A Special Day

My family will tell you I'm not a big fan of "programs". I drag myself to ballet and gymnastics because my grandkids are involved, and would prefer that I could see their performances and go home. I was expecting kind of the same today at the girls' school, since it was "Special Persons" Day. I assume it's like grandparents day that I've seen at other schools, but a little broader.

I figured I would watch the girls classes perform--of course Jeslyn was near the beginning and Jolie was near the end--and took a book to read while the other classes were performing. I was also aware that this is yet another retirement perk--I couldn't have seen this if I was still working. To my enjoyment, I greatly underestimated the impact the day would have on me.

The kindergarten classes started off, with a performance of "It's a Small World" complete with the monotone kid who must have managed to sneak a wireless mike onto his/her person--at age 5 it's kind of hard to tell the boys' voices from the girls'.

Then the first grade, Jeslyn's class, was next, and Jeslyn had been chosen to recite one of the welcome announcements for the class, which she did with one of the broadest smiles of the day. Her smile continued through their singing of their two songs and choreography.

The fifth grade was marked by about 100 kids who all seemed to be on key.

The 6th 7th and 8th graders don't sing, but about 10 of them are chosen to read the essay about their special person, and I decided to put my book away for the time being. Moms and Dads were included of course, but there was one tribute to an inspiring teacher, another to grandparents who took her in, "because my parents couldn't take care of me," and an Uncle who was a Marine war hero. Then all of the middle school kids (Moiola is a k-8 school) came out and presented their special person with a framed copy of their essay. Since the Russells have moved into a new attendance area, I don't know if I will get to see the girls do this at their new school.

Jolie's 4th grade classes were next, and again she exhibited a big smile, was out front performing a french folk dance with classmates, and seemed to be thoroughly at home. I pointed out how happy both of my girls were to be there, because I couldn't help but notice a few kids in all classes who were not smiling, and spent most of the time looking at their shoes. Was wondering whether their parents even came, whether they didn't want their parents to come, whether they were afraid to go home, etc.

Then it was the 3rd graders to perform 2 songs. First was, "I'd like to teach the world to sing," which of course had Jen and I both singing the Coke commercial. Then they did a great job on "We are the World." I have to confess this really got to me. It's moving enough to watch the original performance in this year of MJ's passing. But when you see 60 8-year-olds saying,
"We are the world, we are its children, we are the ones who make a brighter day so let's start giving. There's a choice we're making, we're saving our own lives..." with such conviction, it's quite overwhelming.

Then the second graders also sang a couple of songs which highlighted the theme of the day, which was diversity. Each of the second graded classes listed the native countries represented in their class, and the total seemed to be about 20 different nations.

Then it was time for classroom visitations. Jeff and his mom went to Jolie's class first, so we went to Jeslyn's. She gave us a big hug, then set down to finish the picture she was coloring for her mommy. So Jan and I guided ourselves around the displays, finally getting to the part where each member had posted their special persons essay. Jan and I both teared up when we read, "My sister Jolie is my special person," with 5 or 6 sentences extolling the virtues of her sister, with whom she is frequently quarreling when at grandma's house. (I was reminded of a friend's facebook post. His 5 year old had his 2 year old sister's name posted on his wall as a reminder to pray for her. Daddy was so proud until he learned that the posting was a result of a Sunday school lesson on loving your enemies!) Jeslyn is very competitive and seems always to want to outdo her sister. Yet, Jolie was her special person, and my unbiased opinion is that she could not pick a better person to emulate.

Then we went to Jolie's class. As if to underscore how different they are, Jolie led us on a guided tour of her classroom, explaining each display, and making sure to point out which one was hers. Her "special person" was her entire family, which is fitting because for her to choose would be to possibly hurt someone else's feelings, which she is not willing to do.

I'm thinking Special Persons Day next year will be on November 19. I've already blocked it off on my calendar (or I would if I had one).

Moving Tunes (Pun Intended)

By now you've probably figured that music and athletics are a big part of my life. If I had any wishes for anything in my life to have been improved, it would have been more talent in baseball and music. Of course, I got an extra dose of ego, so God was smart enough to leave me with something less than professional talent in those two areas. But there always seems to be a song or two that speaks to my current situation and mood, and yesterday seemed to be one of those days. My "job" for the day was to be available to help Jen and Jeff with their move, and it promised to be stressful in that they had to be out of their old house yesterday and wouldn't be able to get their stuff moved into the new house until Friday. Plus, they had spent until the wee hours Monday getting ready for the movers.

The day started with my reading a post put up by my friend Don, who is music minister at our church. He mentioned that he had just heard "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters, and it was popular when he and Lyn were dating. I told him that Jan and I had wanted that song to be sung at our wedding, but it was too contemporary for Jan's mom and we settled for "Whither Thou Goest." Ironically, Don said that was a selection at their wedding also. That led to a long discussion of wedding songs, some quite humorous, others quite touching. It also reminded me of the song sung just before I walked Jen down the aisle, which I've mentioned in a previous blog. Briefly, it was the Wedding Song, with a touch of "Where are you Going" thrown in at the last minute.

So I was already pensive as I headed over to the Russells, and a song came on my XM gospel station. No picture here, but the refrain lifted me up--"Even in the Valleys, God is good." This was followed by one of my favorite hymns, "How Long Has it Been." Again, not necessarily apt for the day's events, but served to remind me--I seem to need to keep being reminded--of how much Jesus wants an intimate relationship with his children.

I took a load over to the house of stuff they didn't want the movers to deal with, and when I returned Jeff was standing in the driveway looking so tired and forlorn that I went over and put my arm around his shoulders and muttered something brilliant like, "it's all going to be OK." Didn't move him, but made me cry!!

Took another load, the radio cue said that Styx was playing, switched to that, and didn't really fit the mood. However, the next song...

was New Year's Day by U2. This was especially pertinent, since Jeff had entrusted me with his most prized earthly possession, his guitar autographed by all members of the band that Jen had put in a case with all of their CD covers. So far, it's still in great condition.

I had to make a trip to Home Depot for him to buy a switch plate to replace the one in Jeslyn's room, got one that was too large, made another trip for a smaller one. Spent a total of 87 cents on the two trips. Coming out, feeling blue again, and Michael W Smith's version of

Bridge over Troubled Water was on, and it's always been one of my favorites, again liftin my spirits.

Jeff asked me if I knew the number for Empire Carpets, and I missed it by one, despite singing the jingle. Turns out they were able to come to the new house tonight and new carpets will be installed tomorrow. I pointed out that this would not have been possible if they had been fully moved in by today. Another example of God making our lemons into lemonade.

They got everything out, got the keys to the new house today and Jen and Jeff are sleeping on the floor there today while the girls are spending the night with us.

I found myself thinking of the refrain from "We've Only Just Begun.":

Sharing horizons that are new to us
Watching the signs along the way
Talking it over just the two of us
Working together day to day....together

When we first heard those words, they were full of the hope and dreams of starting a new life together. Now, almost 40 years later, they are a description of the rich life that I continue to share with my wife, the life my children share with their mates, and the priceless moments I sometimes share with my grandgirls. And we've only just begun.

A Day at the Mission

Today was Jan's turn to have a reunion with an old friend, and I went along, too, as I knew her friend Rita also. Their friendship goes back to college days and before, but we hadn't really seen her in at least 25 years. Once again, this was a Facebook-facilitated connection.

Rita lives in Nampa, Idaho, but was down visiting her son in Camp Pendleton. He had just finished with his second deployment to Iraq (thank you, Steven). We agreed to meet this morning at the mission in San Juan Capistrano, since it's about halfway between Pendleton and HB. Rita brought her 2 year old granddaughter, Sarah. (Sorry if it's spelled Sara, I forgot to ask). Sara is a very well-behaved little towhead, and clung to Grandma Rita's leg for much of the early part of the visit.

Admission to the mission includes a free audio tour now, so we had our headsets and were at about our 3rd exhibit when one of the volunteers came up, talked to Sarah, and said she would come back with some food for her to feed the fish. She wound up bringing back a 10-ounce Dixie cup filled about 2/3 of the way to the top with tiny fish pellets. She walked us to the pond, which was brimming with Koi (sp?) and told Sarah to start tossing pellets into the water. So she did--one at a time. I roughly calculated at that rate she had about 6 hours worth of fish food, and I was parked in a 3-hour zone. So I tried to speed things up. I showed her how to pour a little in her hand and throw it all at once, and she enjoyed the feeding frenzy that followed. By the time we were done, she was holding food out over the water and watching them bob their heads out of the water. I kept waiting for her to say, "speak!!" She then had me hold out my hand, and I got to demonstrate that I, too, knew how to feed the fish. We finally ran out of food, she wanted more but didn't throw a fit when told there was no more. Then (this is the best part), she held out her hands and said, "Carry me, Grampa Rick."

There are few greater feelings in the world than to know you have earned the trust of a small child. So I joyfully hoisted her up, fuzzy brown backpack and all, and we started off the view the next stop, the J. Serra chapel. (I was also thinking that this is why Jesus uses such harsh language when discussing those who would violate that trust). Sarah dutifully remained quiet inside the beautiful chapel, which contains paintings of the 14 stations of the cross, and a 300-year old gold altar imported from Spain.

This was my 3rd or 4th visit to mission SJC, but by far the best. First of all was my new friend Sarah, and secondly it was the first time that our visit was not shared with 200 busloads of 4th graders. After a couple of hours I realized this could not have happened just this way a year ago, since I would still have been at work (sorry, I'm really NOT rubbing it in. I'm just happy to be retired and genuinely sad for those of you who aren't but want to be.)

We visited their latest exhibit, a tribute to the California gold rush, and we played in a tent, played checkers and tic tac toe (sort of), occasionally stopping for Sarah to energize with another animal cracker from her backpack.

Went to lunch at Ruby's, which has the built in babysitter of a train circling the area on an elevated track. Finally time to go, and Sarah insisted on a kiss and hug outside the car and once again when she was buckled into her carseat. One byproduct of my friendship with Sarah is that Jan and Rita had plenty of time to catch up. They headed back to Pendleton and we to HB. Sarah's parents are trying to decide whether to stay in the Marines when their hitch is up or to get out and try the job market. It was great to have Rita share how these two met in the Marines, have returned to a relationship with God, and are doing a couples devotional in preparation for the rest of their lives together.

So, I had a great day with a little girl who, unless some pieces come together, I may never see again. There's a chance that her parents will move to Nampa, Idaho to be near Grandma Rita when their hitch is up, and that's the scenario that gets my vote. We now have at least 5 families to visit the next time we make it up that way.

On the way home we decided to run by Marriott's Newport Coast Villas, our first timeshare we bought 6 years ago and haven't visited since. We are booked there this summer and may actually stay there this time, so we were "scouting" which building we wanted to request. The facility is all built out now, though some units are getting some finishing touches, and we can see why it is so popular with out-of-towners.

On the way home, I was beginning to realize while this time of life is referred to as the Golden Years. My day was certainly golden.

Final Weekend

We left Salem on Friday afternoon and headed back up to the Portland area to spend the weekend. Since our friends are still of the working variety they wouldn't be home until about 7, so we had a couple of hours to kill. We first decided to visit Portland Central Church of the Nazarene because their worship arts pastor, Stephen List, used to be on staff at Garden Grove. Alas, Friday was his day off, so he wasn't there, but a bazillion ladybugs were, and about a dozen made it into the car before we left. We then drove out to Multnomah Falls, just south of the Columbia River, advertised as the 2nd highest year-round waterfall in the country. It was OK, but looking up at it didn't do much for my intermittent vertigo. Found an outlet mall on the way home, got a nice Eddie Bauer jacket/vest on sale, and was so grateful I left them my credit card. Finally got together with Bret and Paula, went to dinner with them and son Kyle and wife Elsa. Kyle and Elsa have two very large dogs whom we left in the house with the resident Italian greyhounds. The result was returning to a house that looked like it had been tp'd--on the inside. Titus-the 6 month old Great Dane-had found a new roll of paper towels, and his mates helped him shred and spread it all over the house.

Saturday morning dawned rainy, so of course we went golfing. Bret, Kyle and I were joined by my nephew Todd, who drove over from Vancouver. He was supposed to work, but very logically concluded he could work any Saturday, while Uncle Rick only was up there for golf on rare occasions. We played the Wildwood course, which is northwest of Portland on the way to Astoria, and if you ever are in the area and are a golfer, I highly recommend it. First of all, we played on a weekend, and it was $37 with a cart for 18 holes. The course is carved out of the mountainside and forest, resulting in many elevation changes and dogleg holes, and the par 4s are short enough for me to reach. Kyle and Todd had a lot of fun together, including the hole where they both managed to hit their drives into a treetrunk that was only about 6 inches wide.

Forgot to mention that their other son, Nate, brought their 15-month old grandson, Oliver, over to have gramma and grampa babysit while he went fishing. Oliver's mom works nights, so she was sleeping. Nate picked up Oliver before we went golfing, and managed to find time to put the Oregon State football website into my favorites list on my laptop. We were not amused!!

Todd and Meredith and their oldest son Mac came down Sunday morning for brunch with the 4 of us, and it was great to see them again. Drove down to Medford to spend Sunday night, trying to decide whether to spend one or two more days getting home. Two days was leading the voting at the time.

Had breakfast Monday morning in Yreka with our friend Kenny, who runs Grandma's House restaurant there. If you are driving I-5 on the way to Oregon, it is a must stop. We hadn't seen Kenny in a few years as he had gone through a divorce from another good friend of ours, so it was good to reconnect with him and see things are going well. He's a big Raider fan, and had gone to the game Sunday, so I'm sure he was in a better mood than he is most Mondays! We then hit the road and decided to just drive and see how we felt. Turns out we felt like coming home, so we covered the entire 725 miles and arrived home about 9:30 last night.

So our longest vacation is over, and we will have lifetime memories as well as a list of places we want to revisit. But it's great to be home. I've been retired since June, but until today we have always been planning for an event, ranging from Hawaii to my retirement party to our trip to Canada. Now it's just re-orienting ourselves, and making sure we are prepared when the tax business ramps up in earnest next year. Took care of renewing my license while on vacation, am in the process of finalizing my paperwork with IRS so I can e-file all of my clients, and am looking forward to getting back into regular attendance at FCC.

In My Life

There are no pictures to go with this post, because yesterday was unlike any day so far in this vacation. It was a day short on Kodak moments but long on memory lane and validation. I found myself thinking of the words below, which pretty accurately described my mindset when reflecting on the day.

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends i still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

We are staying with cousins in Salem, Oregon, and through facebook I have learned that there are a few former students living in this area. So after lunch yesterday I took some time to visit with them at three different times and locations, and the result was one of the best days in my life.

The first was with Kimberly, a young lady I had in math in the late 80s at Tustin High School, and who graduated in 1990. Through an error in planning on my part, we only had about 15 minutes to chat, but they were rich as she recounted how she wound up in north-central Oregon. Hers is a blended family, having been married for 15 years and having children 13 and 8, plus 3 children that were her husbands from a previous marriage. So she's 37 with a 26-year old stepdaughter. She is able to stay home and has been doing childcare in her home for most of her married life. Since we had such little time, we made plans to get together some more if she is able to come down for her 20th reunion next summer.

Then I met with Terri, who was a 1984 (or 1983?) graduate of THS. Terri's story is quite different. She also was never one of my students, but was a member of the New Life (Christian) Club when I was a faculty sponsor. For whatever reason, she was quite "picked on" in high school, had very few close friends, and had things happen to her in high school that should happen to no one, but unfortunately are quite common. The self-image she developed from that caused pain for her for 20 years after, and she is just now beginning to realize what life has to offer her. She said the reason she "friended" me on facebook was that I was nice to her at a time when very few people were, including those in her own church. She has a daughter who is a sophomore in high school, and is engaged to a man she met 19 years ago who has basically waited all that time for her to be ready to spend her life with him. The story of her life to this point would make a very moving Lifetime movie. We talked for an hour and a half, bound by our familiar experiences and gratitude for God's guidance and protection in getting her to this point in her life. For those of you with a Tustin Meadows background, her dad was known as "Mr 4th of July" and was responsible for starting the tradition of adorning the streetlights of the Meadows with American flags many years ago, and residents have continued that tradition since his death.

Then I met with Barbara and her parents. I only really knew Barbara her freshman year, before the family moved to Oregon in 1983. Her parents were also there, along with her husband, 4-year old daughter and two stepdaughters. Our friendship was forged in tragedy, as the oldest son Jeff was killed on his motorcycle at the age of 19 in 1984, and they had asked me to speak at his funeral. Since then, tragedy has struck again. Barbara's twin brother Barry was murdered in Florida in 1995, and the killers are still at large though the authorities know who they are. Barbara endured being abandoned by her husband when her daughter Reagan was only 10 months old. But she glows as she talks about how God brought David into her life, and the joy the 5 of them have shared in the succeeding years. Her parents, Judy and Richard, were also there, and we had a wonderful time of fellowship together. There is still residual pain for them. I can't imagine outliving any of my children, much less two of them. One of the things I was able to do was to provide them with Jeff's high school transcripts, and also a copy of the eulogy I wrote, which I found while going through stuff getting ready for my retirement party. When we left Judy handed me a Thank You card, which will be a keepsake, and gives me far more credit than I feel I deserve for the role I played in her childrens' lives.

As I look back over this post, I realize it will probably have a pretty small interest level for most of you. It is impossible for me to convey to you the joy that the day in its entirety brought to me. Perhaps if you are a teacher who loves their kids you may understand, especially if you are one of those who look upon your job as one of building lifetime friendships. For me, I met with a very special group of people from my past. My relationship with them when we were younger had a different dynamic in each case. Each of of arrived at this point with a wide difference in the level of pain and heartache we have endured. The common thread? All of them seemed as genuinely happy to see me as I was to see them. All of them see the presence and direction of God in their lives, even when things were at their worst. All are enjoying a time of extreme vitality and happiness at this point, and look upward when giving the credit.

For me personally, it was a continuance of the message I have been getting since I made the decision to retire: "You done good!!" When you are a teacher who is also a Christian, there is always the question of whether you have done enough for your kids and your God. In these cases, at least, it appears the answer was "yes."

Oak Harbor to Salem

The view to the left is pretty much what can be seen from the bedroom window of the house where we spent the last 3 nights. It is in Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Washington's Puget Sound. We go there one or two times a year. Jan's cousin Ben is the pastor of the Nazarene Church there and she and Lisa have been like sisters their whole life. In the small world department, turns out that the sister of our children's pastor at FCC is married to the pastor of the Assembly of God Church in Coupeville about 10 miles south of here, and Ben and Mike know each other rather well. Coupeville is one of those quaint little towns that Hollywood loves, and has been the site of a few movies, the latest being "Practical Magic. You can see from the picture why it is not hard to get Jan and I to visit.

Ben and I went golfing on Monday at the Gallery Course, which is part of NAS Whidbey Island. It is now open to the public, and we played 18 holes with a cart for $30 apiece. I love the course, though it is pretty hard, especially the back nine which is cut out of the forest. This particular day was also very cold and windy, so for the first time in recent memory--if ever--I was happy when the round ended.

One further treat for us is that Lisa's father, Paul, has moved out to Oak Harbor from Kansas City. Paul performed our wedding ceremony almost 39 years ago, but we hadn't seen him in at least 10 years. It was great to meet with him and discover that after all these years, our worldviews were pretty much in sync.

We left this morning and the trip contained one of the things that is always a highlight for Jan, a voyage on the ferry system. We boarded at the southern tip of Whidbey Island and rode across to Mukilteo, on the mainland. We lucked out in that we got there just as the ferry was boarding. Sometimes the wait is up to an hour, but this was about 10 am so the morning commute was over. The ferry saves about 45 miles on the trip south.

One added bonus for this trip is that my nephew Jeff has recently moved to Seattle to take a position at B of A, and my sister happened to be up here visiting. So we went to his apartment in the Queen Anne section of Seattle to chat and have some lunch. Again, we love to eat at places on the road that we cannot experience at home and Jeff took us to a restaurant called Spot 5 (or 5 Spot) a few blocks from his house. This particular place changes it's theme and decor every few months, commissions local painters to provide the artwork for the walls, and has thematic offerings on their menu. Jeff said when he first moved there it was 50s Diner, and today it was Puerto Rico. At the end of the theme, the paintings are auctioned off. But the Puerto Rican paintings were beautiful, and included a picture of one of my favorite baseball players, Roberto Clemente. There also was a huge lifesize sea turtle suspended from the ceiling. We could have breakfast or lunch up until 3 pm, so I thought I would post a picture of my sister's breakfast selection.

Pictured below is the cinnamon french toast that she ordered, and tho this picture was taken off the internet, her breakfast looked just like this.

Jeff's apartment is very nicely situated. It's an "upper" of a renovated older home, and from his bedroom he has this view of the Seattle skyline. From his other window he can see part of Lake Washington, including Elliot Bay, which is where Tom Hanks' houseboat was situated for the movie Sleepless in Seattle.

Our drive today took us to Salem, where Jan's cousin Aletha lives with husband Les, and we will be here through Friday afternoon. Especially exciting for me are a few reunions with former Tustin students. I have an evening get-together planned for tomorrow night with a family that I haven't seen since 1983. The last time I saw them was when they asked me to speak at their son's funeral when his life had been cut short at 19. A bond was formed then that hasn't been dimmed by the years of separation, and I'm so excited to see them. There are also 2 more "kids" from Tustin that I will see here before we leave for Portland on Friday. Portland will involve staying with friends, seeing another nephew and his family, and at least one more Tustin high reunion. So even though the sightseeing part of our vacation is over, and Jan and I have decided we are ready to be home and will endure long driving days on Monday and Tuesday, I'm still pumped about what lies in store the next few days.

Kamloops and Whistler

Our fears of wet roads were unfounded as we woke Thursday to dry roads, 23 degree temps, and about 3 inches of snow on top of our car. We began what the GPS said would be a 7-hour drive to Kamloops in BC, our halfway point to Whistler. We arrived in Golden where we were to catch the Trans-Canada highway only to find it was temporarily closed due to an accident. After a half hour delay we were allowed to move on, but the road was understandably crowded. We were to go through a couple of national parks on the way through, but it turns out that most of the venues in Glacier and Revelstoke National Parks were closed for the winter. There were some spectacular views, but nothing close to Glacier NP in Montana. It really seems to be more of a hiking/backpacking place than tourist-friendly. We stopped for lunch in a little town called Revelstoke, a charming little railroad town, called "historic" for reasons we never figured out,

but we did find this cool place to eat called Bad Paul's, pictured at left. I had a spicy beef wrap, which wound up being nearly as hot as the shrimp at Giovanni's on Oahu. It was also very filling, so I still have the other half in our ice chest. As we have found in every stop in Canada, the waitress was very friendly and helpful, and after a short tour of the town, we moved on toward Kamloops. Evidently the GPS figures on your averaging about 40 MPH, and since it is off-season, there was not much traffic, and we made very good time.

We finally arrived at Kamloops around 4 pm, and this is an aerial view of the city. It has about 75000 people and the place we stayed was very nice, with a very good restaurant called the White Spot within walking distance. Jan was feeling poorly, so we got takeout and I endured another Halo win over the Red Sox.

Today was about a 4-hour drive to Whistler, which along with Vancouver will be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics in a couple of months. Unlike the other places we have visited in Canada which are already scaling back for the winter, Whistler was in full swing, and the downtown parking lots were full. Turns out it was the annual Turkey Sale, which is held every Thanksgiving Weekend in Whistler. October 12 is Thanksgiving in Canada, and the turkey sale is actually the time when all the local merchants have their end-of-year sales. So skiers, bikers, snowboarders, etc, can find some great deals, so the place is packed.

We discovered all of this information from the clerk at the Residence Inn in Whistler, which we have decided is infinitely a nicer place than the Residence Inn in Costa Mesa. We are on the 6th floor with a view of the mountains from out back patio. The city of Whistler also operates a free shuttle from the hotels to the Village, so we took advantage of that. The Village is their eating/shopping district and is closed to auto traffic. It is really a place full of energy, reminding us of a summer evening on Main Street in Huntington Beach. We visited the Araxi restaurant, which is where Hell's Kitchen is currently being filmed. We didn't eat there, partly because I refuse to eat at a place when I don't understand the ingredients as explained on the menu--40 dollar entrees need to be understood for me to order them. My son-in-law said we would be sorry if we didn't eat there. I assume that was a prediction, not a threat. We did eat at the Mongolie Grill, which is one of those places where you fill your bowl

with food from the selection at left, add sauces and give it to the chef, who grills it in front of you on a round grill. There is a place like it in HB at Garfield and Brookhurst, with a much smaller selection of foods. It's a lot like Fire and Ice, which is in Tahoe and Boston. The difference is that the chef actually weighs your food, and you pay $3.50 for each 100 grams of food--thats about $17 a pound. Mine was delicious--since I picked out the food myself, and we got out of there for about the cost of one entree at Araxi's. We did a little shopping afterward, found gifts for the girls, I bought a couple of logo t-shirts. We didn't buy Olympic gear, because it's amazingly overpriced to get logo stuff for the olympics. I know, I'm cheap. Speaking of cheap, Jan wanted to ride the gondola to the top of the hill, but I disappointed her by not being willing to pay $44 per person for one round trip. Another cool thing for bikers--they may have this elsewhere but Whistler is the first place I' ve seen it--they have a chair lift for bicycles, they take you and your bike up to the top of the hill, and then you ride the trails downhill. I think an all-day pass for that is $53.

Here is a shot of Whistler Village. This is definitely a place on my "revisit" list, as are most of the sights we saw on this trip.

Back to the states tomorrow. A couple of days on Whidbey Island with cousins, a few days in Salem with cousins, a couple of days in Portland with friends and family, then home, probably getting in late on the 21st. If it is possible for a vacation to exceed expectations, this one has done so.