Reveille at 4:00.
On the road before 4:30 in a Honda CRV (1), getting blinking yellow lights all the way down Georgia Avenue/MD-97, turning right on the Outer Beltway/I-495, then taking the toll-free Dulles Access Road/VA-267 to Dulles Airport (1962, by Eero Saarinen) and its Economy Parking Lot.
Took the bus shuttle (2) from the Green parking lot to the terminal to do the initial check-in by 6:00, two hours before our flight as "required." Did not pay the $25 to check any bags.
Received TSA Pre-check for everyone, and Pete was chosen for the random swab (testing for traces of explosives). After asking for Pete's guardian, they tested Erich instead.
Breakfast choices were limited; we went with Wendy's.
Took the airport tram (3) to the B gates. Noticed that Dulles Airport still has the mobile lounges, an innovative feature of the terminal design (1958) by Saarinen. Apparently they are still used for international flights.
Our 8:00 flight used the smaller Embraer 175, so it was requested that passengers check their carry-on bags to save space, for free! So we did. Our flight (4) for Minneapolis-St Paul/MSP, left early and arrived 22 minutes early.
Another airport tram (5) to reach our C gate.
We determined we would not get a meal on the next flight to Vancouver at 11:15. Since it was still breakfast time in MSP, we had breakfast again at the Republic restaurant in the airport.
Our seats were scattered in middle seats throughout the plane for Vancouver. Erich requested to get at least two seats together, and managed to get all five of us in one row. Meanwhile the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS soccer team were creating problems with handwritten seat changes on their boarding passes.
This flight (6), left about 20 minutes late, but arrived on time.
Passport control, oh boy! We were directed in the opposite direction, passing a very long line in order to find the end to join it. Machines were down and paper declaration sheets were passed out. We were told it would take two hours! People over 65 years old were given a pass to the head of the line, but our group had four persons who did not qualify. Around a curve, the line then snaked into a back-and-forth queue like those for amusement park rides. We realized the line continued downstairs! One official rushed by, almost knocking Pete over. He came back and asked how many in our group, and sent us directly downstairs - we were so thankful! We joined another amusement park queue, but were pulled once again and sent closer to passport control. We saw people using the machines, and tried to do the same. Erich's machine worked, and ours didn't. Oh, we weren't supposed to use the machines; just keep going to the head of the line! More than an hour after landing, we finally went through passport control.
Baggage claim: we pulled off four suitcases, but where was Pete's? After seeing the same suitcases pass by numerous times, Erich went to check with an agent. For some reason, Pete's bag went to Seattle! We would have to wait until tonight to have it dropped off.
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| YVR/Vancouver International Airport tower |
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| Hampton Inn Room |
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| Hampton Inn Room bath |
Disembarked at the terminal Waterfront Station.
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| Waterfront Station, the former Canadian Pacific Railway Terminus (1910-1914, by Barott, Blackader and Webster in Neo-classical style) |
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| Angel of Victory (1921, by Coeur de Lion MacCarthy) is one of three statues dedicated to Canadian Pacific employees who fell during World War I |
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| Steamworks Brewery beer vats and a gargoyle |
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| Gastown Steam Clock (1977, by horologist Raymond Saunders and metalwork specialist Doug Smith) |
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| Crossing the Fraser River with the downtown of Vancouver in the distance in front of the North Shore Mountains, and log booms as evidence of the logging industry |
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| SkyBridge (1987-1989), the world's longest cable-supported transit-only bridge |
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