161 HOME

I had a heck of a time falling asleep the night before departure.  I was awake until at least 1:00 AM.  I awoke with a start at 5:30 AM and finished throwing the final few things into my suitcase.  Had to wait until I showered to put my toiletries kit in the case.  I left the case open as I headed to breakfast one last time.

I had been debating wearing shorts and a T-shirt for the flight home or to dress “presentable” in slacks and a golf shirt for the business class flight.  I opted for shorts and T-shirt because my legs were still stinging from the sunburn.  However, I quickly changed my mind when I got outside.  It was chilly and raining.

I got to the restaurant and got a surprise.  None of the staff that had been serving me for the last two weeks were on duty today.  Instead there was a nice fellow, who I had never seen before.  But I had my usual breakfast, knowing that there was no Maple Leaf lounge in San Diego airport.  Once I got back to the room, I quickly changed into slacks and golf shirt, but left my jacket packed.

I went and quickly checked out and called for my Uber.  I got to the airport by 8:00 AM, some 4 hours and 40 minutes before my flight.  I figure it was better to kick around the airport than to sit in the empty hotel room with my laptop and iPad all packed.

I went up to the Air Canada Business Class check in and was told that I was unable to check in for my flight until 9:40 AM.  So rather than walking all the way down the airport to find a Starbucks or something, I sat off to the side of the counter and pulled my iPad out.  It had not been a problem checking in 4 hours early on any of the other flights, but, oh well.

Finally, the time came, and I checked my bags in.  I got a great surprise when the Air Canada staff told me I was welcome to use the United Airlines lounge, that Air Canada Business Class has a reciprocal agreement.  That was awesome.

I breezed past a lineup of hundreds of people waiting to go through security, thanks to Nexus and Business Class.  I kept tripping the scanner though and none of us could figure out why.  I was wearing my compression gloves for arthritis and they have copper fibres woven into them.  That was the problem.  Once I took those off, I breezed through.

It’s funny too, because I had taken every precaution to speed things up by putting everything, (wallets, watch, keys, coins) into various pockets on the camera case.  That way, it was just one thing to worry about going through the scanner.  Instead of repeatedly emptying out and refilling my pockets.  Oh well, I’ve learned another thing.  Oh, by the way, the RF blocking sleeves for credit cards etc., trip the scanner too.

Anyway, I ended up in the United Lounge where there was a buffet of food and all sorts of drinks both hard and soft.  There were also some very comfortable chairs, equipped with electric outlets and USB ports.  So, I sat there plugged in and keep myself amused until it was time to go to my gate for boarding.

Once onboard, we were just about ready for takeoff.  I saw something different and appreciate it. The jetway had been pulled back, the door to the plane had been closed and locked. Suddenly, the pilot comes out, puts on a yellow vest, opens the door and goes outside. He gathers several ground crews and they open the luggage hold. After a ten-minute delay, the pilot gets back on board and announces, "some of the luggage was improperly loaded causing a weight imbalance and I went out to ensure it was properly loaded." Pretty impressive. I don't know how he knew, but he did and fixed it before takeoff. we were in a smaller jet, a Bombardier CRJ-900

SIMILAR TO THE PLANE I WAS ON

It was an incident free flight, although a little bumpy at times.  Once we landed at Vancouver airport, I again was able to bypass a lot of the lines with Nexus and business class.  I breezed through customs and then the only delay came in waiting for my suitcase to appear.

I got outside, jumped on the shuttle and got my truck and started the long drive home.  I realized I was going to be right in the middle of rush hour and so I pulled over and grabbed a bite to eat.  It didn’t take long though and I was still in the middle of rush hour, but for some reason, traffic moved at a steady pace and I made it home before the news was over.