Arriving In Vancouver

We have arrived in Vancouver after a long flight with a stopover in Calgary.  It doesn’t seem possible but it’s been 2½ years since we were here to help Kari move back to Ontario. It was just before the Olympics but it seems as very little has changed.  It all seems very familiar.   Vancouver is a very beautiful city, with the coastal mountains to the north, English Bay and False Creek to our south and the Pacific Ocean to our west.

We are staying at the Century Plaza hotel, which is a special place for us.  It is right next to the hospital where our granddaughter Mckenna was born and it also the hotel we stayed at when Kari’s first book, “Jeffrey and Sloth” was launched.  It is right across from the Shearaton Hotel, which is a magnificent piece of architecture.

What a surprise.  It’s raining in Vancouver.  I swear that the sun never shines in Vancouver.  For all the trips we've taken here while Kari and her family lived in Vancouver, I don’t recollect ever seeing the sun for more than a couple of minutes at a time.

We really like flying on Westjet as they treat you like royalty.  They were especially good with the arrangements for Wendy to ensure her complete comfort.  For those who don’t know Wendy, she has MS and has limited mobility.  Wendy and Marg’s Dad have gotten along famously.  They pretend to flirt and are laughing all the time.

We meet up with Joan during dinner.  She has had a fully week and has enjoyed her time with Jennifer, doing the tourist trips around town.  Rocky will be finished his work tomorrow and should be able to join us for dinner.

Day 01 - On Route

We’ve started our journey to Vancouver to join our Alaska cruise along the inside passage.  We won’t be leaving until Saturday, so we’ll have a couple of days of sightseeing.  Joining us to this trip is Marg’s Dad and Wendy Bachner, who is a friend of Marg’s.  Wendy is a retired nurse who worked with Marg at the same hospital in St. Thomas.

The purpose of this trip is twofold.  First we are going to celebrate Marg’s Dad 90th year.  It is wonderful that Bob is still spry.  He has an amazing outlook on life, is very active and has great sense of humour. Even at his age, he still takes no medication and walks in Pinafore Park or the mall each day.

The second purpose is to meet our friends from the European River cruise that we went on last year.  We are travelling with Rocky and Joan of Belleville and John and Ellen from Australia. Of course we see Rocky and Joan from Belleville several times during the year.  The timing for Rocky worked out well as he is currently on a business trip to BC.  Rocky works part time and does accreditation for health care facilities.  Joan is staying in Vancouver visiting her friend Jennifer.

John and Ellen have come to North America to see the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest.  We’ll be joining them on board the boat on Saturday.  John has been doing a wonderful job of selling us on a trip to Australia, at some time in the future.  I suspect that we will have some more conversations about this during the cruise.  John by his own admission will forever be known as the “harried arsed Assie spoon player.”  Along with Wendy’s harmonica playing we should have some wonderful concerts.