ALASKA BOUND

VANCOUVER, BC

31 JULY 2014

Today we begin the journey to Alaska with a stop in Vancouver, BC Canada.  We are flying WestJet out of San Francisco.  An airline neither Sandra nor I have heard of.

Because of the early morning flight, I spend the night at Sandra’s to be ready for the 04:30 AM pick up for the airport.  It is important to me to always get to the airport early in order to allow for any contingencies.  Today that paid off.

As we are approaching the WestJet check in desk, I hear Sandra behind me saying “Oh No”.  She repeats this several times each time with a rising panic in her voice.  She has left her passport at home!  In the copier!

I continue checking my bag while assuring her she has plenty of time to return to her house and be back to check her bag and catch the flight.  Which she does due to a miraculous (according to Sandra) taxi driver who flew like the wind, illegally used the carpool lane (they were only 2 in the car and the lane requires 3), and had great compassion for her plight.

The rest of the journey is as smooth as silk and we arrive at our condo in Vancouver in good spirits.  We are greeted at the airport by a very friendly driver and, quite unusual for this city, a warm and sunny 85F day .  

 We are met by Conor, our AirBNB host, who is accommodating us with a very early check-in. He gives us a tour around the lovely and bright 2 bedroom 2 bath space where we will spend the first two days of our journey.

After settling in we wander out to get groceries and have lunch.The neighborhood surrounding the condo is diverse and lively.  Just several doors down is a shop called Weeds. As we walk past Weeds the smell of marajuana wafts out the door.  It is now legal to openly sell it in Canada.  

Continuing on we pass restaurants of all persuasions from Mexican to Sushi to coffee shops and bakeries. There is a nightclub selling Gay Pride tickets.  We learn later that the Gay Pride parade will take place on the 2nd ending with an international fireworks show.  We choose a tiny sushi place and take a seat at one of the outside tables.  The lunch is delicious.

After shopping for groceries we head back to the condo for a rest and quiet evening.

Much Love To You All,

Mom/Grandma Syrup/Sara