My Theme Song

Awhile back someone asked me what my theme song was. A song immediately came into my mind but I wasn't sure that I would call it my theme song. After that I listened to it again and realized that it is my theme song...for right now anyway. So here it is.



What about you? What is your theme song?

Last Day in Vancouver

Our last day in Vancouver and Canada turned into more of an adventure then we thought, Becky claimed that it was because we were living in a sitcom. After checking out of the hotel we stopped by Costco to stock up on some Canadian candies. We (or probably more me then anyone else) may have purchased $100 dollars worth of chocolate, if Cadbury would just sell the Wunderbar here I wouldn't have to stockpile them! And don't even get me started on Canadian Kit Kat bars, come on Hershey's just ask Nestle for the recipe already! Then we had one last battle with traffic, this time waiting to cross the border, I kid you not when I say we were in line for more then 2 hours. Then when we finally got to the actual border crossing things got really interesting. The US Border agents made the Canadian ones look like fuzzy stuffed animals. After handing over all our passports the agent then asks what we are bringing back, now at this point I had already had my fill of traffic and wasn't thinking clearly and I respond other then souvenirs? To which the agent retorts souvenirs are things Rainman. Nice. Welcome back to your country with a well placed insult, it's good to be home! Now I am watching him scan and read all the passports after scanning them all and taking his time reading each one he tells us that they are having computer problems and we need to park and go inside, which we do. After getting inside we find it odd that those so called computer problems seem to be affecting more types of people then others, lets just say non-English speaking, and leave it at that. While waiting in yet another line we see a sign that informs us that we should be offered a friendly welcome to the USA and that the goal of the agents is to make sure we get through the crossing as quickly and comfortably as possible. Failed on both counts and we never got that welcome either. I understand that it is their job to protect the border and really I am grateful for it but at this point in time I just kept telling myself that it is our tax dollars that are currently paying to delay, harass and just make for an overall lousy experience and really who wouldn't want to pay for that. As we make our way through what can only be described as the worst Disneyland-type line ever we are approached from and agent and asked if we are the folks from Utah. I wonder how he could spot us so easily in this line....nope not going there. He asks us if we cross the border often, seeing as Utah is land locked by many states on all sides and the nearest border is 1000 miles away we say no. We are then informed that the Washington apples that we bought the day before could not in fact be brought back into Washington as the origin sticker had been removed. Fine keep the apples it's no big deal to us. Sorry apples I guess you really can't go home again. We are then told that we still have to wait in line but it should only be a few more minutes before we are back on the road. A brief slimmer of hope can now been seen on our faces, it is soon quickly erased. When we get to the counter we are asked the same questions that we were asked outside. Our newest agent friend then tells us that he needs to speak to one of our travel companions separately. Turns out she had been to Algeria a year ago and this raises all sorts of red flags, don't ask me why, and that they have to search our car again. So we are sent to the back of the line to wait yet again. We have now been within 500 feet of the border for about 5 hours. After they check the car and don't find anything to detain us any longer we are allowed to come back in the USA. We quickly make our way into Washington and don't stop for 50 miles just to make sure they don't change their minds and demand that we turn over any more fruit! The lesson I learned from all of this is next time I am flying. Overall the trip was a blast and now we all have a great story to tell about trying to get home and how apples and Algeria should never mix.

Vancouver Day 4

Day 4 in Vancouver took us to the Museum of Anthropology where we explored the culture and history of the First Nations as well as many other cultures. Then it was off to the Museum of Vancouver since the Space Museum closed at 3pm! (Found that at after we got there, luckily the museum was in the same building.) The Museum of Vancouver might have been the saddest museum I have ever been to. While parts of it were interesting it just seemed very odd and thrown together, like it was well past its prime. Later in the day we ventured over the Lions Gate Bridge and up to Cypress Mountain for incredible views of the city. We then spent the rest of the evening trying to get back into Vancouver thanks to narrow streets and 5 lanes merging into one. I can't say I will miss Vancouver traffic.

Day 3 Part 2: Stanley Park

For the second part of our 3rd day in Vancouver we explored Stanley Park. At 1000 acres there is a lot to explore. We visited the Vancouver Aquarium, took a walk around the seawall, learned about the totem poles of the First Nations, watched the ships and plans from the Port Vancouver lookout. You have seen Stanley Park in some of my other pictures from our trip, it is the large wooded area in the oasis of skyscrapers. Now take a look inside the park.

Okay this last one isn't of Stanley Park but I like it and it was taken on our 3rd night so that is why its here!

Vancouver Day 3 Part 1: Harbour Cruise

The first half of our third day in Vancouver found us taking a cruise of the Burrard Inlet. Here are some of the sights from the boat.

Vancouver: Day 2

Day 2 in Vancouver consisted of walking along the Seawall, checking out Downtown, taking the SeaBus to North Vancouver and the Capilano Suspension Bridge, then back to Vancouver for some great views of the area from the Vancouver Lookout.