Long Last Day of Vacation in the Pacific Northwest

Mon, July 11, 2016:

From Vancouver to New York: Homeward Bound!

            Our last day of vacation dawned somewhat drizzly—but this sort of weather is common in Vancouver. Wait ten minutes and the sun pops out—which it did. We had to check out of our room at 9. 30 am and so we hurried with our showers and finished our packing with the idea of stashing our bags back at Margaret’s to which we adjourned for another grand breakfast.

            I had a couple of errands to run right after breakfast and Margaret was obliging enough to take us around to the shops to get them done. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch and we were quite delighted to feast on the marvelous leftovers from last night’s bistro dinner which we had carried home in doggie bags. As might be expected, they tasted even better the next day.

            Lunch done, Margaret suggested we watch Amal, a very interesting off-beat film made with Canadian-Indian collaboration starrinf Naseeruddin Shah and Seema Biswas as well as a new British actor of whom I have not heard, Rupinder Singh. The film was heartwarming and thought-provoking and led to a nice post-viewing discussion. It was also a very relaxed way to finish up our hectic vacation, so we were grateful for the quiet time.

            It was time then for us to get to the airport for our red eye flight back home. Margaret once again stepped in to offer us a ride and an hour later, we were checking in for the first leg of our Alaskan Airlines flight to Seattle. There we raced off to Wolfgang Puck Express for another Pizza (the Mushroom Special—just as delicious as the meat-laden one with which I had started my vacation) and then we made our connecting flight from Seattle to New York. We traveled first class but despite the extra leg room, we were unable to sleep for more than a couple of hours.

            We arrived in New York’s Kennedy airport at 7.00 am from where we quite easily used the Airtrain to get to Budget from where we picked up the rented car that got us home to Connecticut. It was annoyingly long as we fought traffic all the way home and took more than two hours for what is usually a one hour journey. Still, we had a great homecoming and a lovely reunion with my brother and his family who had a Welcome Home poster on the door waiting for us. Although we’d had another one of our top vacations, it was great to be back home in our own bed and baths again and to savor the joy of a home that we truly love.

            Thanks for following me on this stretch of my travels. It is always a pleasure to have you by my side as I explore the world and see it through eager eyes. Until I gallivant away again, I wish you happy journeying. May the road rise up to meet you!