Wow, what a great last few days. You by now have probably all read the trip reports, so you can see what the flights have been like. But I should really update on what life has been like the last few days. I covered a lot of the stuff from Thursday in the Trip Reports but I will just mention a few things about those days.
It was fantastic to get to meet some people who I either tweet at or chat with from blogs. In LA there was Derek and Brett from Cranky Concierge. I had tweeted at Brett a few times and then once Derek became my concierge for the trip it was fantastic to get to meet him. The service they offer is fantastic and they know their stuff. Absolutely worth the money. They had my details all ready to go and they know what they are doing and are able to make sure their clients can make connections and know the best way to even make those connections.
In LA I was utterly impressed with In n Out though. I ended up going for a Double Double protein style with Fries and a drink. I was originally just gonna go for a Cheeseburger Protein Style with a drink but I kinda just ran with it on the spot. Pretty much something I am going to do over here. If I feel like doing something, I am just gonna do it. I will stay healthy when I can and do what I can. The food on the flights was great, I ate what I felt was good and at no time have I felt hungry or bad for what I was eating (although the Ice Cream Sundae with Pear Sauce and Caramel Pop Corn on the NZ flight was pretty damn indulgent).
Now that I am in Vancouver, It was fantastic to finally get to the airport on Thursday night. I was grilled into submission by the immigration officer for who knows what reason. I am totally surprised I was, not sure why though. I had never had anything like that before. Not something I expected in Canada, in the US maybe. Anyway, the best thing about Thursday night after landing in Vancouver was meeting up with Kevin & Leighton. At the very last minute before heading off Kevin (who works for Vancouver Airport Air Traffic Control on the Tower, made me an offer I just could not refuse. So once I landed I made my way into the Terminal and met up with both Kevin and Leighton.
Kevin took us up into the tower (no security checks… w00t) and that’s when I got to experience one of the most amazing views ever. The tower experience was amazing, you get panoramic views of the whole airport area (obviously) but the whole view was just breathtaking. Especially at night. The lights of the airport and the ramps flow in and out around the darkness and all the taxiways and runway lights make it look like little paths through the darkness. It was also a great way to learn how they operate and what they do. They seemed to be able to flick back and forth between conversations and working with ease and at times I didn’t even know they were working when I was chatting to them. It was crazy. Leighton gave me a lift back to my hotel so I was finally passed out about 1am. I didn’t even want to think about how long I had been awake.
Next morning (yesterday) I hit the gym for about an hour and felt afterwards like a normal human being, and then did a heap of stuff online planning out where to go for the day. Then I hit the streets, map in hand to start exploring. First stop.. Breakfast. There was a Tim Hortons around the corner of the hotel so this was going to be my first experience there. I grabbed a giant coffee, had some oatmeal (porridge) and it was a filling healthy breakfast before hitting the streets some more. Found a small supermarket and got a total shock. Bananas for 74c a pound. That’s right. $150 a KILO. Total and utter shock. It was amazing!! Yummy bright yellow goodness for so cheap. I kept the receipt for proof of the price.
I explored the city to tick off something else off my list. The Macgyver Locations. I had found a location map online with all the Macgyver filming locations based around Vancouver. It was weird walking through noticing places that I had seen on TV from back in the early 80s. It was surreal. I also managed to get my new Sim Card for online and just wander and wander around the city. Checking out some of the beautiful sites.
I had lunch on the Street pretty much from a Hot Dog cart called Japadog. I had seen this on TV on Anthony Bourdain’s TV Show No Reservations. The hot dog was good although totally strange. I pretty much got a recommendation of what to have by the guy who was serving me and went with whatever he suggested. Ended up with an Oroshimi Dog which was a Pork Dog with I think Daikon Radish on it. Totally strange but tasted amazingly good. Then it was more wandering the streets, pick up a few essentials and then back to the hotel as I was starting to tire.
My travelling companion Brad still wasn’t at the hotel after some mass delays in Melbourne for his flights (he didn’t get in till about 1030pm last night). Had dinner with the contiki gang and started to meet my fellow travellers. I was passed out asleep by about 11am and now its Saturday morning. Day of departure for the tour. This morning its off to Whistler and some crazy ass zip lining this afternoon by the looks of it. Not sure if I am doing it today or not, but either way, should be crazy. A little nervous though.
So far I have ticked off the following things off my trip list:
2. Drink a glass of Champagne onboard a long haul flight
5. In’n’Out Burger
9. Hot Dog from a Cart
27. Visit a Location where Macgyver was filmed
39. Go Airline Lounge Hopping
54. Meet up with some “Tweeps”
Current Location: Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre – Vancouver, Canada
Countries Visited: 3
Canadian Provinces: 1 – US States: 1