"Welcome Back Home" !
Trip Start
Sep 04, 2007
1
120
123
Trip End
Sep 01, 2008
Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Because Severe Tropical Storm Kammuri skirted just south of Hong Kong yesterday, HKIA closed it's airport. As a result, numerous airlines canceled flights. This afternoon, Cathay Pacific and numerous other airlines were trying to entice other flyers to delay their trip to the next day. On any other day, we may have taken the offer. However, it was Thursday and we had our niece's wedding on Saturday. Nothing in our control was going to delay our departure and jeopardize our attendance at her wedding.
On this day, HKIA was heavily guarded. Chinese military were on guard throughout the airport. Why? Well, after all those years of waiting, the Beijing Olympics were now one day away from opening ceremonies. And with a recent terrorist attack in Eastern China, the Chinese government were not taking any chances. The show of force was eminent throughout the airport!
After a few nail biting hours, we were given our boarding pass about an hour before departure. It didn't matter to us, we were on the flight! Apparently, enough people accepted the package offered by Cathay Pacific and chose to delay their departure
On Our Way to HKIA !
. At least for one day. This was good news because it meant that we would be departing this afternoon for Vancouver.The departure from Hong Kong was subsequently delayed and the flight over the Pacific felt long. But, around 2:30pm local time, our plane's wheels touched down at Vancouver International Airport. It wasn't long before we departed the plane and after some kind words from Cathay Pacific flight attendants, we were on our way to Canadian Customs & Immigration.
Entering the International Terminal at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is an experience that's always made me proud of being Canadian! The bright, expansive and ultra-modern terminal with it's huge Inuit carving and waterfall which follows you down the escalator, offers a soothing and relaxing feeling before meeting the Customs & Immigration Officers. It was only minutes before we found ourselves standing in front of a Customs Officer. With both Elsie and I standing in front of the officer, he looked at our passports and said, "you've been away for awhile"? "Almost a year", I said! With one more quick look at us and a smile, he said, "Welcome Back Home"! I said, "thank you"!
After leaving the terminal with our luggage, we arrived at our car rental Hertz to pick up the Toyota Corolla that I reserved up-teen months ago. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive driving in Vancouver traffic after driving in Australia for a year. But I figured, a little Toyota Corolla is the perfect little car to ease me into the transition of driving on the other side of the road
Beijing Countdown - One Day Left !
. Then, as I approached the Hertz counter, the staff politely said, Hello Sir. Hope you had a nice flight! As for cars, all we have left is a Cadillac. Hope you don't mind the upgrade, courtesy of Hertz! Normally, I would be doing back flips. A Cadillac for the price of a Corolla? Are you kidding me? On this occasion, perhaps it was the jet lag, I quietly replied, "sure, whatever works"! As we exited Vancouver International Airport, we noticed how beautiful the day was! Very warm! A picture perfect day! It became more beautiful when we met our sister-in-law Rosie! Still looking as young and beautiful as ever! Age never catches up to those Italians! We had a full afternoon of conversation with Rosie! And then a great dinner! We were joined later by Ben (Elsie's brother) who was playing in a golf tournament all day! It was so nice to see Ben and Rosie again! It always feels that their home is our second home!
Tonight, we're going to try to get some sleep because tomorrow, it's off to Horseshoe Bay to catch a short ferry ride to Sechelt, on BC's Sunshine Coast for our niece Carla's wedding!
Cheers, Rick & Elsie!
