossing. We got into the line up quite quickly and it was a beautiful day for a border wait. Matt and the kids went walking along the side of the road where a very clever man had set up his ice cream truck. :) They each got a treat and enjoyed walking alongside me as I advanced in the line. The sun was shining, the sunroof was open, and I had my book to read while I waited. The two hours passed by very quickly, and we were soon at the border.
I got in trouble for crossing the line behind which I was supposed to stop, of course. Amazing how grumpy border cross guards can be! He made a point of coming over to me and telling me that he was not pleased that I had crossed the line. Truth be told, we had a wasp in the car, and I was paying more attention to getting it out of the car than I was to the large man in front of my car telling me to stop. I tried to explain this to him (leaving out the bit about him being large, of course), but he remained unimpressed. When we were waved through to the agent, we were once again asked many strange and wonderful questions. There are the normal questions: Where are you going? Where will you be staying? How long will you be away? And then came the interesting ones: Do you have a home in Canada? Will you be renting it out while you are away? What do you do for a living? Are you both working this year?
We made it through without a search, but we chatted for some time about the sorts of questions that we were asked... the difference between Canadian and US border guards and the questions that we are asked is really remarkable. The last time we went through the border, we forgot that the Americans would know everything about us, and were asked where we had been living (Colombia), and where the children had been born (Switzerland). It is always an experience. I guess there is never a dull moment as a border crossing guard.
Onward we went to Seattle, where my good friend Melanie and her family live - her husband Jonathan and their lovely daughter Thalia. We had been trying to find a time to go and visit them in Seattle since we returned to Canada last fall, and only now were able to make it happen. They live a very interesting life in Lake City... they work with a Mennonite church in the area to support the homeless community living in the Lake City area. They have become friends with many of them and have been able to come alongside them, providing an environment where they can experience dignity, fairness, justice, and peace. It is a truly incredible role that they have been able to play in the lives of the people that they have met and continue to meet, and we felt privileged to join in their community's celebration of Easter this past weekend.
Our time with them was relaxing and refreshing, to say the least. The children had lots of fun playing with Thalia and jumping on the trampoline, and we made several excursions to parks in the area during the course of the weekend. We had an Easter egg hunt, of course, and overdosed on chocolate...
Matthew has been suffering a bit with a bad back, so we stayed a bit longer this morning in order for him to get in to see a physiotherapist. He feels much better now, and has some exercises to keep him limber on the journey south.
We only made the short drive from Seattle to Portland today, and the children are now dozing quietly in the bed beside me at the Holiday Inn... a swim, some dinner, and eight chapters in Kate Dicamillo's The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane which was given to us by our dear friend Nikki. Good choice! They loved it and didn't want me to stop.
Tomorrow we will head south to the Redwoods... so exciting! I have always wanted to see these giant trees! Good times...
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