Back in Vancouver ... For Vacation!

However, I didn't get in a run yesterday as Gena, Waverly and I were pretty beat from having to stand in a line in immigration for two and a half hours, taking a cab into the city, getting a bite to eat at Moxie's on Robson St. and then walking about 7.5 miles (in total) including the perimeter of Stanley Park -- where I normally run.

Yes, it's vacation time! It is a chance for Waverly to see the beautiful Pacific Northwest and Gena and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary on Thursday in the same city that we came for our honeymoon back in 1991.

However, I plan to run this evening as well as a couple of events this weekend. We'll tool around Vancouver through Sunday then we'll stay in Federal Way, Washington for three nights while we take in Portland on Monday, Seattle on Tuesday and work our way north on Wednesday.

Now, you're probably wondering why we had to wait in an immigration line for 2.5 hours. Going through customs is a crap-shoot for me after getting denied entry about six weeks ago when I wasn't carrying a copy of my contract that indicates that I'm doing after-sales service work. This is a key requirement that keeps me from being required to have a work permit, which is costly and takes time to get.

I had gone south of the border to run the Berry Dairy Days 10K in Burlington, Washington and was going to come right back. (It was the day before the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon.) When I've travelled south before, I stayed overnight and carried my laptop bag (which contains all of my paperwork.) Well, once I mentioned that I was working in Canada and didn't have it handy (not that I had been asked to see it before either by plane or by ground), I was sent inside to immigration at the Peach Arch border crossing.

I was denied entry, made to sign a document saying that I was withdrawing my entry to Canada and forced to drive back into the U.S. (with a car that I had originally rented in British Columbia.)

Luckily, I was able to get a co-worker to go to a FedEx/Kinko's and fax the 25-page document to immigration, they granted me a "Visitor Record" and about 4.5 hours later, I was on my way.

I was told that the "Visitor Record" should have to keep me from getting flagged; however, I think that it is nailing me for questioning by less experienced Customs agents.

Oh well, it is what it is.

I'll probably get in a run this evening. (Oops, maybe not, tonight is Fireworks Night ... then again it might be a late-night run.) I think we are going to the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain today. We do not have an aggressive plan like most of our vacations do.

This is an example of where we've been over the last few years:

1999 Spring -- Portland, Oregon
2000 Summer -- Disneyworld
2001 Summer -- New York City
2002 Summer -- New York City/Philadelphia
2002 Summer -- Gateway Arch/Mount Rushmore/Hoover Dam (5 state capitols)
2003 Spring Break -- Historical Tour of Texas (San Antonio/Austin/San Jacinto Battlefield, Washington on the Brazos/Blue Bell Creameries/George Bush Library)
2003 Summer -- Chicago/St. Louis/Louisville/Indianapolis (3 amusement parks, 3 state capitols)
2004 Spring Break -- Monticello/Mount Vernon/Washington D.C./Gettysburg (3 state captiols and U.S. Capitol)
2004 Summer -- Northeast U.S. Tour (6 state capitols)
2005 Summer -- Albuquerque, New Mexico (Roswell, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, Santa Fe, Hot Air Balloon ride)

All in all Waverly's has been in or through 39 different states and has seen 20 capitols including the U.S.).