The only good thing about being up and about at that unholy hour was that the traffic on the way to the airport was almost non-existent. This turned out to be very lucky indeed, since when we rolled in, running ahead of schedule, for once in our lives, we screeched to a halt at the sight of a monstrous security line that wrapped all the way around the terminal--something we'd never experienced in our 5 years of flying out of RDU thus far. But, the TSA seemed to have it well under control, and shepherded us through with admirable speed and efficiency. I only mention this because I was so freaking grateful to have ample time remaining before boarding to stop by Starbucks and get the most-Venti cup of blessed caffeine they offer. (Aaaahhh, and then I was ready to roll...)Once aboard the plane (side note: we'd already been awake for over 2-1/2 hours by this point, which is just so wrong, on so many levels) we discovered that--although they'd somehow assigned us 4 seats that weren't even a LITTLE bit together--at least we had one of those fancy jets with built-in screens for each passenger to watch movies and whatnot. I selected Ant Man and the Wasp because I trusted that Marvel would never steer me wrong. And while the flick was undeniably amusing, as expected...5 hours on an airplane is a looooong time, ya'll. You want proof? The cabin crew even had time to provide TWO snacks and drinks. (Whoo hoo, extra almonds/Cheez-Its/cookies/Kind bars!
We made it through the first leg of our journey with just enough time to hustle to another part of the (Seattle) airport and catch our second flight. Or so we believed--but in reality, we boarded the aircraft, got settled in for the brief hop over to Vancouver...and then listened to an apologetic announcement from the captain, about how we were expected to be delayed on the tarmac...for an hour. Grr...Eventually, though, we did take off, spend approximately 30 minutes in the sky, and then land in our great neighbor to the north...where, if the combination of a 3-hour time difference and the fact that we'd now been on the move for about 11 hours weren't confusing enough, our weary brains immediately became even more befuddled by the onslaught of French...plus metric measurements everywhere. Gas is 1.34 (Canadian dollars) per liter...I don't know what any of that means! Aargh, and about the currency! Do I even want to know how much things cost? (Let's just be safe and go with "probably not." And also "we're on vacation, so try not to fret too much about it".) Next, we'll have to drive so-and-so kilometers per hour...which I have no idea how to convert, since I'm an ignorant imperial-system-using American! And the temperature in Celsius? Don't get me started on "multiply by 9/5 and add 32", 'cuz...just too much mental math. But wait...they use the 24-hour clock? Finally, something I can translate!
Anyway, by divine intervention, or some such nonsense, we managed to obtain our rental car and navigate to our AirBnB. It was now late afternoon, local time, and we hadn't eaten a true meal all day, so the first priority became "finding actual food". Husband did the Googling on this one, and presented an option called Tractor, a small chain that serves "healthy, fresh, and unique salads, soups, sandwiches, and stews". Um...yes, please! (I had Southwestern quinoa and Asian veggie noodles over mixed greens, with grilled avocado...which tasted just as good as it looked, and was a total WIN!)
Then, since we'd already paid to park the car and had some time left, and we seemed to be in a hopping commercial district with lots of other pedestrians, we decided to explore on foot. Initial impressions of Vancouver: it has a bustling urban presence, varied and interesting architecture...and of course, some stores that we don't see in the States (such as Sport Chek, which reminded us of Dick's Sporting Goods...but with tons more hockey paraphernalia, not surprisingly).
And speaking of shopping, we needed to locate a supermarket where we could stock up on some provisions for the house. An online search for the nearest one, with a focus on "natural foods" turned up Urban Fare...which we instantly dubbed "Canadian Whole Foods" upon entering the front door (making it a logical place to fulfill our culinary demands). After our foraging, we found ourselves near a scenic waterfront, in a section called Yaletown, and meandered on the walking/biking path for a while, appreciating the refreshingly cool weather--about 20 degrees less than at home! (And no, I didn't figure it out--my phone's weather app told me. It may be cheating...but I'm tired, and besides, I'm totally okay with letting a computer do the work for me...)
To sum up: it was a thoroughly delightful introduction to Vancouver. Now we're going to try to get some sleep, to reset the old body clocks as quickly as possible. After all, we've got places to go and things to do...even if we have no earthly clue how far away they are, how fast to drive the car to get there...or how expensive they may end up being! So, we may be a hot mess right now, but--hopefully after a restful night--prepare yourselves, British Columbia, for a (completely friendly) Team WestEnders invasion...
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