My last night in the US!

Greg and I are at the lovely Phoenix Lodge in Hayward, within striking distance of San Francisco International Airport for my flight tomorrow morning. Six of us will be flying from SFO to Chicago, then on to Ottawa, capital of that strange foreign land called "Canada."

Contemplating four weeks in the Great White North

We were originally booked into a hotel down the street, but when we arrived, they had no record of our reservation, which was made through PriceLine.com. I can hear William Shatner now... "Mister Spock, please see that the computer is repaired before our next transition to warp speed!"

So we're at the Phoenix, with a perfectly serviceable room, and $33 richer in the bargain.

Remember Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? Well, it turns out that the Phoenix Lodge has a Harry Potter Suite. It's unmarked, but its identity is obvious to me:

Dobby the House Elf cleans the stairwell daily...

I have a confession to make here. This is not Julie at all. This has been a blog post written by her husband, Greg, who will be delivering her into the care of United Airlines and the Mars Institute tomorrow morning.

Goodbye, Julie! We'll all miss you, and look forward to your next missive from the capital of Canada tomorrow evening!