Play It Again, Canada

Max and I are now safely across Canadian borders and in the delightfully cool and refreshing air of BC. The journey was not as harrowing as I expected, although we did encounter one or two bumps in the road. We got onto the airplane no problem -- I was worried about how to carry everything while holding Max, but airport personnel and fellow travelers saw my look of scrappy determination/quiet desperation, and were extremely helpful. Max enjoyed the plane trip -- he slept through the first half, and rubbed cookie on our resigned and gracious seat-mate during the second half. He was quite cheerful right up until we got off the plane, got our luggage, and he realized that he was expected to spend still more time sitting in a carseat. He yelled, loudly and angrily, for an unpleasantly large percentage of the three-hour drive. At the Canadian border, the border guard informed me that, in addition to the fourteen million forms of ID I had brought for both Max and myself, I should really think about carrying a letter from Ian, stating that I had his permission to take Max across international lines. I thought about that as we drove and Max screamed, and the more I thought, the stupider it seemed. What's to stop me from writing my own letter, signing Ian's name, and smuggling Max to the land of wind and ghosts? It's not like they have his signature on file.
Once we got here and were out of the car, Max rallied a bit, and once he saw that there was a dog to chase and thousands of wires, papers, and books to pilfer, he was happy as a wee clam. I will continue to keep everyone posted on our travels, but I cannot guarantee that there will be more pictures for awhile -- I am working on a different computer, and I have no Ian here to help me navigate the new terrain. He is going to try to explain how it all works and where it all plugs in via email or phone. So your viewing pleasure is dependent on the quality of the explanation the ability of the chelsa to understand and execute it. Like I said -- I cannot guarantee that there will be pictures for awhile.