a city, north of here

[aithne]

So, Vancouver.

Zip up north on a Friday afternoon, miss the downtown traffic, hit traffic in Everett. Coffee south of the border; into Canada, find the hotel, easy peasy. Priceline is my friend, oh yes.

Go find some dinner that night, write, collapse. The next morning, up early with me and out to breakfast, then off to the Trout Lake Farmer's Market and to see very briefly breklor and karlajean. I bought jam, listened to music, saw a long long line for the first tender red tomatoes of the season. Then caught a bus and then another bus to the VanDusen Botanical Gardens; was ambushed by an antique car show. Wander around and take pictures of flowers, vistas, look at how the curve of shaore is echoes by the carefully tended shrubs.

Then off once more for downtown, where I meet up with porphyre and her main squeeze and his mom. We went to Krazy!, a very cool exhibition at the Vancouver Art Museum. The piece I liked the most and understood the least was called No Ghost Just a Shell, the sto0ry of a character bought from a catalog, redesigned, experimented with, and ultimately killed and set free in one legal action.

Jhayne is a primal spirit of something, I'm convinced. We retired to her apartment, where I met her very nice housemate and her adorable cats, and we rested for a little bit in the soupy heat of the afternoon. My Celcius to Farenheit mental conversion failed me; nevertheless, it was hot. Then we walked out to a hall down the road a bit, where a show called The Valley of Ashes. Theater, shadow-show, movie, puppetry, revelers, masks, all centered aorund the story of a boy and...his plant.

I loved it.

Afterwards, we went to dinner, and then I made my way back to the hotel on the bus, about 1 am. Fell into bed, slept a few hours, got up and drove over to UBC, to the Nitobe Garden and the Museum of Anthropology. More pictures, of course; my feet were hurting, which was not lending itself to the serene contemplation of nature, but give me something to focus on and I can survive just about anything. The Muserum of Anthropology was well worth it, as well.

Drove home by way of Sumas, which confused the border guard; but Highway 9 was fun as it always is, and next time I'll make up a better excuse to take that border crossing.

Home again, home again; and here I am, a week later and only saying this now.

(Thank you, those of you who I saw! It was lovely to see your shining faces.)

Comments

[nobodyanymore.livejournal.com]

It was short, but it was lovely to see you! One of these days when I do a similar trip to Seattle we shall have to do lunch or something longer than a 3 minute hello at a market. :)

[3smallishmagi.livejournal.com]

There's an originalness to the zigzag path photo I like.

I look like the village idiot in the picture you took of me. I do have a brain stashed away somewhere. I should find it.

You look really pretty in that self portrait with the freckles. I don't think I've seen you quite like that before.

[porphyre.livejournal.com]

Oh mercy, a perfect spirit of what, though?

*frets*


My pictures of the Valley of Ashes are up:



and the darling, completely silly ones of you and David too: