And We're Off to Vancouver and Alaska!

Wednesday. June 29, 2016

And We’re Off to Vancouver and Alaska:

 

            Our departure from Southport, Connecticut, was a bit unusual this year. Instead of the convoluted journey we usually undertake to one of the New York City airports, this time Chriselle, who happened to have arrived from California to spend a week with her cousins, Arav and Anaya in our absence, gave us a ride to La Guardia Airport where our summer travels began. As Llew and I were utilizing Frequent Flyer Miles on American Airlines to get to Vancouver where our trip would begin, we ended up taking different flights with the intention of arriving on the West Coast of Canada within an hour of each other.

            But the best-laid plans of mice and men…go awry, of course. Llew’s flight to Detroit from where he was to make a connection to Vancouver got delayed and, long story short, he was put on another flight to Dallas and eventually reached Vancouver an hour after I did—but minus his baggage. My own three flights that eventually got me to Vancouver went without hitch. I enjoyed First Class service on all three sectors, picked up a pizza from Wolfgang Puck Express at Indianapolis, had a super interesting companion on the leg from Indianapolis to Los Angeles so that time flew by most pleasantly as I marveled at the scenery of the world beneath my window while we flew northward along the Pacific Coast from LA to Vancouver where the sea was punctuated by islands burnished gold by the a swiftly setting sun.

However, by the time I made contact with Llew, it was past midnight and the two of us kept fingers crossed as his checked-in bag had not reached (because it was somewhere in Detroit). The airline assured us that we would receive it at our hotel in Whistler and recommended that he do some shopping for the next 24 hours as all he had were the clothes on his back! Dear, oh dear. Not the most providential way to start a much-anticipated trip—but we are seasoned travelers who know how to take all sorts of situations in our stride. So without batting an eyelid, we simply hailed a cab and proceeded to our hotel (the Travelodge at Vancouver airport) as we had missed the last free shuttle for the day.

            Needless to say, we merely hit the hotel when the two of us passed out for the night.

            Until tomorrow...