We are heading off into much cooler weather as we fly north to Vancouver today, thank goodness. Yesterday was a record-breaking 112 degrees at our place in the hills of the East Bay. Today, there was even a promise of higher temps , which seemed to make the news folks giddy with excitement. Wrapping up all the last minute things to do, one of those was the ever-important completion of the Covid tests. It was done at Safeway at a reduced price of $69 each. Remember the days these were free? Not so anymore. There was one glitch however, when one of our negative tests was not sent to our computer by the time we arrived home. With a quick phone call to the pharmacy, it was re-sent and all was well. Now our only concern was the fact that due to the extremely high temperatures, there was a possibility of having a brown out with the electricity. Lucky for us, it never did involve our area. It was one long night of sticky heat, with the exception of getting up at 2:30am for an early ride to the airport. Yes, we were ready to go.
It has been a few years since we have flown to Canada, and things have changed. Around 72 hours prior to our flight, we had to go online and fill out info for Arrive Can, a Canadian requirement to enter their country. We had to send proof of our Covid vaccinations ( our two boosters were not required), and passport info, along with flight details. They asked for an address and postal code of where we were staying, even though we were not spending more than a few hours in transit. We put One Canada Place for the address of the cruise terminal and their postal code. It worked. Finally, HAL sent an email for us to respond to their health questionnaire. Even our wonderful travel agent phoned to make sure we had done all of the necessary requirements, and wished us a safe trip and smooth sailing.
Our driver showed up close to 4am, and we were off in a van big enough for 10 passengers. Lots of room for our four pieces of luggage. He explained that once he was in the city, he would stay to pick up several guests coming off of a Princess ship at Pier 27. That was the reason for the larger vehicle, which was fine with us. At first, we thought we might be ride-sharing, something we have done with other companies in past years. At times, it took hours to get us to the airport. Not so today. We arrived with little commute traffic shortly after 5am, plenty of time for our 9am flight.
Checking in at the busy Canada Air desk was easy. We did not use the kiosks, since we had to weigh and tag the luggage at the desk anyway. All were 50 pounds or less. It is not a surprise why so many passengers do not check bags in, because the rates are $30 first bag and $50 second bag. Definitely gone up since our last flights in the beginning of the year. With that done, we went through the security checkpoint, with only one of us requiring extra screening. Naturally, my new knee is going set off the scanner every time. The good thing is that nothing had to be taken out of our hand-carrys, and we did not have to remove our shoes. Within a few minutes, we were both cleared.
Time for a relaxing breakfast, we stopped at Lark Creek Grill. Surprising how busy the airport is during a weekday, especially this early in the moring. Travel is back again….big time.
You may ask where we are going? For starters, we are boarding the Zuiderdam in Vancouver for three back-to-back 7 day voyages to Alaska. Twenty one days of scenic sailing, and Alaskan towns, and possibly……showers. At this point, it sounds good. Then the ship will re-position with a 50 day trip to the South Pacific, which will include the Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Niue, and Cook Islands, with a stop in the Marquesas on the way back to San Diego. Like we said, from Glaciers to Palm Trees!
Still waiting for our flight to begin boarding, so we shall follow up with more reporting tomorrow. Should be a marathon day!
Bill & Mary Ann
