(I know some of the photos and content will be duplicates for some of you who are on the family Facebook page and who read my family-based blog, and for that I apologize.)
I'm here at my daughter's. Her baby is due Tuesday. She's still active and doing very well. It's so exciting!
I had a nice, easy flight up!
Going from the US Airways/American plane into the customs area of the Vancouver airport, there's an exciting area which travelers pass through, of indoor water falls, huge native tribal carvings, and plants. Bit of a logjam at the passport-scanning kiosks because there were about thirty of the kiosks and two people checking for our receipts at the other end! The line wove around like a snake through the rows of scanning kiosks.
I really like the fact that the Vancouver airport has a place for travelers to have a meal and a bit of a sit-down after they pick up their luggage and before they must connect to all the different types of public transportation. The Tim Horton's (delicious hot sandwiches and soup) and all of the seating available, was very welcome. And there were lots of older volunteer guys in bright green vests to tell a traveler how to get to which ever public transportation they needed.
I had brought Canadian money with me, but only 20's, so buying the sandwich also gave me the change I needed for the bus! The train into the City Centre has machines where you can buy tickets with larger bills.
I took the 250 bus to the Horseshoe Bay ferry building, where a nice elderly woman helped me navigate the long passageways (high in the air above the water) which led to the waiting rooms for the different ferries. We had a great time chatting, as it turned out she belonged to a Swedish choir with about eight other women of Swedish heritage. Every week she takes the ferry into Vancouver, and a bus to Langley, to rehearse with them, staying overnight with her sister.
We chatted about different Swedish Christmas carols. It turned out that she had never heard of my very favorite one, Staffansvisan (a medieval sounding melody which conjurs up the dark northern winder season like no other song, to me). I took down her address and plan to send her a copy from that Swedish songbook we have at Campus Dr.
The ferry ride was magical! A cold wind blew across the "sun deck" and I soon fished out my fleece vest and waterproof jacket. I'd brought a cup of coffee up with me but I kept running around taking photos because it was so gorgeous!
The ferry has a nice cafeteria and hamburger place, and a lot of people were eating a meal there. Lots of kids running around and a sense of fun and excitement.
My daughter and her husband picked me up at the pier. It's very nice to be here.
Love, Grace
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