Vancouver

Well, here we are in Vancouver after a very long day yesterday. The trip to LA was quite comfortable in the A380 Airbus - more leg room than most, and plenty to eat and drink if you needed it. That being said, we didn't get too much sleep. LA Airport is a whole other world - 4 different terminals and very little in the way of signage. We finally located the Alaskan Air terminal, and unfortunately we couldn't access the Qantas Club as it was in another building. We settled for a Burger King and fresh fruit. Halfway through I discovered a small sign saying Qantas Club members could use the Alaskan Air lounge, so we downed lunch and went in. It was so peaceful after the hectic pace of the airport. Security was a whole other issue - took us about 45 minutes in line just to get to the checkpoint, then a "hands on" search of me because of my metal hip - and that was after almost comppletely disrobing for Phil. No belt, shoes, wallet etc. Many of the points used the Xray machine to scan, however not the lane we had been sent to. The trip to Vancouver was quite pleasant and we were able to see heaps of snow covered mountains along the way. Rob and Marg (Phil's brother) were waiting for us at Vancouver Airport, and bought us in to our hotel. After 36 hours we just lobbed into the hotel restaurant for dinner (and they had given us a $10 voucher). Unfortunately (or not Stu) they had the Stanley Cup ice hockey final on live in the restaurant, so we waited until Vancouver had a massive win before we left and fell into bed. We had gone 36 hours on 2 hours sleep, so we crashed. I woke about 7.30 and dozed until I woke Phil up at 9.30am. We got organised, and went in search of the local Denny's restaurant. We knew it used to be opposite Sutton Place, so strolled down there (2 blocks) only to be told it had gone. So........2 blocks back to the hotel to find the closest one. It was now in the opposite direction 2 blocks, and down the street. We walked right past it as the street sign was so high we missed it. So.... we finally found someone to ask , and we had to backtrack a block to find it. The food was most welcome as it was now getting close to 11am. They have a Seniors Menu now, with smaller serves (although they are still not small, trust me!!) and free coffee refills. If Dad's eyebrows were any higher after 2 coffees I would be surprised!! We then went on the hop on hop off bus for 11/2 hours and did a tour of Vancouver. As we are still weary we just stayed on the bus, but we know where we will go when we next come to Vancouver. They have a vibrant harbour, so we will go down there next time and stroll around the foreshore. I think it will be early to bed tonight, as Rob is picking us up at 9.30am tomorrow to go down to Seattle where we get on the boat on the 22nd. Hope all are well back home. Take care, and we miss you already. Love Sue and Phil