From Calgary to Maine

We went to Maine just because some wanderlust was itchy for having another trip. I just tacked along. Albeit late for the magnificent fall color, Fred and Esther Yu were hoping to take some great pictures of the majestic vast ocean and hopefully some unique birds; and stuff themselves with lobsters.

To make our trip more worthwhile, Fred and I decided to visit our family and friends on route from Calgary to Maine. We were in Toronto, our first destination on Oct 19, 2015. We were touched by the hospitable reception of all our family and friends in Toronto, who spent time with us and took us to taste all sorts of good food.
Our highlight was at dinner with our BHJS alumni and our beloved Wong Sir. There were ten of us:  Wong Sir, Sandy Lee李麗珠, Stephen and Fidelia Lau, Irene Tsai, May Ho and her brother Frederick, Fred and Pauline Cheng, and Martin Kwong who happened to be in Toronto to visit his mom and family. What a nice coincidence!  We had a lot of fun visiting with each other. Seriously, how could we have the chance for boredom when we had Irene gracing her appearance among us?

An hour of flight on Oct 23^rd took us to LaGuardia Airport where we were greeted by Mui Por and her husband Steve. We would meet Betty Gong at a Chinese restaurant, for our first sumptuous dinner in NY. Betty was about to leave for a trip to China, but she graciously accompanied us three times while she was supposed to spend time packing her luggage.

Mui Por and Steve are super hosts. During our stay in New York, they spared their precious time to eat out with us and take us for sightseeing. Esther followed our footsteps to New York, just in time for dinner with Mui Por, Steve and Yee-Chun Chan 陳儀珍, Nancy’s little sister. We missed seeing Tung Goo’s forever-young and pretty face as she was touring in South Asia at the time.

The three of us began our trip by car to Boston on Oct 29, where we would stay for three days. We had another warm welcome from Tony Pow, my F5 classmate. He drove us around Boston and took us to the Lynn Shore where the two photographers shot a lot of pictures, and we had a seafood lunch together. Tony even took us to Costco, at the request of Esther to get some essential stuff. We bid “adieu” to him after dinner. Before we parted, Tony recommended some points of interest where we could tour the following day. Boston Garden is outrageously gorgeous.

The last leg of our trip was Maine. As Maine was about to be closed for the season, the place seemed to be deserted but quite tranquil. The upside was we did not have to press our way through the crowd. We could just stroll along the seaside and practically everywhere at leisure. Fred and Esther were delighted for being able to take some photos of the beautiful sunset, thrice. The fresh lobsters from the sea were unbelievably tasty. We were grateful for Esther who volunteered to be the chef for us.

The three of us drove back to New York on Nov 8, where we would take the flights home the next day. We met up with Mui Por and Steve once more for completing our food mission. Tung Goo who just returned from her long trip was too tired to eat with us, but she had already arranged with Mui Por to treat us on her behalf. We were surely touched by her nice gesture and so was the heartfelt hospitality from all our family and friends. We could not ask for a trip more eventful and memorable than this.

Pauline Cheng
Calgary