Oh Canada – and Cathy Too!

Caroline Wise, Cathy McGill, and John Wise at Jack Astor's in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada

This is our first trip to Canada, which is also our first trek outside the United States since we moved here back in April 1995. That doesn’t roll off the tongue very easily. It feels awkward to admit that we have not ventured beyond these borders in over 16 years. Not that we have been lax about travels, but this was our 173rd excursion away from home since August 1999, when I started tracking our journeys into the North American countryside.

After landing in Buffalo, the town of my birth, we go to collect our rental car, certainly one of the crappiest ever: no power windows, no power locks, and no cruise control; we are full-on analog. No time to waste, we exit the Detroit of New York and drive immediately to the Lake Trail Motel in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada – in the pouring rain. The reason we were in such a hurry? We were meeting Cathy McGill at midnight.

Cathy is a dear friend whom I met back in the late 1980s at a small nightclub in the Frankfurt Airport called Dorian Gray. Cathy was traveling with her then-husband, Patrick Codenys, of the band Front 242. I met Patrick in 1985 or 1986 while they were performing in Wiesbaden, West Germany – Deutschland wasn’t unified back then. It was at a subsequent meeting at yet another Front 242 concert, this time in Offenbach, that Cathy and I would become friends. Shortly thereafter, I met Caroline after coming up for air, and following Cathy and Patrick having a son, Stephan, we all got together at their home near Brussels, Belgium, and have somehow been able to stay in touch, except for some 14 years without any contact.

Seeing Cathy again was nothing less than terrific. Her smile hadn’t changed a bit since last we saw her over a decade ago. The strangest part of this meeting was that just two days earlier, after a long silence between us, Cathy signed up for Facebook and then emailed me with the message that she was living in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. This city sounded awfully familiar to me. I googled it, and sure enough, it was one of the towns I had looked at for a motel back when I was planning our Canada trip. My first message to Cathy was, “I have news for you that you won’t believe!” The next morning I get an email and a phone number to call so I can share the news. No, Caroline is not pregnant. “We will be in Stoney Creek tomorrow night, just 11 miles from you!” We agreed to meet at midnight.

It’s raining when we pull into the motel. Cathy must know it’s us; she jumps out of her car before we open the door of our car to stand with us in the rain for a group hug. Our faces could have been damaged by all the smiling at one another. Disbelief that we were once again face-to-face had the three of us doing a reality check, asking out loud, can you believe this? It was as though time stopped in the mid-’90s when our paths went in different directions, and then years later, we materialized in the same dimension and wham, friends stepped back into each other’s world.

After checking into our room, we three are in the car and driving to someplace dry for Caroline and me to have dinner. Cathy brings us to Jack Astor, it could have been Taco Bell for all we cared, not that we would at any other time eat at Taco Bell, but tonight, that didn’t matter. We asked for a table away from the noisy bar, and the entire empty side of the restaurant was ours. I don’t know how we heard one another or if I even remember much of what was spoken in the 94,000 miles per hour exchange, but I do know we smiled so much that my cheeks would feel the strain for the next days.

In the hours prior to our departure from Phoenix, I received another email from Cathy. She told me of a famous German deli that she was going to on our behalf and that I should simply roll over and accept her generosity as “resistance is futile.” Not one to be shy, I put in my list of potential items that we would be interested in. Cathy delivers, changing one of the dynamics of our stay in Canada. Effectively, Cathy would now be with us for the remainder of our journey. A bag stuffed with onion potato bread, a loaf of rye, Gouda cheese both young and aged, German sausage, pretzels, spicy German mustard – great for dipping pretzels in, two knives, a small cutting board, paper towels, and special for Caroline; Pfeffermüsse – the sweet taste of home.

We talk until shortly after 2:00 a.m., Caroline and I have to wake around 6:30 to meet another old friend we haven’t seen since leaving Germany. I wish we could have brought Cathy along. In some way, we did, as the next day for lunch, when we opened our care package, Cathy’s wonderful gift had us pinching ourselves at our great fortune. And every day following, we thanked Cathy for her big heart in helping load up our vacation with these tastes of Germany and an extra few hundred smiles.

Caroline in NYC – Day 3

The New York City off in the distance

Travel, travel, travel. The meeting Caroline and the rest of the crew attended was outside of New York City proper, and with that comes a lot of travel. Sooner or later, though, it is time to head back to the airport; today is one of those days that Caroline will mostly be on the go.

Entering a tunnel in New York City

Not all the views are vistas, but still, they intrigue Caroline. Entering a tunnel on the way to the airport.

Broken toilet seat at the Newark airport

What does someone do to break off so cleanly the front left part of the toilet seat? Did they detonate butt-charges that created a pressure underneath their sealed movement that released its volume of gas through a weakness in the structure of the plastic? Maybe the person was feeling like practicing some karate moves in the bathroom and, upon putting the seat up, gave it a swift kick Bruce Lee style? This is the women’s bathroom, after all, just what are these mad bitches doing in here?

Fading Noise

The 24/7 box fan that blows the entirety of our 4 month summer

Four months of life with the box fan. One-hundred twenty days of whirring white noise. Summer ended 72 hours ago, just like that. One day it is 103 degrees, the next it is only 90 and you know the long bake has come to an end. Three days later, it’s in the 70s and confidence begins to grow that summer will not surprise us with a curtain call. In a moment the whir of the fan reaches a crescendo of unbearable screeching. Out of the laziness of LCD bathed hypnosis, I leave my chair to quiet the fan. But I am reluctant to stow it in its winter quarters. I live in the desert, the sun is deceitful.

And it is quiet now. The windows are open, a 75-degree breeze feels chilly. I listen intently for the noise of the quiet to make itself heard. Static has not yet been replaced with the sound of the wind, or the clouds streaming by my city. My ears buzz with echoes of fans and air-conditioners long after the summer is gone. Can wool be far away?

Caroline in NYC – Day 2

View from the Doubletree Hilton in New York City

This is another view from the Doubletree Hilton in New York City and one that Caroline took in this morning on her way to her first meeting of the day.

A sign from inside the Doubletree Hilton on Times Square in New York City

My wife has something for signs, especially ones with stick figures. Skipping two steps with each stride with fire hot on the heels of the escapee must have been the humor in this one that had her snapping it. We won’t talk much this day as she must have been quite busy, though there is always time to say goodnight before the day ends.

Caroline in NYC – Day 1

The view from Caroline Wise's hotel in New York City

Caroline had to fly out today for a business meeting in the New York area. She was traveling with coworkers Mike (owner of the company) and Ashley. After arriving, they checked into their hotel, the Doubletree Hilton on Times Square. This is her view.

Caroline Wise fascinated by the sink at the Doubletree Hilton on Times Square in New York City

Fascinated by the sink.

Caroline Wise's work setup while on a business trip in New York City at the Doubletree Hilton on Times Square

The reminder of where my wife sat while she was chatting with me back in Arizona. Caroline will be gone two more days, and as business trips are, there is little to no room for sightseeing. That’s not to say there won’t be fun; she is traveling with Mike, who has a penchant for enjoying the nicer places such as the hippest trendy bars and hottest restaurants.

Forgotten Oregon Trip – Day 5

Oysterville, Washington

Disclaimer: This post is one of those that ended up being written years after the experience was had. Sadly, there were no notes taken so whatever is shared here must be extracted from the images and what memories they may have lent us. Fortunately, there was an itinerary still in my directory of travel plans, so that will help with some details. As to why this wasn’t noted or blogged about, I was in the throes of writing/editing my book Stay In The Magic and felt that any other deep writing would derail that fragile effort.

Up again early, waking at the Seaview Motel ready for our drive north to Oysterville, Washington.

Oysterville, Washington

If that guard donkey hadn’t been on duty and alert to my presence, I would have scaled the fence and poked my head into that old home. I was certain that the falling-down appearance was simply a decoy to trick people into not exploring the treasures left behind by previous occupants. Oysterville just isn’t the place it used to be, not that we’ve ever been out here before, but one could imagine.

Leadbetter Point State Park Oysterville, Washington

Leadbetter Point State Park didn’t deliver us to the ocean views we were looking for in the time we had remaining, and so we had to be satisfied that we’d been this far north on this tiny spur of Washington.

Caroline Wise on the Columbia River in Ridgefield, Washington

The reason we were short on time was that we had a two-hour drive to an appointment at 11:45 at Ridgefield Kayak.

Columbia River in Ridgefield, Washington

We had booked four hours on the water with a guide who was taking us up Lake River on the edge of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.

Columbia River in Ridgefield, Washington

Paddle, paddle, paddle, we paddled quite the way for us to reach the destination Caroline and I were aiming for.

Caroline Wise and John Wise on the Columbia River in Ridgefield, Washington

Here we are onshore at Bachelor Island next to the Columbia River.

Caroline Wise on the Columbia River in Ridgefield, Washington

And back to Lake River as we make our way to the dock from which we had departed.

Columbia River in Ridgefield, Washington

Our drive took us to Vancouver, Washington, where we had dinner at Patrick’s Hawaiian Food, another stop on the Columbia River for a sunset shot that was diffused by the heavy cloud cover, and then over to the airport in Portland. I think we did everything we possibly could on this 5-day excursion into the Pacific Northwest.