# Anybody miss me? Or: Johnny L.A.'s Northern Adventure. (Yes, long.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 8, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188 "2003-09-08T00:50:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/21 "2003-09-09T12:01:58Z")
**Muffin** : Now, that’s just weird. ---
**Author:** ![Zenham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a5b964/32.png) [@Zenham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenham)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/22 "2003-09-09T12:07:58Z")
Yes, but who doesn’t want 32 metric Vancouvers? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/23 "2003-09-10T00:27:41Z")
How big is a metric Vancouver, compared to an imperial hogshead? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/24 "2003-09-10T01:39:01Z")
Once we were imperial. Now we are metric. The transition period was interesting, to say the least. On some topograhic maps, the distance grids were changed to metric without changing the elevation contours at the same time. It was extremely frustrating for me, for when I plan a river trip, the gradient is very important. Feet per mile works. Meters per kilometer works. Feet per kilometer sucks. I’m glad that its all metric now, for it makes the math a lot easier when out of sight of land while trying to vecor wind, tide, current, and paddling rate. ---
**Author:** ![Mooney252](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@Mooney252](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooney252)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/25 "2003-09-10T02:19:11Z")
> [@](#): > > wastern coast of the Pacific Northwest. (But only a little bit unusual.) It turns out that I arrived during an exceptionally dry period. We went to an eatery in Blaine 1. you weren’t even close to the western coast until you get to Quillayute 2. you made this whole trip and drove right by the great tour of the Boeing wide-body facility in Everett? [http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/tours/](http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/tours/) 3. I didn’t see anything else about flying and only that would give you an overall perspective of the San Juans and Vancouver Island. Glad you enjoyed it anywho!! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/26 "2003-09-10T03:26:36Z")
**Mooney252** : One thing I noticed was that there was a helicopter at Blaine Airport. I didn’t get a good look at it, but it might have been a Hiller. I wonder if it’s for hire? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sinshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sinshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinshine)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/27 "2003-09-10T05:43:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > \*\*How big is a metric Vancouver, compared to an imperial hogshead? \*\* A metric Vancouver is about 514,000 residents. An Imperial Vancouver (aka the GVRD) is about 1.8 million residents. How many people can you fit in a hogshead? willingly? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/28 "2003-09-11T00:47:54Z")
“How many people can I willyingly fit in a hogshead?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sinshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sinshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinshine)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/29 "2003-09-11T05:42:24Z")
Yes. Like squishing everyone you know into a VW Beetle, only stuffing them willy-nilly into a hogshead. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/30 "2003-09-11T12:01:42Z")
I had a weird dream about a kayak this morning. Mine is white, but the one in the dream was blue. A friend and I were going paddling somewhere in So Cal. First, we were dragging the 'yaks through my old neighbourhood in San Diego. The beach was rocky, rather unlike the sandy beaches around here. I’m not sure how it happened, but my 'yak was in the water and it sunk. (This could not have happened in real life, of course.) I dove into the water to retrieve it, but the currents were strong and the waves seemed to aim for me. I had to pull myself slowly along the bottom. Just as I was about to get to where the boat was, it wasn’t there. I looked around and saw it some distance off. I went over to it (it was much easier this time) and realized that I was under water, and yet I was breathing. I determined that I must be dreaming. Then my alarm went off and woke me. ---
**Author:** ![coyasicanbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bcef8e/32.png) [@coyasicanbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coyasicanbe)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/31 "2003-09-11T14:27:38Z")
I was at the Birch Bay waterslides with Coy Jr. on Labor Day weekend. If I had only known you were around, I would have waved… ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/32 "2003-09-11T16:31:13Z")
I usually don’t admit it, but I’m from Nanaimo. 😉 Next time you’re in the Nanaimo area, take the ferry to Gabriola Island. Petroglyphs galore! Last time I was there I picked up [this](http://www.rock-art.com/books/bently2.htm) book for a friend of mine. I wish I grabbed one for myself. Great pictures. Also, if you ever go up the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge, there’s a dam with a gift shop that has great books on the Columbia Gorge petroglyphs. For the life of me, I can’t recall which dam it is. Bonneville? The Dalles? They have a fishery there as well. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188/33 "2003-09-12T00:31:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Next time you’re in the Nanaimo area, take the ferry to Gabriola Island. Petroglyphs galore! I was talking to my **fiend** today on the way home from work. The lady at the Nanaimo Film Commission sent him some photos of Gabriola Island (she went there the other day with a friend of hers). He says it looks awesome. He’ll probably post them for me to see. > [@](#): > > Last time I was there I picked up [this](http://www.rock-art.com/books/bently2.htm) book for a friend of mine. I wish I grabbed one for myself. Great pictures. Apparently, that’s one of the only books on the subject; at least for that area. My **fiend** has it. Funny thing though: There are parts that say stuff like, “We really don’t know what this petroglyph means…” The First Nations guy says that that’s because the authors didn’t actually bother to _ask_ what they meant! :eek: He said the elders are a treasure trove of information, if only people would ask them. Getting back to pictures, though… [Here are some pics from the trip](http://www.reelprogress.com/nanaimo/9-01-03-trip.html). 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-miss-me-or-johnny-l-a-s-northern-adventure-yes-long/200188.md?page=1)