In BC: PartII

by Cynthia MacKinnon-Morris

We arrived on the farm in the late afternoon, June 28. We arrived to rain and it pretty much hovered over us for the week--was a nice change from the hot temperatures in Indiana. Besides visiting family and friends, the main object of the trip was to go through the visa interview at the U.S. Consulate.

The next day, Scott, Mariah, Mom and Dad, Mavis and I drove up the Coquihalla to Quilchena for lunch. Naturally, when we arrived at our destination, the old hotel restaurant was closed. We had a lunch of sorts on the stoop of the hotel bar. It is a beautiful old hotel built at the turn of the century. The guest rooms are open to view, if one asks the front desk clerk nicely--and all are decorated with original furniture. A point of interest I was not aware of (despite having visited this place for lunch several times in the past few years) was the presence of bullet holes in the bar itself!

The night before the interview while Scott and I were reviewing all the paperwork accumulated over the last couple of years, I made a nasty discovery: I had left the long copy of my birth certificate in Indiana. The letter from the consulate specified that a short form would not suffice. Another Stiltskin move; it's a wonder we even remembered to bring money or credit cards on the trip, so a birth certificate seemed minor. Not to be outdone by the absent birth certificate, I also had left my passport photos in Indiana. We put on a brave face (no use worrying when nothing could be done at that point) and went to bed early. The letter also stated that the interview was for 10 a.m. but I had read [somewhere] that one needed to be early to line up. We got up at 5:00 and took the WestCoast Express into town.

There was already a line-up outside the U.S. Consulate but we soon were approached by a nice guard who took our interview letter and then told us to come back at 9:30--so much for depending on my information about early arrival. At least this gave me time to hustle across the street to a convenience store/ passport photo business--thoroughly soaked by the several-block walk, I left with a couple of very suspicious looking photos. Then came the ground floor guards: Mom had warned me about leaving any valuables in the car whilst parked at the Mission train station, so I grabbed our digital camera and stuffed it in my purse. The guard went through my purse; lo and behold he found a camera! then demanded why I had brought the camera with me. Biting my tongue from emitting a sarcastic reply I mumbled "dunno." Well, we couldn't enter with it. So, our choice was to leave Scott outside babysitting our camera or not go in. Kind of a tough choice since the reason I had waited for a couple months to have the interview was so Scott could lend me some credibility. The guard then, very grudgingly, announced that if we wished, the cafe across the street might look after it for us. Off went Scott with the camera and up I went to the consulate.

Once on the 22nd floor, I had to go through security once again, this time the security guards were more than pleasant. First we needed to go through the preliminaries with a clerk; she checked through our paperwork and gave me a chit to take to the cashier--$100US. She remarked on the lack of long birth certificate but said no more. After another reasonable wait, the ConOff interviewed me--thankfully, I had visions of making several more return visits. We were worried about certain questions that could be asked, mostly because I cannot lie worth a damn! Well, buddy started with a question that I could answer in full--at what points had we met and visited within the last two years. I started my litany of dates, places....... and thought I was doing a fine job until he broke in with an "Okay, Okay" Scott reported later that buddy had tried several times to interrupt me to no avail. I guess I made my point. The upshot of it was that there was very little time for him to ask anything else! He mentioned my missing birth certificate and said that I would have to get it and return.

Easier said than done. I had, in April, ordered a long copy from Vital Statistics in Victoria; it was now in Indiana; we had to leave for Indiana in one week; it was a long-long weekend--Canada Day the next day and July 4th on Monday. Ouch! Well, to celebrate our success so far and to figure out a plan of action, we made our way to the 4 Seasons for lunch. It was there that I had the bright idea of phoning V.S. to see if I could travel to Victoria on Monday and pick up a copy. Well, the man on the phone told me about a V.S. office on Robson Street! We left the 4 Seasons and hiked up to Robson, picked up the long form and hiked back to the consulate--only to find a line-up of gargantuan proportions kept in order by guards and a Mountie. The harassed-looking guard breathlessly told me to come back the next week. Bummer. We went to the Starbucks on the corner to once again regroup. Off to the train we went next. Scott and I split up (something the Stiltskins ought think seriously about before doing); he went into the WestCoast Express area (I thought) and I to get some tea. After I armed myself with sustenance for the trip home, I rushed down to the platform with just minutes to spare--no Scott. I went on to the train in hopes of finding him already seated. No Scott. I went into another car. Not. I walked down the platform to the sound of the final boarding announcement. Nothing. I had to make a decision on the spot: better to have Scott leave on this train without me and wait in Mission than the other way around, if he was not indeed on the train. The train pulled out. I went back upstairs to find him lounging against a paper stand--right at the doors where I had emerged 5 minutes previously! How we missed each other...well, easy if one is a true Stiltskin.

July 1, Mom, Auntie and I drove into Vancouver where we picked up Kailee (my niece) and went to Granville Island Public market. It is a place that I miss, living in the mid-west; I've not yet found anything similar. It is so nice (despite the crowds) to sit alongside the water with the fresh ocean breeze. Meanwhile, Dad took Scott and Mariah 'fishing' at Trout Farm--Mariah was thrilled to come home with 3 fish that Mom cooked for dinner!

July 2,

Scott and I went for dinner at Marj's--a friend from Davie Jones. Naturally, we were concerned about getting to their place in Pitt Meadows on time. 6 p.m. we arrive and no-one answers the door! Did I have the wrong time? the wrong date? was there a change in plans? .....Stiltskins strike again. An hour early, we catch poor Ron trying to take a before-guests-arrive nap! Several of my friends originally/ still from school were there and we had a great visit. Marj presented us with maple leaf pins and made me wear a special Canadian 'hat'. Marj & Ron, Corinne and Art regaled us with some stories of cruising the Caribbean--A&C had spent most of the winter on their sail boat and M&R joined them over Christmas break. One of the funnier stories was about Ron's souvenir--a dark rum named "Big Black Dick!"
We had a

marvellous time catching up with all the news and recalling fun times we had had.

The next day, Scott and I drove to Harrison for brunch at the hotel and later that day, Mom and Dad had a BBQ to celebrate our 1st anniversary! Chris and Rita came and we got to visit with Chris two nights running! Here Chris and Mariah visit Tusche, our old dog.

And, in the middle is Sitka, the pup, a crazy dog who not only chases her tail round and round, but grabs hold of it with her teeth as she circles. Sitka even has her own kiddy-pool to play in and Mom reports that she does the whirlpool, tail in mouth, in the pool as well!

On Tuesday, July 5, Dad and I did a quick drive into Vancouver so I could present the consulate with my long birth certificate and passport. I did just that and the clerk asked me to come back at 2:30 to pick up my visa. Problem was that I had an appointment for 1 p.m. in Maple Ridge--so she had the ConOff sign it right away. Ok, I wasn't completely truthful about the appointment--I did have one, but couldn't explain it to her and still remain credible. The app't was with my hair-stylist! but hey! he is booked weeks in advance and this was the only time he could fit me in! Priorities, I say.

Because I was successful with the visa on this day, it gave us the chance to get going on our return journey to Indiana--we prepared to leave the next morning.