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Left on the cutting room floor

Well you won't be seeing my face gracing the walls of our bus and rail cars any time soon! I was skipped over for the woman below. They said I didn't look friendly enough. And that I lack sincerity and don't command public respect. Even though that's not exactly what they said, I'm sure that's what they meant.

Life at Mars'

Six years ago I experienced one of the saddest moments of my life. The Mars told us that they were moving up to Redmond. Up until then, the Mars had been our closest friends. During their time in Lafayette, we vacationed together to Vegas, Disneyworld and Hawaii (twice). In our countless mahjong games we collected money from the losers (usually not me) that helped pay for dinners, rental cars, and family camp. We celebrated every holiday and birthday together... Man, what kind of crappy life would we have with them gone?? I was truly crushed.

But once I got past the hurt, anger and betrayal, I knew it made sense for them to move. Steve was unemployed and got a huge job offer. Plus he would be reunited with his parents, his son, and future grandchildren in Seattle. And Betty always wanted a bigger (much bigger) house while having someone else pack and move all her stuff. What made it especially painful for me was that Steve was going to work for the evil empire–the maker of Vista and Zune! Of all the companies worldwide, why THAT one?? "Your skills are complete. Indeed, you are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen."

Shortly after Steve started working for Emperor Gates, he encouraged his son to also join the dark side. "It is too late for me, son. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now."

Today, Steve is no longer at Microsoft but Andy still is. "Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side!" "It is unavoidable. It is your destiny. You, like your father, are now mine!"

From what I witnessed, the Mars are living a wonderful life that most people could only dream of. Their house sits above a beautiful lake with instant access to beach and boating, where they spend their days lovingly caring for their two grandchildren. They attend Pastor Wayne's church (from Lord's Gate).

For five days, my family was privileged to enjoy the love and generosity that only the Mars could provide. Oh how I missed their company! I cherished every moment with them. Unfortunately, I don't know if we'll ever get invited again because on the last night, Justine pooped in their tub and Dustin puked on their sofa, floor and driveway...

Thankfully, we have lots of photos to help keep the memories alive. Thank you Steve and Betty for the incredible time together! And sorry for the mess. Hopefully the smell is all gone by now :)

Having a ball at the nearby water park with Hudson and Agnes.

Making tong-yuen for late night snack.
They also made law-bok goh for breakfast.

Made from fresh flour, not powdered/packaged. Super smooth. No chewing required.
Perfect food when you lose all your teeth.

No trip to Seattle is complete unless you see the Space Needle. $20 to ride to the top. No thanks.

Greatest water fountain EVER! Absolutely nuts!

Kids and water, what did I say? Great way to kill an hour.

Colby's MJ tribute. I was telling the passerbyers, "...but the kidddddd is not my son..."

Steve offered to take me on campus for a tour and visit the company store, but I resisted.
"You underestimate the power of the dark side."

Nice to have good neighbors. They let us enjoy their private beach and canoe.

Justine's first time at a beach. Now that she's potty trained,
I wonder what her thoughts are on peeing in the lake...

A 6000 sqft. house is downright dinky when your neighbor's house is 15,000.

Feeding the ducks all our stale bread.
I wanted to throw some tong-yuens, but that might kill them.

Lake is really calm in the morning before the drunk party boaters come out.
This was the only day we had sun. Emperor Gates must've been out of town.

I told you we were treated like royalty. This was our final day before heading back to Oregon.

It's hard to believe it's over and I'm back at my lousy desk wasting away. All in all, we had the greatest time at every destination. For 15 days we drove 2,260 miles and packed up the van eight times as we moved from Oregon to Redmond to Vancouver to Nanaimo back to Vancouver back to Redmond back to Oregon back to home. What a trip! Can't wait to do it again!

Long lost cousins. New found cousins.

The two sisters are Julie and Diane. The dude is their uncle Calvin. I met them in the summer of 1979 when my parents last brought me up to Nanaimo–exactly 30 years ago! I stayed with them for a week and had the best vacation of my childhood! I have not seen or had contact with them since. So when I found out that I would be seeing them again, I was a little nervous and didn't know what to expect.

Needless to say, the girls have not changed. Still as friendly and fun as I remembered. The day we spent with them was easily the best day of our entire trip.

Julie's husband Harold is by far the most amazing person I've ever met. We ate delicious fresh salmon steaks that he caught and cooked (2 for lunch, 2 for dinner), plus we ate potatoes that he harvested on his family farm. Oh yeah, and the house they live in, he built and landscaped.

Every place we went (including the Mars), we were treated like royalty. Our accommodations were nicer than the hotels. And every single meal was lovingly prepared for us. One aunt even did our laundry for us! I'm already bracing for the cold reality when we return home and have to cook and do everything on our own again.

The kids were thoroughly entertained all day and all night at Julie's house.
We partied for over 12 hours there! Now that's what you call a party!
Nonstop fun. Nonstop eating. Nonstop laughing.
Cream puffs and cheesecake were served at 11 p.m. and the kids were still going strong.

The view from their deck.

I didn't help with the cooking but I did help decorate the Halo-themed cake.
The severed leg and cherry juice blood was my contribution.

Like I said before, there's no party too far for us to attend.
Nigel just turned three years old and he already can play Halo on the Xbox!

With the exception of Nigel and Justine, all the kids are one grade apart, from K to 5.

They lived next to the wilderness so to unwind after a day of jumping and water fights,
we went trail hiking to a nearby lake. They collected huckleberries along the way.

New friends.

Kids and water, kind of like flies and poop–just can't stay away from it!

Justine's new big sister, Mia.

Nigel recruiting rookies for a game of Halo.

The next night, Diane graciously invited us over to her house for dinner. I tell you, as nice as the restaurants are up here, nothing beats going to someone's house where the kids can spread out and I can relax. They also had a trampoline!

When I visited in 1979, I met six new cousins. I was able to reconnect with four of them this trip. This year, our kids discovered seven new cousins they never knew they had. Hopefully they won't have to wait another 30 years to meet up with them again. Thanks to the internet, I'm sure we'll do a better job of keeping in touch than our parents did. We're already looking forward to the next time we visit Nanaimo again.

Canada

Justine is happy to finally get out of the van to go pee.
Only 15 minute wait to cross the border. Seattle to Vancouver: 3.5 hours.
Over 1000 miles driven so far.

Aberdeen Mall in Richmond. 99% Chinese.

Like Seattle, they love their water fountains up here.

Daiso – My wife's new favorite store.
Lucky for her, North America's biggest Daiso is in Union City!

Reunited with their distant 3rd cousins last seen together in 2005.
Justin, the oldest one, is the most mature, well-behaved 15-year old I've ever met.
Obviously he's not normal. But he's a huge help, like a fun P.E. teacher.

The beach at Stanley Park was amazingly nice. Water was very warm, like Hawaii.
The boys have played with water practically every day we've been here.

Driving aboard the ferry to Nanaimo.
It's pretty cool on your GPS seeing your car icon in the middle of the water.

Leaving Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay.

Ferry ride is 90 minutes.

My mind is at ease because Justin is in charge of the riff-raffs.

Waterfront at Nanaimo (a lot cleaner than San Francisco)

View from my uncle's house in Nanaimo where we stayed.
TV and movies galore, but no internet. More pics tomorrow.

We made it!

After two days and 830 miles, we arrived at the Mar's Sunday late afternoon.
Below are some photos of our road trip.

Mount Shasta

Our first pit stop after only four hours in the car.
Justine is now potty trained – NOT a good thing for a long road trip.
What part of "just pee in your pullup" don't you understand??

Welcome to Oregon. Land of treehuggers and 6.5% ethnic population.
You're not a true redneck unless you're hauling a trailer.

Full service with a smile. $2.81 per gallon. 8 hours, 487 miles, 26 mpg

We stayed in Sutherlin. The only Chinese restaurant was closed for the 4th of July.
This makes us wonder if it was even run by Chinese because real Chinese only
take one day off a year – Chinese New Year.

The backyards of Oregon (the view from our hotel room).

Lots of cops. Saw five people get pulled over.

There's an Oakland up here, minus the ghetto, graffiti and crime.

Upon arrival, the boys headed straight to the docks.

Grandpa's 86 year birthday. There's no party too far for us to attend.