Up at 4.15am - nearly gave myself a heart attack when Carly took me to the airport and I couldn't find my tickets. But I was just having one of several seniors moments and soon found them ... in my bag. It got better when I found out my bag would be checked all the way to Vancouver (after previously being told it wouldn't) so that was a big relief.
Flew Delta airlines from Sydney to Vancouver and was really pleased I'd paid a bit extra for the roomier seat - had no seats in front of me so I could stretch my legs out straight and I had booked the window seat - all good so far. Watched 2 movies and listened to some music and tried hard to sleep but only managed to doze a bit here and there. Got off at LAX (LA Airport) to change planes. I had to collect my luggage just to go through security and right next to it was an area to check bags in again which was easy. Found the terminal I needed after speaking to a very helpful info dude at a desk - it was only about 7am so I think he just wanted someone to chat to! I couldn't get away and he was still talking to me as I went up the escalator!
Then I had my next seniors moment when my boarding pass had the wrong number on it and it was clear there had been a change since I got the boarding pass in Sydney. Agh panic panic - pivot around in a circle and try to figure out what to do - oh look there's a pilot go and ask him - yes I did. He was very helpful - " now let's go and have a look at the departures board over here and see if we find out - now see that flight number there" etc etc - clearly he thought I was a loser for not thinking to look at the board and he was right.
So onto my next flight with Alaska Air. Two and a half hours and no tv but that's ok cos it was nice just looking out the window and by now I was sooooo tired I just nodded on and off but didn't sleep for long. Into Vancouver and nearly fell asleep standing in the customs line. Had to go and have a coffee before leaving the airport as there was real risk I would fall asleep somewhere and wake up with no luggage.
My next seniors moment was the decision to get the train into the city instead of getting a taxi. I thought it would be nice to see things from a train and ride with the locals etc and the coffee had helped wake me up a bit. I had no idea where I would end up but knew I'd need to get a cab at the other end. So on the train and all was good until it went underground and then I couldn't see a thing for about 10 minutes! Got off at the last station and emerged right in the city. Walked in the direction of my hotel and thought if I saw a cab I'd grab it. Which I did. At last a good decision.
My hotel - the Sylvia Hotel, is a lovely old place (see the photo) and is only small but I love it. It has old wooden furniture and is lovely and quiet. Right across the road from the beach with views of the bay and just a few minutes walk from Stanley Park. So after checking in and having a shower and changing into fresh clothes I decided to go for a walk as I didn't want to sleep just yet. I grabbed my new camera and thought it would be a good opportunity to practise. The park is amazing - apparently it is bigger than Central Park. I didn't get too far (you can ride a bike around the sea wall and it takes about 1 1/2 hours), so I wandered and saw my first raccoons. They are a bit of a problem cos people feed them so they can be quite bold and walk up to you. Still cute though. I also saw some very dark coloured squirrels but they got away before I could get their photo. Lots of bird life too. I love the way Vancouver has separate paths for walkers and cyclists/roller bladers - and there are so many I can see why. Everywhere you look are jiggers, walkers, cyclists and people whizzing past on blades. By the time I got back to the hotel I decided it must be happy hour so I sat at the lovely old bar and had a really good G&T - okay I had 2. But they were really good and about $5 so hey! I then noticed the sun was starting to set and looked really nice so I went out to take some photos and EVERYONE was out watching it. There were buskers and people sitting around just watching the sun set over the bay. It was quite spectacular. I then returned to the hotel and had a lovely dinner in their restaurant then back to my room where I fell asleep while watching X-Factor. Zzzzzzzzzz.