PORTLAND, OREGON – Following an exciting visit to Taiwan with a legislative delegation, I lingered here in the Rose City with Beth to visit family and experience the Pacific Northwest. The foliage colored up about a month behind New Hampshire, so it was still beautiful in late November.
Spontaneity is very important. Just let yourself go and see what happens.” – American actor Aron Eisenberg
I was lying on a couch after church on a Sunday morning when Beth surprised me by asking if I wanted to shoot up to Canada.
“Sure!”
I’d floated the idea several days earlier and didn’t get much of a response, but I’d planted a thought in her pretty head. And such trips are always better when suggested by the spouse.
“We’ll leave in an hour,” said Dr. B.
Spontaneous road trips—like spontaneous parties—can be exciting and fun. Or disastrous. But nothing ventured, nothing gained.
We threw our bags into the Prius.
“Got your passport?”
“Wait one!”
A minute later we were heading north on I-5. British Columbia, ahoy!
We did detailed planning in the car.
“Let’s go to Vancouver,” I suggested.
“How about Victoria Island? It’s closer.”
“Okay.”
“Is there a bridge?” I asked.
“Ferry,” replied Dr. B from the passenger seat as she studied a map. Then, she reserved a BnB using her cell phone. The 21st Century has its wonders. It would take about four hours to drive through Washington State to Puget Sound. Then, the 90-minute ferry to Victoria.
Shortly thereafter, I heard an “Uh-oh.”
Never good.
“We’re going to miss the last ferry. I’ll have to make a reservation in Port Angeles for tonight, and then we’ll catch the early ferry tomorrow.”
That meant that we’d be paying for an empty BnB in Victoria that evening while getting a hotel room in Port Angeles. Spontaneity has its dangers.
We enjoyed the scenery while hurtling north. Off to our right, to the east, we soon saw the towering Mt. St. Helens. Old enough to remember the major eruption there in 1980, we marveled at how terrifying it must have been to so many who could see it from all directions for 100 miles.
Further north we could see Mt. Rainier, again to the east. Also an active volcano, at 14,411 feet, it’s the most glaciated peak in the lower 48 states, spawning five major rivers.
Then it got dark, and an incredible full moon arose, also to the east. We listened to ’60s music on Sirius Channel 73 and truly enjoyed the ride.
After finally arriving at Port Angeles, we tooled around town a bit and did some prep for our excellent, spontaneous Canadian adventure.
As an NH State Representative, it occurred to me that Victoria was a provincial capital and that a trip to the capital building might be fun. So, I googled an email address for the Legislative Assembly and messaged to ask if any visitors might be allowed.
The next morning, we got in line early for the ferry. We decided to take the car even though that would be pricier—and even though our BnB was within walking distance of the landing. It was still dark at 7 a.m. as we were in the far western part of the Pacific Time Zone. We drove aboard and then went up above for the 90-minute passage. It was a rare, sunny day with maximum visibility.
Puget Sound was like a placid lake, and I wondered how far from shore indigenous peoples took their boats centuries ago. I also pondered how this very waterway was once simultaneously claimed by the Spanish, the British, the Russians, and the Americans—as well as, of course, those indigenous folks. (Google “54-40 or Fight!”)
The city of Victoria is the capital of the beautiful province of British Columbia, 62 miles southwest of Vancouver and 62 miles north of Seattle. Named for the iconic 19th-century British Queen, the city features many older buildings, giving it a slightly European ambiance in contrast to America’s west coast metropolises. Its “Chinatown” is the second oldest on the continent, behind San Francisco’s.
That the traffic was relatively light was a surprise. It then occurred to me that we were on an island, which protected the city from countless vehicles driving in—unless they wanted to pay for the expensive ferry ride that we’d just experienced.
The government buildings were impressive edifices completed in 1897. But equally impressive was the imposing Empress Hotel, which opened in 1908. This truly grand hotel beckoned us to visit and explore.
We checked in early to our BnB, which overlooked the harbor and a small fleet of tourist boats. I checked my phone for messages and was surprised and delighted to see a response to my query from the provincial legislative assembly.
“Great news!” I exclaimed to Beth. “We’re not only invited to visit the Provincial Parliament, but they want to give us a special guided tour and then have us sit in on a “Question Time” assembly session. Wow!”
As a legislator, a visit to the provincial parliament called to me somewhat more than it did to Beth.
“Did you tell them you were some sort of big deal to get this invitation?”
“Just the facts, ma’am,” I replied. “Just the facts.”
“Do you have the right clothes for such a visit?”
“I just happened to pack the suitcoat I wore to Taiwan.”
“Well, now there’s a surprise,” replied Dr. B, rolling her eyes. But she admitted being excited to witness “Question Time,” which was obviously based the British model where the Prime Minister takes direct questions from all parties in the House of Commons. We’d both watched that tradition on C-SPAN.
“America should have a version of ‘Question Time.’ Don’t you agree?” asked Beth.
“Absolutely,” I agreed. I wanted to point out that our current president rarely even has a controlled press conference, much less take direct questions from Congress, but I didn’t want to stir things up. Spontaneous trips are always smoother when political arguments are avoided.
We were met by David near the entrance to the historic parliamentary edifice. He conducted a wonderful tour and provided us with gallery tickets to watch Question Time.
Legislative assembly sessions invite theatrics, as the elected officials play not only to their colleagues but also to the gallery and to the cameras. Multiple parties were represented, but the two major ones in B.C. were the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the British Columbia United party (BCP). As we looked down from the gallery, the NDP was to our left, and the BCP was to our right, literally and figuratively. There were also two Green Party members and two Conservatives. There were no Liberals, which I found interesting, given that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a Liberal.
The questions mostly involved BCP members asking NDP leaders about healthcare shortcomings. Depending upon who said what, it was fun to watch one side or the other cheering and desk pounding—just like the Brits do in London on C-SPAN.
After Question Time wrapped up at 11 a.m., Beth and I were the first to step out from the gallery. We wanted to head to the Empress Hotel for “Teatime.” We were surprised to run into David, who apparently was waiting for us.
“The Speaker would like to meet you,” he explained.
“Seriously?” (The Speaker was still sitting on the throne in the legislative chamber.)
“Yes.”
David escorted us to the outer chamber of the opulent Speaker’s Office, where we waited and watched a screen showing a BCP member using some extra time to call out the Premier for what she felt was egregious behavior. After she finished, the session adjourned, and Speaker Raj Chouhan soon entered his chambers, followed by the Legislative Clerk, Kate Ryan-Wood. We followed them into the inner sanctum, where we all sat on some gorgeous furniture in front of a big fireplace and enjoyed some friendly small talk. Canadians obviously follow American politics—including the New Hampshire primary.
“I was just hoping to get a photo when I sent that email,” I explained. “We’ll never forget your extraordinary hospitality.”
“We know who you are,” responded Chouhan, which I found incredibly flattering. Someone must have googled me after I sent the message and saw that I was a House Committee Chair back in New Hampshire.
We got a few more photos, and then Beth and I excused ourselves, leaving the Canadian lawmakers to go back to making laws.
“I’m glad I brought my tie and jacket,” I said to Beth as we walked toward the Empress Hotel.
“You knew they were going to invite you to the Speaker’s Office.”
“No way!”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Being a country hoser from Groveton, I’d never done a “teatime,” but Dr. B had lots of class and knew how to proceed. Several pots were delivered over flaming heat sources with hourglasses so we could measure the appropriate amount of time for the giant teabags to do their things. The tea was accompanied by several courses of interesting and delicious food. I also ordered a large Merlot to celebrate our wonderful experience at the provincial parliament.
“I bought the ferry tickets so you can pay for teatime,” said Beth.
“Sure,” I replied.
“Don’t faint when you see the bill. It can be one of my Christmas presents.”
I’m glad she warned me. Teatime at the Empress turned out to be very pricey. But it was worth it.
We retrieved our Prius from the parliament parking lot and drove to the ferry. The passage back to the states was wonderful. After driving off the ferry we briefly chatted with a customs official who waved us along without even asking to see our passports. Nice.
The drive back to Portland was pleasant, as we found Christmas music on Sirius Channel 71. The first Christmas music of the holiday season is somehow the best.
After a couple hours Beth indicated she had a book on tape she could play. I was enjoying the music but wanted to be spontaneously open to a new experience. I had never listened to a book on tape before.
“Sure. What do you have?”
“THE WATERGATE GIRL: My Fight for Truth and Justice Against a Criminal President by Jill Wine-Banks.”
I inwardly groaned. I was content to keep listening to “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World.” But after two hours of listening to the audio book I was completely pulled in. I wanted to drive another hour after we reached Portland just to keep listening. It confirmed the value of being spontaneous and trying something different.
It was almost midnight when we finally got “home” to unload the Prius.
“What are we going to spontaneously do tomorrow?” I asked.
“I don’t know about you but I’m going to spontaneously sleep in,” replied Dr. B.
As a great philosopher (Jennifer Aniston) once said about spontaneity, “The funnest stuff happens when you break away from the script.”
So true.
