Ok guys, some may find this boring, so just skip it. This is my adventure to Canada.
Leaving Raleigh-Durham International on Friday the 7th, it begins with my siser-in-law dumping me in front of the Canadian Air terminal. Never having flown before I just stand there looking lost and confused. I check in, asking for the window seat of course, on the advice of my friend CanadianSue (who I am going to visit for a week). The (insert sarcasim) intelligent gentleman at the check in informs me that I won’t have to see my luggage again until I get to Edmonton.
I sit at the gate for 2 1/2 hours, listening to the lady next to me bitch the whole time because the 2:00 flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems and she’s trying to get on the 5:35 flight to get to Toronto (same as me). Finally before I open my big mouth and tell her how I really feel I go sit in the ladies room for 20 minutes just to get a break from her. The flight finally leaves 40 minutes late.
The flight to Toronto takes 1 hour 45 minutes. It was ok. I think the guy sitting next to me was either on some kind of drug or he thought I was a mass murderer. He never said 2 words to me the whole flight. Looking down I had no idea where the hell we were at any given time. Getting closer to Toronto we come over this huge mass of water, totally unprepared, the captain informs us that we are 40 miles from Toronto, beginning descent. Of course I panic. We are STILL over this big ass lake going down. I’m thinking, I hope to hell he sees this water.
We land, and just cruise the runway for 20 minutes because they can’t find anyone to taxi us into the terminal. Nice airport, eh?
Once landed, the herd gets off the plane and runs to make their next flight in 20 minutes. I have an hour and a half before my next flight. Plenty of time, right? This airport is huge. It takes me 45 minutes to get to my next gate.
The flight from Toronto to Edmonton is excellent. Bigger jet, way nicer than the one I just got off of. In-flight movie, nice meal, and good company. I finally arrive in Edmonton an hour late. Sue is there to pick me up. We go to pick up my luggage…no luggage. The guy asks me if I picked up my luggage in Toronto and went through customs with it. Of course I didn’t. So my luggage is still going around in circles in Toronto while I’m in Edmonton. Thank goodness I packed my pjs and a change of clothes in my carry on. So we arrange to pick the luggage up the next morning on the 11:00 flight from Toronto. Then we proceed at mock 900 miles an hour to Sue’s house. I don’t ever want to hear another Canadian talk about how Americans drive.
Our plan is to leave the next morning for the mountains, after we pick my luggage up from the airport. Of course we had planned to leave earlier than the 11:00 flight from Toronto. Sue goes in the airport and has them send my luggage to Calgary, which takes us about 3 hours to drive to. The luggage arrives there before we do. No problem, I now have my clothes.
The rest of the trip was wonderful. I saw the Rockies for the first time in my life. Quite a sight to say the least. We hit a few malls during the visit, West Edmonton Mall is so awesome, it is undescribable. I go to my first casino, where I break even. I experienced my first ‘gravy and french fries’, perogies, hot tea with cream and sugar, and many more culinary delights. Edmonton is the city of celebrations, I saw street performers, experienced the night life (when I met a few of my fellow dopers) and just had an overall wonderful week. Sue is one of the most delightful entertaining hostesses that you would ever want to meet. I lacked for nothing. I was treated like royality the whole time. Geesh, I miss it already.
The flight back was not as bad as the flight going. I now knew how to get my luggage in Toronto and get it through customs, only problem was they didn’t tell me it doesn’t get on the same spinner as the rest of the flight, but goes directly to American customs. So once I located it and got it though, I ran for the next thirty minutes across the airport to my next gate, making it 5 minutes before the ‘supposedly’ next flight I was to take. It left an hour later. So I land in Raleigh an hour late, no problem, my son is waiting patiently for me. His first words, the next trip you take I’m going with you. It seems he missed me a little.
So in a very condensed version, that is pretty much my vacation in a nutshell. Of course I’ve left a lot out, for the sake of length. But it was an experience I’ll never forget. Canada is a wonderful place to visit. If you ever get the chance, take a visit.
I won’t even mention the fact that for the first three days I had breakfast at 10 and then didn’t get another meal until after 5 in the afternoon. See Sue I can be nice! (Private joke there).
