Left Coast Dispatch

(I will preface this post by saying that I am highly pissed at having to re-type the entry because WebTV didn't like one of my keystrokes.)

Greetings from Beautiful British Columbia!!

This blog update is being brought to you by the magic of WebTV because my laptop didn't want to make nice with the hotel's highspeed network. In spite of the fact that I can blog from my bed with a wireless keyboard, I don't feel transformed by WebTV in the slightest.

DW and I have had a surprisingly full couple of days. The flight was lengthy but uneventful (DW says that's the way they should be) and we arrived ON TIME. Y'know, you always hear about these things, but you're not sure if they're really true stories.

I got in touch with my Aunt H. who, through familial contacts, managed to obtain tickets to the football game the night we arrived. DW and I took a little time to unwind prior to meeting Aunt H., R and Big "A" at their pre-game hang out (Big A being a retired football player from that same team and one of my childhood heroes).

The game itself was a somewhat lopsided affair, (final score was 41-1 for the good guys) including a rather touching salute to Veterans at halftime that had DW and I nearly in tears. Amazing Grace with a mixd bras and pipe band gets us everytime.

The game didn't end until after 10 and, keep in mind, this was local time. For our travel weary bodies, it was 1 a.m. Poor DW was nodding off during the fourth quarter and if it wasn't for the cotton candy she hoovered down for the sugar rush, she wouldn't have made it. Steph, sometimes the cotton candy guy can be your friend. We ended up back at the pub with the family, including a couple of cousins that I hadn't seen since they were preteens. One is now practising law. Ouch.

By 11:30 local time, my wife looked like she could win the lead in "Night of the Living Dead", so we walked the mile or so back to the hotel (in the ever-present drizzle) and crashed. DW spent five minutes telling me how she couldn't fall asleep, and within another five minutes, I had to pry her Su Doku book and pencil from her hands as she was snoring her way through her first puzzle of the night.

I am deliciously pleased to state we slept in until 9:30 local time. That's right, boys and girls, that means we slept until 12:30 EST. For DW and I, sleeping in usually means getting up at 7:30 instead of 5:30. This sleep was beyond decadent. I wanted to call Reuters, but they weren't available to take the story.

We spent this morning the way we usually spend our vacations: walking and visiting museums. We visited the Vancouver Maritime Museum (which doesn't hold a candle to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, I'm afraid) and the Vancouver Museum. We walked back to the hotel, changed and headed out to North Vancouver for dinner with the aforementioned rellies. A wonderful time was had by all (as was roast beef with yorkshire pudding, veggies and bumbleberry pie). *Burp*

Did I mention the pie?

Now, we're back in the hotel and while I iron my clothes for the conference tomorrow, DW is sitting topless on the bed, typing this for me.

It doesn't get much better than wireless tv blogging and topless wife typing (DW: I must really love him to let him say that).

Until later.