ALASKA TRIP - VANCOUVER - MONDAY, MAY 7TH, 2018 - MEETING A PLANE FROM GERMANY

I will add this on every post, just to let anyone who doesn't know, that we are actually back home.  I am now sharing my journal from the beginning of May.  If you want to see all the posts written so far, you can click on the label below this post entitled, Alaska Trip May 2018.

Vancouver - Meeting a plane from Germany

Monday, May 7th, 2018

7.12 a.m. I had a text message and photos from our niece this morning.  They have started their journey.  Truly hard to believe we will be seeing them soon.  Their plane lands at 3.40 p.m.

2.34 p.m. we are at the airport and right now I am sitting at a table at Starbucks.  You can see Gregg in the photo below, identified by the white arrow, waiting in line to order our drinks.  I get my usual coffee and he gets his iced tea lemonade.

We came very early.  Our family's plane doesn't land until 4.00 p.m. now.  No way were we not going to be waiting for them when they came out of customs.  Gregg is at a charging station a hundred yards away. We forgot to bring an extra charger and are sharing the one we have. I have never seen so many pet carriers for sale.   We heard a few dogs barking in their crates waiting to be boarded.  One of the baggage crew wheeled one by me as I was walking around.  I can't remember what he said but it was to do with the little dog. We both smiled sympathetically for him in his crate.  I told the little guy it wouldn't be long before he was with his humans again, and exchanged another smile with his carertaker.

Before we left for the airport we found another great garden, but another jewel was a wonderful restaurant next to it, called Seasons in the Park, completely by happenstance.  We had originally gone looking for a Japanese Garden, couldn't find it and decided to head to our second choice on the list, Queen Elizabeth Park. 

The above photo was on the front of the menu, and the tidbit below was on the back.

This is the view we took near the statues they were talking about.  We didn't explore the garden as much as we wanted to.  In fact we never got beyond the statue, but the view was breathtaking.

We found the statues after our meal.  

I read an article recently about people putting themselves in danger to get a selfie.  After I had taken this one and brought it up on my laptop screen, I noticed the young lady standing on the wall with a selfie stick.  I remember there being such a steep drop behind her!  Her knees are strong and not aching I suppose.  I couldn't even make the hop onto that low wall, let alone look over that wall to the drop below.  

Bronze statues have always been a favorite of mine, there's something about them that really appeals to me.  They have a warmth to them and this one in particular I can relate to its subject most definitely. 

We didn't realize that we were also going to find a very nice restaurant. 

There is a plaque on the grounds saying this is where Bill Clinton met with Boris Yeltsin for the Vancouver Summit on April 3rd, 1993.

They also had the most beautiful flowers on the grounds. 

This will be a very nice place to bring our niece and nephew tomorrow.  Coming a few days early was turning out to be a great idea. We don't have a lot of time left in Vancouver but I think they will enjoy what the city has to offer.

When we saw they had a meat and cheese plate on the menu, we ordered it but added a mushroom and truffle soup.  Both were delicious.

(taken inside the restaurant. I noticed the chandelier immediately.  It was quiet inside this particular area, so my cell phone came out.)

The people sitting at the next table were from Germany.  We overheard one of them tell our waitress that they had flown in for the marathon.  When she asked his friend if he had run also, his reply was "No, I am older than he is.  I had a beer instead."  Smiling here.

8.59 p.m. Well, we have now had several hours with our niece and nephew. After picking them up at the airport we took them straight back to the hotel. We settled suitcases into their room and not long afterwards met them at the elevator.  As they were very tired but wanted to try and stay awake, we suggested a meal in the hotel restaurant.  It was by now dinnertime.  After our meal we popped into the bar for a cocktail, where we found our Irish barman, a friendly fellow from Gallway.  As we have family in Ireland we found a common bond and the four of us chatted amiably with him for a while, until his next customer showed up.

Time to call it a night as by this time it was very hard to stay awake.  We said goodnight, gave each other a warm hug and arranged to start our day at nine the next day.  We told them if they needed more time, no problem.  That's how we roll.  Also, tomorrow we change hotels to be nearer the ship.

ALASKA TRIP - MAY 2018 - TRAVELING TO VANCOUVER - THE START OF OUR VACATION - FRIDAY, MAY 4TH, 2018

First day - Friday, May 4th, 2018 
Alaska Journal

3.29 p.m. and we are on the last leg of our journey and are 20 minutes from landing at Vancouver Airport.  

There is snow down there but it looks in the process of melting. 

There also appear to be many small lakes.

Mountains!  Canadian Rockies?

We have had quite a journey.  This morning we awakened at 3.00 a.m.  A taxi picked us up at 4.00 a.m.  Our flight took off shortly after six.  

I took photos of us backing out of the gate.  We booked with Canadian Air and flew from Washington-Dulles Airport to Toronto, and from Toronto to Edmonton, and then from Edmonton to Vancouver.  It wasn't so bad changing flights.  I liked the fact that we didn't have such a long flight between airports.  Being in those tight seating spaces is always a bit of a challenge for us, and taking the break with an hour or two hour wait was enjoyable, and fun looking around each airport.  By that time we had no luggage and kept our bags to a minimum. It was easy to move from place to place without dragging anything with us.

We were surrounded with people who had bad colds.  One man who came and sat next to me in the gate area at Edmonton, gave me cause for concern.  He was very poorly and I felt sorry for him.  He sneezed and coughed heavily and he never covered his mouth.  I was ready for a walk around anyway, so I got up and took ten minutes to look around the stores.  Time to board and who do you think sat across the aisle from us?  The coughing and sneezing man.  A whole plane, a sky bus, and he sat next to us.  Amazing!  Is someone up there trying to tell me something, teach me more empathy, more tolerance?  He coughed and sneezed and groaned after every cough.  I did feel sorry for him but I also worried for all of us close by, but then again there were others too, maybe not as visibly sick but sniffles abounded.  Hopefully the coughing man finished his flight in Vancouver and his wife tucked him up in bed with a hot toddy.  He had been on the phone to someone a couple of times while waiting to board, and not a quiet conversation.  I think his ears must have been affected also.  As I said, lots of people seemed to have colds around us.  Keeping fingers crossed.

A nice thing happened at Edmonton Airport.  While waiting for our plane we met Guillermo from San Paulo, Brazil.  We noticed him before and watched him moving around.  He had those kind of striking good looks and I love to people watch at airports.  It really does pass the time away.  We still had two hours to go before our connecting flight.  Gregg said he walked like a dancer.  Sure enough, when he asked us a question about the flight, we started chatting to him, and he told us he had three auditions with three ballet companies tomorrow.  He happily showed us on his iPhone photos of him in costume, in ballet poses, alone and with his female counterpart.  He looked wonderful and the costumes told us he must have worked for a professional ballet company in San Paulo.  When we introduced ourselves and I told him my name was Denise, he smiled and told me that was the name of his first dance teacher.  I don't hear that very often, don't seem to be many Denise's out there so this was quite a coincidence.  It was another one of those pleasant conversations with people you meet when traveling, one of the many things I enjoy.  We had a good conversation by using Goodle Translate.  Guillermo said he had given himself a year to get work with a ballet company before going home, his mother hoped for less he said with a smile.  He hoped his English would be better by then.  We told him quite truthfully that he was doing great and that his pronunciation was excellent.

I couldn't help but notice that he was approached by a worried looking gentleman from India, who was visiting relatives in Edmonton.  Our young Brazilian friend asked us if we could help.  Unfortunately, after several tries, we were unsuccessful in dialing the number this gentleman had given us, and this time we couldn't communicate very well.  Gregg asked one of the ladies at the gate.  She seemed very helpful and pleasant in our earlier conversations.  As busy as she was, she couldn't have been more friendly, and assisted this gentleman by getting on her walkie-talkie.  We heard her put out a call for someone who spoke Punjabi, where he was from.  We felt that he was in good hands as we all left and boarded our flight to Vancouver.  Looking back I hope it all worked out well, both for our young Brazilian friend and also for the gentleman from India.

Canadian customs was excellent, thorough and yet pleasant. When we left the airport we got a taxi driver who was originally from Iran.  Gregg always enjoys talking to people from other countries, especially from those countries he has been to in his navy days, and I enjoyed listening to their experiences.  In 42 years I have heard many of Gregg's stories of his travels, but they never fail to interest me, and sometimes something new trickles in that I have never heard before. 

The taxi driver dropped us off at our car rental in the city.   As I waited in the hallway with all our luggage, sitting on a bench, door open and with me listening to the business of renting a car, right opposite psychic reading was offered. I took a couple of photos. of course.  All things interest me visually.

No, I didn't knock on the door.  I was cajoled into going to a psychic in my home town - psychic to the stars - when I was barely 20, and that was enough for one lifetime.

A nice young man who worked for the car rental offered to help us with our luggage.  We had to walk up a steep hill to get to the car.  He wouldn't accept a tip and said he was happy to do it.  A kind and friendly young man.  Our luggage was not lightweight and he did all of the heavy lifting. 

We wondered if tipping was not the thing to do in Canada, so maybe anyone out there who is Canadian or in the know about these things, can tell us.  We certainly don't want to offend anyone.

We reached our hotel in North Vancouver, and checked into our room.  We immediately sank down onto our bed, saying how good does that feel?  We fully intended to go downstairs for dinner, but soon dropped off for what we thought was going to be a short nap.  We woke up (4.00 a.m. our time) at 1.00 a.m. Vancouver time and chatted a little.  Gregg dropped off to sleep again but  I was wide awake.  I decided to finish the first day of my, hopefully, daily journal.  Now that I am getting tired again I will try and get a few hours' rest before the day starts.

(I am not sure where the art in the four airport concourse photos were taken, except for that the last one in the set of four was in Vancouver.)

WHERE WE HAVE BEEN FOR THE LAST MONTH?

I am back having been gone since the beginning of May.  Because of our schedule I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with daily goings on while away, so I decided to put together posts for the whole of the month.  That way there would be at least something on here. 

Today, after a red-eye flight from Anchorage, we returned home.  Our son picked us up at the airport, and it was great to see him waiting for us near the baggage carousel.  

So, where have we been?  Gregg and I, and several family members went to Alaska.  We were a group of eight.  

I wrote in my journal every day  and when I couldn't, I caught up eventually.  Future posts will be about those days in Alaska, complete with photos.  We had a great time but as I write this in our own bed for the first time in many, many days, it is a very good feeling to be home.

The moose and the mosaic-style ceiling of the trees above it were seen yesterday at Anchorage Airport, Alaska, USA.

Thank you for all the great comments on my previous posts.  Connections were sketchy at times, and for a while it was hard to get on line.  Then I caught a bad cold, and then our scheduling got so busy, all I could think of was putting my head on the pillow at night.  I was either out like a light or unable to sleep with the sights we had seen that day.  For those of you who live in Alaska, or have visited this beautiful state, I think you will know what I mean.   The beauty in those snow-capped mountains, the people we met, the wildlife, were amazing.  I will never be able to capture these phenomenal sights in mere photos, but I will do my best to share what we saw.

I will also be doing a slow catch up of all your comments and blogs.  Thank you so much for keeping up with mine.  

PHOTOS FROM BALTIMORE AIRPORT.

I wasn't expecting to take any photos at Baltimore Airport, but a lot of things caught my eye.  I took these on our way to pick up our son and daughter-in-law after their trip to California.

First thing we came across was this very cute working dog.  We saw them several times making their rounds.  They have an important job to do.  He looked like a very young dog and I was wondering if he was in training.  

We also saw some very interesting works of art.

This was on one side of a supporting wall.

And this was on the other side.

An ancient-looking vase below, which from what I could read off the sign, said it was a replica of a Long Hu Zun vessel originally made in the Shang Dynasty (c1600-1046 BCE), and the second Dynasty of China.  The original was unearthed in Anhui Province in the People's Republic of China

in 1957. The people of Anhui Province, Maryland's Sister State, presented this gift to the people of Maryland in 1991, as a symbol of everlasting friendship between the Chinese and American People.

It is always fascinating to me to come across totally unexpected items, such as this very beautiful replica of an ancient vessel from China, while walking through Baltimore Airport.

There were also murals, and I love murals.

There was another one.

All depicting scenes of Maryland life, past and present.

At the far end is the crab sculpture that I shared in my last post.  I wanted to keep them all in one spot for future reference.  I thought he was rather magnificent.

One last shot as we crossed the sky bridge that took us back to where we had parked our car.  The dawn was rising.