Finally we are in Vancouver!

We woke up around 6am and were all excited – today was the day!  We had a nice, relaxed breaky, packed up the room and headed to reception to check out.  Then all of a sudden I realized we had been a little too relaxed and we were starting to run out of time to check in for our flight!

I really don’t know what I was thinking! 

We did the quick bolt to the Virgin counter and the line was a mile long to check in.  I spotted a staff member and said that I was a little worried we might not make check in.  The look on his face said it all!  He told us to bypass all of the line and head straight through to the end counter and they would fast track us through check in.  The lady on the counter said she would give us priority through customs and we were to head there immediately - the plane was going to begin boarding in 30 minutes!

The kids were stoked – no waiting in lines for them!  We did the fast walk to customs, James was saying, ‘I can’t believe this’ in relation to going on the holiday.   All I could think was ‘I can’t believe this either!’ although I was referring to the fact we were running sooooo late!

In customs Terry starts cracking jokes with the guy on the desk – no small talk we’re not going to make it! We get pulled up through security as we’d left a water bottle in Terry’s bag in the panic.  Now we were not allowed to touch the bag and had to wait while security searched it.  I then got pulled over for the explosives test –  come on!  The guy who did the test told us a short cut through the airport to the gate – we were starting to break a sweat!

Well we made it to the plane just in time to start boarding.  What a whirlwind start to the trip!

The 13 hours seemed to take forever!  We arrived in LA bleary eyed and ready for sleep – but we had a five hour wait before our next flight to Vancouver.  It took 1.5 hours to get through customs and get our luggage.  I’ve never had so many checks - not only did I look fancy with my new flash travel wallet that my workmates brought me, it was so useful and I used it many, many times on the very first day! Terry, Will and I all fell asleep at the airport.  Little Jim wasn’t too tired and played guard with our luggage.  We boarded our flight to Vancouver and we all slept all the way.  As we neared Vancouver Will was really excited - he couldn’t wait to hear the accents.

Finally we touched down in Vancouver – nearly 24 since we arrived at Sydney Airport.   I had arranged a transfer to our hotel and at the time I made the booking, I could pay an extra $10 for a limo.  Well, as you know my first preference is to travel by limousine, and I thought it would be a good surprise for the kids.   The limo was the biggest one I had ever travelled in.  The kids were stoked!   Will thought he was a rock star and James was playing it down although he was inwardly chuffed.

We checked into our apartment and within an hour we hit the pavement to check out Vancouver.  We are staying on Robson St and restaurants, shops and Stanley Park are right on our door step.  We found a fantastic Italian restaurant and then headed to Stanley Park to walk it off!  Terry and James went back to the apartment and Will and I went to Safeway to buy supplies.  We walked up and down the  supermarket aisles checking out all the different brands of food.   We then smelt something amazing and followed the smell to a Waffle Shop – dessert for Terry and James. 

The boys crashed out in minutes with Terry not far behind.  It was such a big day travelling and I can’t believe I am now sitting here in Vancouver.  I can’t wait to explore more of the city tomorrow, Vancouver is such an incredibly beautiful city!

Exhausted - nearly missed the plane!

The trip got a whole lot better for all of us - iPod chargers!

Fancy travel wallet - worked a treat!

Now that's a limo 

Better start creating Apps boys if you want to travel like this! Will is particularly impressed.

The happiest of all to reach the hotel - Terry Marlborough!

No time for rest Terry - we are off to explore Stanley Park!

 

The boys fooling in the park

Robson Street - our apartment is in the background.

Dinner - finally a decent meal!

 Checking out the supermarket