The road wandered onUntil harbor, garden, swordBecame one journey This trip was supposed to be several separate things. A promise. A city. A garden. A seminar. A ferry ride. A hotel on a lake. A flight home. Instead, somewhere along the way, they all became the same story. The trip began with a promise. More […]
vancouver
Relax
Relax, then proceed.The mountain gaze sees all things.Nene has new clothes. Four hours before practice on Friday evening, I found myself sitting in the lounge at the Inn on Long Lake in exactly the mental state that seems to precede every seminar. Not fear. Not nerves. More a mild conviction that everyone else had somehow […]
Actually Now Agree
The map and the townActually now agreeAs I drive away By Thursday morning, something unexpected had happened. The map and the town had finally agreed. This may not sound remarkable. But after several days of wandering Vancouver—sometimes intentionally, sometimes not—the city had begun to make sense. The streets looked familiar. The harbor felt familiar. Even […]
Botanist
Crows watched overheadA promise found its harborAn extra place set I arrived at Botanist about fifteen minutes early. (Okay, okay, after the rest of the day, I was expecting to get to the venue, a block away, via Singapore.) The hostess offered me a choice. I could wait at the bar, or I could browse […]
Keeping A Promise
Harbor sunset glowsA promise waits patientlyPast the turning years More than a decade ago, H and I spent our 10th anniversary in Vancouver. Like many couples celebrating an anniversary on a bit of a budget, we spent a certain amount of time looking at things we couldn’t quite justify. The Pan Pacific Club Floor. A […]
Arrival
Evening mountain glowA sword and one lonely shoeOh, Canada, eh? After several weeks of planning, packing, re-packing, contingency planning, worrying about sword cases, worrying about airports, worrying about trains, worrying about whether I had forgotten something important, and generally behaving exactly like someone about to leave for a week-long trip with a samurai sword, I […]
Next Trip: Africa! (Then Vancouver…then Japan…)
Coming up in February/March, I’m off with Overseas Adventure Travel again, this time to Africa. The overview is HERE, the day-to-day itinerary is HERE. I am doing the pre- and post-trips as well, then staying an extra couple of days in Namibia, at a Cheetah Conservation Organization that Herbert and I have supported for decades. […]