Vacation part 2! We ate our last breakfast on-board and de-boarded the ship. It was relatively easy getting through customs and finding our luggage. I planned weeks before to rent a car and drive to Vancouver, BC. A few years back my cousin Karyn and her husband moved to Canada and I have not seen her in years. Being in the Pacific Northwest was the perfect excuse to visit.
Once again we lucked out by receiving a complimentary upgrade to the rental vehicle with a UO discount. (Win!) We got an awesome Hyundai Santa Fe that had amazing gas mileage. I printed maps a long while ago, but it's mostly one road (I-5) North. This was also the same road that had the bridge collapse a few weeks earlier.
Vancouver is only a 2.5 hours drive. We lucked out without hitting any traffic at the border. I love driving. I do my best thinking when I'm driving. When I drive on pretty roads my imagination just goes wild. I wish there were a way to record thoughts as they happen because I wrote some great lines, but could not write them down because I was driving.
We met my cousin at her house around 3:15pm, which is also when I met her children for the first time. I always joked that I wanted to meet them before they turned 18. So cute. Johnny is great with little kids and had the little girl's friendship in minutes. I brought presents from Disney World and hope they will visit us someday. It felt so good to catch up. While it seemed so long since we last saw each other, and an entire lifetime seemed to have passed, we chatted like it was yesterday.
Karyn took us to Granville Island, which had an amazing market and art community. Then we had dinner on the docks. Possibly the best fish and chips ever. The reunion was short, but amazing. One of my future Happiness Project goals in the future is to reconnect and this was a great first step. Saying goodbye for now made me sad, and I usually do not feel emotion. Somehow I think this vacation allowed me to let my guard down. As we parted ways I thanked John for accompanying me on this visit and I wished out loud that I would have more meaningful encounters with family.
It's interesting visiting a town where someone else lives. I know that's a strange statement, but usually people visit me in Orlando and I just say you gotta do Disney or whatever I normally say at work. Being a tourist is kinda fun. We got some great tips for our next day in Vancouver.
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