So much has gone on since I've last written, but nothing so drastic as the past week and a half, during which I have been to Canada's top four most populated metropolitan areas (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau).
On June 9th L and I went on my first plane trip, which was to Vancouver — the farthest west I'd been previous to this was Penetanguishene, Ontario. Kim and J.P. were getting married, and L was both the makeup artist and photographer for the wedding.
We stayed in the Sheraton Wall Centre the first three nights, during which Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals took place, and we got to experience part of the festivities right downtown. The annual Star Trek convention — not certain if that's annual to Vancouver or North America or what — also took place during our stay, in the same hotel! We're fairly certain George Takei was staying in the hotel, and I overheard a guy telling his lady friend on the phone that he had just taken the hotel elevator with Don Cherry.
We spent our fourth and fifth nights at Anna Bunce's grandparents' house in West Vancouver, a few blocks from Jacob's father's place. They were absolutely wonderful people. We had breakfast with them on the day we left their place, listening to CBC radio and chatting. They were very eager to have us and to help with anything they could. Their home had a magical feeling to it, just the way grandparents' houses do, with a life time of collected items and an impossible number of doors with secrets behind each one.
On the second last day L and I ferried over to Nanaimo, on the largest ferry either of us had ever even seen. We spent the day with Anna, had supper with her family, and slept at their place. As Kim said about Anna and Jacob, that we know them to be such amazingly good people, it should be no surprise that they come from good people stock. And it's true, Anna's family are such good people. They were so welcoming to us, so genuinely glad to have us in their home.
Jacob's parents, too, were incredibly welcoming and obliging. Richard, his father, had us all over for Game 5, after which we high-tailed it downtown to witness the celebrations. Lynne, Jacob's mother, hosted Rhonda, Emily Cloutier, and Carolina. I first met her when I went over before the wedding, to spend time with and get ready with the girls before we headed off. L was busy all day doing Kim's makeup and then documenting every single moment of the day.
When I arrived the girls were lounging around the dining table while Lynne prepared waffles. She mentioned multiple times that the girls were her surrogate children for the week, and she had a way of making it seem like every time she did something for us — or at least them — that it was in fact her receiving a favour. We had G&Ts together.
L had fallen slightly ill on the night before our departure and the plane ride made it far worse. After later visiting a doctor we were told she had gotten laryngitis and either an ear or sinus infection. She spent most of the nights getting to sleep early, and had only a sip of champagne at the wedding. I on the other hand drank most nights, though not to excess.
[The draft of this post ended here, but I wanted to publish it for posterity]