I drove from Calgary, Alberta, Canada down to Portland, Oregon in July, 1999 for a consultation with Dr. Toby Meltzer, who is well known as a top gender reassignment surgeon. My Dad and stepmother saw me as Teri for the first time along the way there and back. Here are some pictures from the trip (all were taken before I got my new hairpiece).

First, my favorite: this one was taken in Sparwood, British Columbia, Canada on the way home. Sparwood's main claim to fame seems to be the "world's largest truck", a monster with a 350-ton payload and a 10,320 cubic inch (169 litre) V-16 engine taht was used in local strip mining operations. It was retired and replaced by "run-of-the-mill" 200-ton trucks when its custom-made parts proved too expensive to fix. Those tires are almost 12 feet tall (3.56 metres).

You can choose your own caption:

(a) Teri finally finds SOMETHING that will make her look petite.

(b) Teri finally finds a vehicle with enough cargo capacity for her purse.

(c) Teri finally finds a vehicle with enough headroom.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, back to Portland.

This one was taken in Tom McCall Waterfront Park on the Willamette River a couple of hours after I reached Portland on Sunday, July 25, 1999. I think that's the Morrison Bridge in the background. It was windy, so my hair was a mess.

Dr. Meltzer's office is in the Crown Plaza just a couple of blocks away from the Day's Inn City Centre where I stayed. These two photos show first the whole building and then the entrance in close-up.

On the way out of Portland on Monday, July 26, 1999 I stopped to take a look at the Eastmoreland Hospital where Dr. Meltzer does his gender reassignment surgery. I had expected a large, impersonal, multi-storey monolith, so I was quite surprised that it appeared rather small. It's also in a rather surprising neighbourhood: a tidy mixed area of light industry and small, working class detached homes.

Now, the emotional climax: photos of me with my Dad and stepmother. No, their faces weren't obliterated in some horrendous automobile accident (though with my father's driving, I worry about such things). I just wanted to preserve their anonymity. They know who they are, and that I love them and am grateful for their accepance and support.

In case you were wondering, the first one has my Dad in it and the second one, my stepmother. I was standing a step lower on the porch in order to minimize the height differential. Both were taken on the front porch of my stepmother's house in western Montana on my way home, Tuesday, July 28, 1999.

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