Old Friends and Memories

Today I was playing around on Facebook, and came across some old friends, including my former son-in-law.  What a surprise!  He looks pretty much the same, a little older, but then, aren't we all.  Now he sports a tatoo which he didn't have years ago, and that's kind of interesting.

I also found a friend of my daughter's, who I used to call my "Chinese daughter"....because first, she's Chinese, and second, she was ALWAYS at our house.  I even took her and my 'real' daughter on a 2 week vacation to Canada.  Then I found one of her sisters, and heard about several friends of my son's, whom he had not heard of or from in years.

Strange how something so simple as this can trigger memories you haven't had in many years.  The trip to Canada, for example.  We really had some funny...and fun...experiences there.  One was in a hotel in Seattle.  Our room was supposed to be for three people...right. Well, it did have 3 beds, but in order to get to the 3rd one, you had to climb over the first two.  Guess who got that one. 

 There was a closet, but to get into it, you had to push one of the beds out of the way.  Only...there was no room for the bed to go.  So, okay, we didn't use the closet.  The only window opened out to a...yeah, you got it.  An alley, but first, if you stuck your head out to get a breath of fresh air, you would bump your nose on the brickwall of the building next to the hotel...and fresh air?  Umm...that's a matter of opinion...it was only fresh if you didn't mind the smell of over-cooked Chinese food and burnt cooking oil.  We kept the window closed.

Then there was the bathroom.  I walked in to take a shower and began laughing hysterically.  The reason?  The floor sank in the middle of the room by about 6 inches.  I thought sure I was going to end up in the lobby.  When the girls finally got me calmed down enough to actually get me in the shower, I started in again.  It seems the shower "curtain" was one of these folding screen things that folded up in the middle when you pulled it to one end of the shower ( in tub shower) or the other.  In other words, it only sheltered the shower at one end or the other, and then for only about 4 inches.  The floor was soaking wet by the time I got out, and of course, I stepped into a 6 inch deep puddle of water.

Then there was the bell boy.  Boy?  Well, maybe in the 19th century he was a boy.  The girls named him Iago.  He was really creepy, and it seemed like every time we opened the door to our room, he was standing just outside.  By the time we went to bed, the girls and I had pushed the one and only dresser up against the door...just in case.  We didn't stay in that hotel after breakfast the next morning!

Canada was wonderful, beautiful, and full of REALLY fresh air!  The first night, the girls wanted Mexican food.  Really?  Mexican food in Canada?  Well, okay.  We found a Mexican restaurant.  Bright colors, good smells, soft music playing, lots of people.  We breathed in the smells, smiled at each other, and blithely order chicken tacos, rice, beans and tortillas.  Now...we're from California where Mexican food is practically a staple.  Plus, I've lived in Mexico, so I know whereof I speak when it comes to tacos or enchiladas or even...tortillas.

Our dinner was served.  Oh boy.  The rice looked and tasted like coucous, which all 3 of us do not like. The beans were some kind of red bean which didn't stay all smooshed up together like refried beans normally do, and there was no cheese on them.  We just kind of looked at each other, and I said, "Well, I'm sure the tacos will be okay."  Oh boy.  What an over statement.  I don't think the chicken was less that 40 years old...if it even was chicken, but I hated to mention my doubts to teen age girls...you know what hysteria does to a crowded room.  There was a bit of lettuce, but the rest was...corn!  and I'm sure, canned corn at that.  My daughter took one bite and I thought she was going to spit corn and...whatever...all over the table.  My Chinese daughter took a bite, tried to swallow and promptly choked.  I thought sure we were going to have to use the Heimlick ( spelling?)manoever on her, but she took a quick swig of soda and was okay.  They looked at me in a questioning kind of horror, so I quickly said, "Okay, we'll go and find a hamburger somewhere."  Before leaving the table, I peeked under the red checked napkin that covered the...tortillas.  I was glad neither of them had looked.

And that was just our first day in Canada.