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At some point in the past week, Megan has figured out how to whistle. She seems to have an intuitive understanding that in order to master a new skill you need to practice frequently. That's my nice way of saying that she is constantly whistling little snatches of the Spongebob Squarepants music over... and over... and over again. Constantly.

We had a hectic weekend and I have been neglecting the blog. Friday was one of those hellish sort of days where I felt realllly glad the weekend was coming up. I had informed Jeff that he was taking the kids to the aquarium on the weekend, but once Friday evening came around I made up my mind that not only was Jeff taking the kids out for the day but I was taking myself out for the day as well. And the evening too.

So, Saturday was a nice bright clear and warm day and I got to sleep in a bit. Then I made my plans for the day and dropped my family off at the Vancouver Aquarium. They had a wonderful time and Jeff took a few pictures before the digital camera stopped co-operating. I think it's really getting to the end of its useful life span, and I can't afford to replace it so I hope it won't die. I really like being able to put pictures on this blog.

I decided that it was time to check out the biggest used bookstore in the lower mainland so I hopped in my van (which we got back on Thursday afternoon - we returned the Explorer immediately after Jeff finished work that day.... yippee!) and took highway 1 east from the city. Destination: the little town with the fun name of Chilliwack, about an hour's drive from Vancouver.

I have to say that driving here is very different from in Toronto or St Louis, the other two major metro areas I've lived in. The major difference is that there is only one real highway, highway 1, which twists up and down through the Fraser Valley and then almost completely avoids going through any part of Vancouver itself. It also has only four lanes except for a few brief moments where it has six. From downtown (where we are currently living) it takes anywhere from 20-40 minutes to get to the highway which is only useful if you want to go driving through the suburbs. Pretty much anywhere you want to go within Vancouver, including the airport, has to be reached via normal streets, with all the pedestrians, traffic lights, and slow drivers you can think of. People told me before we came here that the traffic was "awful" but so far, I don't think that it is, really - it's just that you have to be willing to put up with city driving to get to most places, instead of hopping on the 401 or what-have-you. The only really bad traffic jams we have been stuck in have been the ones where we are waiting to cross the Lions Gate bridge to get in or out of North Vancouver. And the view while you are waiting in that traffic is so lovely.

Anyway, the drive out to Chilliwack was so nice. It was a gorgeous, clear day and there are mountains everywhere. There is one mountain in particular that is dead centre in front of you as you drive through Langley - it had lots of snow on top of it and was quite striking. Again, I'm sure it has a name but I have no idea. There are some places you can see from the highway where they have built whole subdivisions right on the side of a mountain - the view out over the valley and the mountains on the horizon must be awesome from those houses. I'm not sure I would want to live that far out of Vancouver just to get that kind of view, though.

The bookstore, "The Book Man", advertised that it had over 500,000 volumes and I believe them. It is just a regular store on an unassuming small town commercial street, but they have made very effective use of their space and the books are extremely well organized. The selection was incredible. I really wished I had taken Megan because his selection of older children's books was the best I have ever seen in a used bookstore. I picked up half a dozen Bobbsey Twins books Megan has never read and there were still quite a number left on the shelf. I also discovered an almost hidden shelf filled tightly with Enid Blyton books. I feel sure there are some Secret Seven books there that Megan has never read but I couldn't remember which titles she owned. The store is owned by a British man in his 60s and I got into a great conversation with him when he learned that my daughter and I both loved those older British children's books that he had so carefully stocked. I learned that he had been an evacuee in the second world war and had been carted off from London to the British Midlands at the age of 2 and a half. He didn't see his family again until he was six years old.

$75 poorer I left the store with an overflowing bag of used books and a happy warm feeling that only comes from having just spent a couple of hours browsing alllllll alone in a building full of thousands of books. (emphasis on the all alone part!!) Considering I used half a tank of gas getting there and back, I don't know how often I will go back but it was definitely worth a visit, in my opinion.

On the way back into Vancouver, I stopped in Coquitlam, the next suburb east of Burnaby for those of you who don't have a lower mainland map handy. They have a commercial strip alongside the highway with the usual collection of big box stores and restaurants, including an IKEA (yaaaaayyyy!) and one of those humongous Famous Players movie theatres. I was just in time to catch the last matinee of the new Tom Hanks movie so I sat and watched that allllll alone. I think some people consider it odd to go to a movie by yourself and I have never been able to figure that out - it's not like you spend the time interacting with or even looking at the person next to you, unless you are a teenager on a date. The movie was cute, and fairly predictable but enjoyable fluff all the same.

To finish off my lovely day alone I parked the van back at home and then walked along Robson Street to the local Chapters store. I had been hoping to pick up some specific titles and hadn't found them at the used bookstore. Predictably, Chapters didn't have the books I wanted either but I was very happy to browse this humongous (three floor) bookstore alllll alone and spend the $40 gift card that a couple of friends in Ontario had given me as a parting gift.

I now have a huge stack of reading material to see me through the next couple of weeks! I also felt that my batteries had been recharged by being away from my kids for such a long stretch of time, with no agenda or timetable.

Yesterday being father's day we had a quiet day at home, played some Scrabble and video games, read a lot and then went out for dessert after dinner to the local Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store. They have the most amazing selection of caramel apples with various toppings. I'll try to post some pictures of those along with the aquarium pics later today.

Time to get Megan off to school.