I had got cold for couple days. I knew I was quite stressful recently on new programs at the work. And I knew I should have a good sleep. But with all the deadlines I set to meet and a planned business trip to Bellingham, I did not have the luxury to think anything even about a break.
Finally, Boathill had to force me to take one day off on Monday. He also volunteered to accompany me to Bellingham on Wednesday so that I could take a nap in the car while he was driving. And then I decided to take a longer trip with my family to Vancouver after the meeting so that we all could have a small vacation.
会议安排在十一点，全家不着急不着慌地出了门，「不高兴」开车，一个多小时功夫就到了“「我的糠」社区学院”(Whatcom Community College)。除了一个购物中心，一直都对「百龄汗」没什么了解，最近开会的时候才知道这里居然还有一所技术学院，看来他们的竞争也是不小的。
如果你觉得“「我的糠」学院”是培养养猪专业户的地方，那你可就错了。「没头脑」第一次来这里，立马被周围的环境所吸引，不停地对家人说在这儿找个工作吧，这里多漂亮啊。妈妈还真是听进去了，说，学校看着不错，你能找着工作就来这儿吧。目前「没头脑」倒也没有换工作的想法，否则还真是个不坏的选择呢。不过，「不高兴｜未必喜欢在「百龄汗」找工作，好像这里电脑方面的工作不是很强。
“「我的糠」学院”有好几幢楼，每个楼前都有雕塑或是喷泉什么的，比如这三个胖鸟，就这么懒洋洋地蹲在石头上晒太阳，不温不火，煞是可爱。前任校长热衷于校园建设，所以把这里整理得很是漂亮。相对而言，我们学校虽然规模大些，可就那么可怜的巴掌大一点的绿地，比起这里一片片的绿草和大树，形象差了些。
The meeting was scheduled at 11 AM. I had prepared well to ask many questions and visit the classrooms and the lab. At the lunch time, the instructor also gave me a lot of tips for the program and application. It was worth paying this visit and I felt very lucky that I had arranged time for the trip.
At the noon, I called dad and he told me they did not go very far before seeing a shopping mall with Costco, Macy, and some other stores. Boathill asked people in Costco and was recommended couple good Asian restaurants in town. But there was a Phad Thai and a Vietnamese restaurant in the mall so that they decided having Pho for the lunch.
会议进行地非常成功，「没头脑」询问和参观了方方面面的细节，还了解了许多经验───算是取到了真经。这且不表。中午和「我的糠」的人一起吃的是希腊菜，一种很像墨西哥的卷饼，「没头脑」第一次吃，还凑合。另外，从本地人这里听说「我的糠」县是美国山莓的主要产地，占全美的百分之七十五之多。真是没想到。看来「花生屯」遍地都是农村专业户。
The work lunch with the instructor was at a small local Greek restaurant. Not expensive, and it was my first time to try such different cuisine. We talked a lot at the table so that I only remembered it was like Mexican.
饭后和爸爸、妈妈、「不高兴」重新接上头就向着边关出发了。
It was two o'clock after the lunch. I called Boathill to pick me up and we continued heading to I-5 north.
After 30 minutes driving, we were at the border. It took several minutes through the customs and we found a new BC Visitor Center at Peace Arch. It used to be a small house. Now it was a new building, with no currency exchange yet. We were directed to the opposite road, the duty-free store, for exchanging Canada bills.
过加拿大关一直都很容易，就是问问去温哥华做什么，答曰“吃吃喝喝”，就放行了。按老习惯，一过海关就有一个换钱、拿地图和歇脚的地方。没想到几年不来，这里有了一个新的大楼。新房子很漂亮，可换钱的柜台还没完工，只得到马路对面的免税店换加元。这个免税店也是重新装修的，比以前的那个又大又宽敞又气派，「不高兴」是见什么都拍的主儿，这回可高兴了，除了广告上的美女，这些个‘香水西施’、‘护酒女神’也来一两张。
Usually we did not stay in Richmond. This time I booked a bed-and-breakfast (B&B). We planned to have a dinner, a good rest, a quick shopping next morning, and going back home before the custom became too crowded.
进入列治文已经下午了，找到了住的地方，老板娘很抱歉地说房间要晚点才能准备好，能不能减十块钱表示歉意。那有什么不能的，反正我们现在也要出门去逛，吃了晚饭才回来呢，不着急入住，给人方便，自己也不麻烦。就这么着了！
出了门商量去哪儿逛呢，该去的地方都去过了。说起渔人码头还没真正去过，趁着天气好，开车直奔「列治文」的西南角。
驱车来到海边，因为不是周末，没那么热闹，好处停车方便。停好车，先沿着马路慢慢地在小店外走走看看，还真是安逸。来到一个冰淇淋店，「没头脑」请大家吃蛋卷冰淇淋，味道不错。逛到码头上，看到若干只白天鹅，优雅地在水里游来游去，心里涌上了一丝‘邪恶’的念头──天鹅蛋做成咸蛋的话一定会有很多油…………
等走上栈桥，看到有卖鱼卖虾的，问了问觉得价钱不错，可惜没带冰箱，季节也不太对。望着一层一层的船帆，「不高兴」又开始琢磨能否等到日落时分拍夕阳了。可日头正斜高挂着呢，又不想在码头边吃西餐馆，看看只好作罢了。就这样，「不高兴」还不甘心，于是商量提早吃晚饭，争取及时赶回来。
原本来温哥华第一目的就是吃。「没头脑」以前因为各种活动什么的，吃过好几次皇帝蟹，但爸爸妈妈和不高兴还不曾有过这个口福。这么大的螃蟹不太可能买回家自己做（怎么把螃蟹杀死都是个问题），我们念叨好几次了吃皇帝蟹，这次季节还没过，干脆去“王府井”品尝温哥华著名的港式皇帝蟹做法──当时正赶上促销，十一块加元一磅，似乎比别的地方都便宜。
一进餐馆，不高兴就被养在鱼缸里的金鱼吸引着不停地照相。我们挑了个十来磅的大螃蟹做“三吃”──蒜蓉蒸蟹腿（剩下的蒜蓉汁还下了面，好香），软炸螃蟹肉和螃蟹盖饭。前面两个都不错，这个盖饭里面有咖喱，没什么人吃，结果一大壳饭都浪费了。因为螃蟹是特价，餐馆要求附订两个菜，最后都没吃完，打包带走。看来战斗力还差太远。一顿饭下来，吃了二百多加元。
出了餐馆，又去置地广场，可是店铺都关门了。天还亮着，大家就琢磨着再去哪儿晃晃。不高兴还惦记着渔人码头的日落呢──反正他赶不上日出就巴望着日落。我们又回到海边。只是天公不做美，云彩太低遮住了快半边天，没达到「不高兴」指望的效果，还把诸位老弱病残冻的一溜儿够呛。
回到旅馆，简单梳洗，看了几眼《明朝的那些事儿》就睡着了。第二天早上，跑到“龙皇鲍翅”吃了点心，和以前一样，不好不坏，有好有坏，就那么回事。路边一家店里买了些干货，后来再去置地广场才觉着这家的龙眼质量好，可也没时间往回路找了。当然，离开之前还是照例要到“八佰伴”逛一圈的，买面包、蛋糕，喝了珍珠奶茶，整个温哥华行动就算是完美地结束了。
I felt much better after a getaway. We stopped at duty-free store and bought Irish creams and couple things for my friend. Passing the custom, I took over the steering and let Boathill sleep to home.
半小时到了入美国的海关，先进免税店里买了几瓶酒，两瓶是给俺老兄弟和老妹的。再给一国内的同学买个“施瓦洛施奇”的项链和一瓶“伊丽莎白雅顿”的香水。然后过关，一路不歇地杀回「纱糸轩」。
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