Friday, May 22, 2009

I love Vangroovy!


















Arrived in Vancouver today (May 21st) for a meeting about our ethical programming work. The weather is great and the city is full of spring blooms. The rhododendrons and azaleas are beautiful. Shannon, Rhonda and Rachelle are with me for the meeting. We decided to have lunch at a Japanese restaurant on Robson Street (the food was so good) and then do some shopping. The picture of Rhonda is at the restaurant with her sizzling plate of noodles. The others are of pictures around Vancouver, what a great city! We enjoyed kicking around for a couple hours, the warm spring sun, and the big city atmosphere. 

In the evening we were invited to dinner and a preliminary meeting for the project at the home of Barbara, who is a friend of Terry Adler one of our Advisory Committee members. Because there were five of us going over to Barbara's I asked the hotel concierge to order a van for us. Instead of a van he ordered a limousine, a very big white limousine that left us all speechless as it pulled up in front of the hotel. It was very funny and none of us knew exactly what to do, so we went for a limo ride over to West Vancouver! The photos are of our ride over. The funny thing about limos is that for reasons I don't understand I always think Rod Stewart must be riding in any passing limousine that I see.  It doesn't matter which city it is, if I see a limousine I automatically think of Rod Stewart and wonder if he is sitting inside sipping champaign and humming "Wake up Maggie...."  

The dinner at Barbara's was wonderful. The view of the ocean through the trees is the view from her balcony. What a beautiful place to sit in the morning, drink coffee and stare out at the ocean. Barbara treated us to a yummy meal and while we enjoyed it we visited, joked and talked about the project.  I feel so fortunate to have a profession that not only allows, but encourages me to be involved in national work with some of the most creative and innovative minds in the country. My research team left the dinner at Barbara's with full stomachs and new insight about the work we are doing. It was extra special to have Shannon, Rhonda and Rachelle with me because often my research team is absent from these important meetings and I think each of them felt that their mind, soul and body had been fully nourished that evening.

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