Back to Burlington after 7 years

I decided that I wasn’t going to sit around for the weekend. It had snowed another 15 cm overnight and it’s still coming down.

I put in a sleeping bag and a thermarest, and a change of clothes just in case I decided to stay somewhere.

I thought that I should get a coat from a Thrift store, so I headed for Hastings Street. I bought a couple of coats and then headed for the US border. I got petrol (gas) in south Vancouver and a couple of bags of road salt, one to return to the neighbour, and one to help clear the ice on the path and around the garage.

As I was approaching the border the signs overhead suggested that it was approximately 90 minutes to cross at the Peace Arch, or 60 minutes at White Rock. All the cars were turning for White Rock so I went the other way. I decided to look at the Duty Free store and asked about the limits for alcohol. You can take a 1.1 lt bottle of alcohol per person and a twelve pack of beer. They suggested that you might take 3 bottles of alcohol and if questioned just pay the approx $2 per bottle tax. I bought a bottle of Jamieson for CA$19.95, and a 12 pack of beer for the same. You are officially supposed to be in the US for at least 48 hours before being able to bring any duty free back but I will leave the beer and see how I go with the whiskey. At Blaine, or the Peace Arch, they have a set of traffic lights overhead that change according to how many cars are waiting at the actual crossing area. Cars queue and wait for the lights to change before a group of maybe 50 cars is let through. It may be another 20 – 30 minutes before the next group is allowed through. There is a digital 90 second countdown to get ready before the green light comes on. This gives you time to start your engine and get ready to move. You are not allowed to queue with your engine running. It started to get a bit cold and I was lucky I had a few snack bars.

After nearly 2 hours I was finally back in Washington, nearly seven years since I had left. I headed down the highway for Burlington. When I got there I realized that I had left the phone numbers and addresses on the desk at home. I thought that I would be able to get to the Capron’s house, because I had seen it on Google Maps/Earth. I first headed for Costco to have a look around and then to the Cascade Mall. I picked up another international power adapter, and an RF – coaxial cable connector. Then I headed out towards Allen and the Capron’s. As I passed Allen I noticed that there was an entire new wing on the school, as well as seeing books on shelves through the door of what was the gym/hall.

When I got to what I thought was the Capron’s house the outside light was on, but no one was home. I left a calling card with a note that I would call back later. I was starving because I had only had a couple of snack bars since breakfast so I went into town and went to El Gitano, a Mexican restaurant in the main street. The food was great. Before I had ordered they brought a bowl of corn chips, salsa sauce and a glass of water. I had a Brocheta, which was sliced steak, bacon, onion, capsicum, mushroom and carrot served sizzling on a grill plate. This was accompanied by a plate of rice, beans, salsa, guacamole and lettuce, and served with 4 tortillas. There was so much I had to leave it on the table.

While I was eating I overheard a conversation about a basketball game between Sedro-Wooley and Burlington, which was being played in Burlington tonight. I guessed this was at the High School so I went to check it out. The car park was nearly full so I parked and went to find the gymnasium. It was half time and cost $5. I went in and found a seat in the stands near the Burlington students and cheerleaders. Burlington were nearly triple the other team’s score. I tried to look at the people in the stands trying to recognize anyone. I then heard them call out Ian Capron as having scored. He was in the team - #34 so there was a fair chance the rest of that family was there as well. I moved closer to the students and cheerleaders and spotted Lucy. Just before the end of the game I went over and tapped her on the shoulder and said “Hi.” She turned around and said “Hi.” back. Then she did the classic double take, and with a huge look of surprise asked what I was doing there. She said that the rest of her family, including Aunt Barb, was across the other side of the court. She called them on her cell phone and I could see Patty waving wildly.

I had also seen a couple of guys that I thought I recognized. I went over and asked one of them if his name was Joey. He looked at me and said, “Mr O’Halloran!” It was Joey Henderson from my grade 4 class at Allen in the first half of 2001. He looked at the other two and asked if I remembered Cody Roberts and Marcus Zimmerman. We chatted for a while.

After the game Patty, Roger, Olivia and Barb all came across and there were hugs and greetings all around. We chatted for a while as we waited for Ian. When he came out I saw that he is now slightly taller that me and I was introduced to his girlfriend – Danieka. They were so surprised to see me. I asked if they had some floor space at their place that I could bunk down for the night, which was OK with them, so we went back to their place and had a few beers and chatted into the night.