8/3/08 – Post-Vancouver

Photos above - from top to bottom, then right column:
· Teaser – morning stretch or market cheer?
· Vaughn and parents at the new house
· Vaughn

· Alana – our “Vancouver landlady"

· Dr. Carl

· Ferry ride from Whidbey Island
· Seattle waterfront

· FireCat in the flowers
· Dancing Dave



Below:
· Chinese fireworks
· Camping on Whidbey Island

Well, the Chinese fireworks were by far the best—wish we could have seen the finals on Saturday. But instead, we were enjoying a glass of wine around an outdoor campfire under the trees on Whidbey Island with our friends Dr. Carl and Chris.

We met Chris and Carl on our trip to Panama a few years ago and somehow Dr. Carl knew even then that we would become friends. The spot they have on Whidbey Island is absolutely beautiful and reminded me so much of camping as a child in Oregon and Northern California.

We have had a very rich few days visiting friends old and new on our way home from Vancouver. We met a young man named Vaughn two years ago, the first time we attended the Agora Financial Conference in Vancouver. While studying to become a doctor he is also doing some short-term trading. He and FireCat have stayed in touch and shared trading info and experiences and we look forward to seeing him each year in Vancouver.

This year on our way south we stopped at his family home in southern Canada—outside a town called Langley—to see the house his parents are building. What a gorgeous place that is, even though still in progress. Having built his own home, FireCat could really appreciate the amount of work and quality of craftsmanship. They are breeding horses and currently have seven of them—including a one-month old male foal. They are beautiful award-winning animals.

From there we proceeded to Whidbey Island to visit Chris and Carl, and then on to see my dancing buddy Dave, who lives near our home on the Central Coast but had just arrived at a house he owns near Olympia where he will be doing some improvements in between renters. We had a chance to catch up over a nice Thai dinner about his trip to Guatemala and our cross-country trip this year. It is quizzical to meet a friend 1000 miles from home because we haven’t had the chance to catch up where we live a few miles apart. Such is the world we live in I suppose.

Today we drove to Portland and had a very pleasant afternoon walking in the sun down quirky 23rd Avenue, doing some shopping and having a wonderful beer and cheddar soup at the Widmer Brewery. We are staying for a couple nights with Christian, FireCat’s technology friend from Corsica who works at Intel. They are deep into a technology discussion so I figured it was a good time to catch up on the blog.

I find traveling like this, where we have a chance to connect with friends along the way, much more rewarding than just sightseeing and traveling. Touching base to share a glimpse of people’s lives, sharing a bit of ourselves, discussing our life plans and the state of the country—I see the threads of similarity and the differences that make them all unique, I learn something from each of them, and I have a chance to reflect on myself, my views, my experiences. I think this is what life is about—so much of my meaning comes from myself and how I process my experiences, but also much of it comes from the sharing I do with others.

The daily driving is also a good time for sharing between FireCat and me. We are talking about changes we want to make in our trading, and possibly even other business ventures. This may be our last long trip for awhile so we are appreciating all of it, and yet looking forward to some “at home” adventures as we create our future in our local area. Perhaps our friends will come to visit us over the next year if we stay in one place ourselves.