5C's Que Pasa

Remember the tomatoes that were taken away from us at the USA border on Thursday?  Well today I went to the local market to buy tomatoes and you guessed it…the very same Canadian grown label as the one on the confiscated tomatoes.  Do you think I can get the US government to pay me back?

MADE IN CANADA

..or is it.  We noticed something caught in the living room slide out…a luscious juicy mandarin!  It must have bounced out of the fruit bowl while driving and unnoticed by us…fresh OJ!!!!  The slide out was not injured..just discolored!

there has to be an easier way to make OJ

And so began our pack up and move to Point Roberts, Washington on Colin’s birthday morning, yesterday.  Once again we had air bag problems and stopped in for a consult…bottom line, repairs on Monday.

No problem crossing into the USA but they wanted to do an agriculture check and being as we are so large and long we ended creating a line up for those coming behind us.  Such a small crossing and not equipped for large rigs.  They  took our tomatoes!  Some new pest has been found but only on tomatoes grown in Canada.  If they are from the USA  you can bring them in.  Apples and eggs are okay to bring in.

Back at the Pacific Ocean!!!

After setting up we took a birthday stroll down to the beach.  Yes the same ocean as on Isla de la Piedra but so very chilly, even the air is cool.  At least the sun came out and we had a good walk. The girls were uncertain as the beach is more rock than sand.  Whales have been spotted along here but not today.  Soon it was time to go back to the RV for some serious partying.

CAUTION! 60 year old SENIOR moment

We were just finishing our dinner when we had unexpected company.  Gramma Katie & Louie came down to wish Colin a special day.  They were just in time for the birthday cake (good thing I got one)!

Today is Katie’s birthday.  Happy July 23 Katie.  May your special day be as special as you are.  Thanks for coming to surprise us last night.

Today Colin left at 7Am to complete his jobs here.  Once he gets back in the early afternoon we plan to start enjoying the rest of the weekend and some well deserved time off. Fortunately for us, our cell phone doesn’t work here.

Happy 60th Colin!!  Hope we can find some time together today.  Try not to work so hard.

Tuesday he left the RV at 7AM and worked till midnight!

Wednesday he left at 7AM and worked till 8PM.

Today it is cloudy so we may get some time together 😉

The Washington Post won a Pulitzer in the feature writing category for Gene Weingarten’s April 2007 story about this experiment

THE SITUATION

In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly.  The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent – without exception – forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes:

The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded.  There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was
Joshua Bell,
one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.  Two days before, Joshua
Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $200 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story.  Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

We are right next to Fort Langley town camped at the Brae Island Regional Park. We are not there even two minutes when we come face to face with friends from Mazatlan.

Carol the check in gal

What a wonderful surprise.  Best of all we are camped directly across from them.  They have been here since early May and already are talking about heading back to Mazatlan.  Bill spends his day looking after Rio and Lola and making the odd pot of chicken soup.

Bill and the dogs

This really is a lovely place (when the mosquitoes are not around) and there are many places to walk to.  The girls do love it.  However Carmeh is out of sorts and not eating.  I think she misses Chiekka.  I wonder if the bird is even thinking of us!

We got here RV hassle free………..but the car, the HHR, would not start as we tried to unhook it.  Finally got the coach separated and parked while the car sat in the middle of the street with the hood up.  While I spent this entire time on hold for Good Sam a very new neighbor tried boosting the car battery which worked…yeah Rick!  Guess we need a new battery very soon.

Our morning walk