There and back again

So Saturday I get an email from Noah, a sysadmin I met at LISA (in 2006. Whoah. Anyway:) saying he was going to be in Bellingham for Linux Fest Northwest, and did I want to meet up? Talked it over with Clara, and she was up for it, so sure, why not?

We headed through the Aldergrove border crossing after hearing that the Peace Arch was on fire or some such, and got through in about five minutes. And after four hundred questions from the kids about were we there yet? is this America? why are you turning around here? we found where we needed to be quite by accident, a good two hours earlier than we figured we'd be. Met up with Noah who's sporting the most awesome 70s Mountain Man look, and agreed to meet up again for lunch -- we had kids to maintain, and figured we'd hit a park or something to run them for a bit.

Walked around the vendor area for a bit first, which showed that someone had managed to get my number: not only the FSF and the EFF, but a guy with an automated homebrewing setup controlled by Linux and the local astronomer's club. The kids got lots of stickers, and someone gave my wife a Pear Linux install CD. ("Why do I want this? I've got Ubuntu.")

We drove off looking for a park but couldn't find one; instead, we went to Trader Joe's. Clara took my oldest son inside while I stayed out minding my youngest, who'd managed to fall asleep on the way. There was also a toy store beside it, and when the youngest woke up he and his brother headed in there to spend their one American dollar each while I walked through TJ's. And holy crap: America's alcohol selection is incredible. A box of wine for $9. Lots of beer I had not seen, and for damn good prices too. I bought up a bunch, threw it in the trunk of the car and then met up with the kids who were just about to buy a big bag of army men. "I love America," sighed the youngest.

We drove down to Boundary Bay Brewing for lunch with Noah and Sarah. Clara had the ESB (okay, but we agreed that Central City's was better), Noah and I had the single-hopped Amarillo Pale Ale (wonderful) and Sarah got the Tripel (which was awesome; a light version with noticeable coriander, not like the dark/fruity dubbel's I've brewed). Oh, and the food was pretty good, too. We caught up with each other, talked about life in small hick towns, and just had a grand old time.

Finally it was time to go. I thought I'd brought down a growler, but no such luck, and we decided we'd stick with the beer we got at TJ's. I gave Noah and Sarah the two bottles of homebrew (#46, a dubbel, and #47, an IPA) we'd brought them, and we said goodbye. The drive back was completely uneventful except for paying duty at the border, which basically doubled the amount we paid for the alcohol.

All in all, a damn good time. Next year I may even go to the actual talks...