North of the Border

ROAD TRIP!: The first bell rang early at MPA today - at least for Annabelle. Though CJ is almost always up and raring to go by 6:30, Annabelle is another story. I had to darn near drag Sleeping Beauty out of her bed at 6:45 today. The early upping was necessary because we had places to go, people to see. Specifically, we were heading to Burnaby, BC, Canada, to see CeeJ and Bee's Aunt Renee's master's program graduation!

We pulled away from the curb at 7:30, just as I'd hoped. We made a couple of stops before the border - one for gas and one at a store for a couple of snacks. We had zero wait at the border, which was great. Mercifully, my Mapquest directions were right and we drove 543 north to Route 1, to the proper exit. Along the way we crossed an impressive bridge spanning the Fraser River.

Without a single wrong turn (hooray!) were on the Burnaby campus of Simon Fraser by 11:30 a.m. We were there waaay early for a 2:30 graduation ceremony, but that was by design. As much time as we'd be spending sitting in the car to and from, I wanted to have plenty of time to roam the campus. I figured (correctly, fortunately!) there would be plenty of artwork and interesting architecture to check out while we passed some time.

We found a number of appealing water features (that would be even more appealing had the day not been so very very gray).

There was also lots of intriguing sculpture around the campus. Both of the kids were enthralled by an egg-like statue in a grassy courtyard.
We also had a chance to grab a bit of lunch. That was the lowlight of the day. We went to a place on campus called Pizza Pipeline or Pitstop or something and ordered a slice apiece. It was The Worst Pizza ever. Seriously. Ever. Anywhere. When I tell you it tasted like cardboard, I'm not just making a quick/easy/age-old analogy. I am speaking the truth. It didn't just have no taste, it had taste - and it tasted like cardboard. Annabelle's face says it all. ...

Before long, we were back to wandering. In search of a bathroom, we happily happened upon an art gallery. The current exhibition - a five-person show - is called "The Things We Do." The kids and I just LOVED the work of Marcia Pitch. The 60-something artist had taken mostly toy/doll parts and reassembled them in zany ways. Cool and sometimes creepy - it made me want to run to Goodwill, grab a bunch of toys and tchotchkes, rip 'em apart and reassemble them. In fact, we will without a doubt make that a future MPA art project.

Before long, it was nearly ceremony time. We connected with Renee via cell phone and found her in the courtyard.
Soon, it was time for Renee to line up with her classmates for the processional - which was led by some great sounding bagpipe players!

Rather than sit in folding chairs with the rest of the crowd, we (politely and surreptitiously) roamed the perimeter of the graduation, continuing our exploration of the campus. There were so many tucked away patios, plazas and rooftop gardens. During our travels, we came across a sign, which the kids found HYSTERICAL.
In case you're wondering, it was supposed to say "Keep Off Glass."
After the ceremony, we reconnected with Renee and family for a few minutes ...

(Don't you just love Annabelle's Magnadoodle motarboard?

We had an uneventful trip home, which included a stop at the Golden Arches at Exit 230 (don't even know what town it was in) ...