Category: Travel

The second step

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YYZ Snow just before boardingToday was a big step, about 4,000 km and predicted to be nearly six hours. Our departure was scheduled for 0945 Eastern time with a 1237 Pacific time arrival (1537 Eastern time). According to the airline we departed at 1022 Eastern and arrived at 1353 Pacific (1653 Eastern). The details are more fun.

Having avoided the morning traffic rush by staying at the Airport we were still up at 6 AM. That made for an easy shuttle ride to the terminal and a quick trip through check-in, airport security and US border services, leaving time for a leisurely coffee and breakfast.

We boarded the airplane as scheduled just as a reasonably heavy blast of snow hit the airport. The airline employees continued to call for passengers to voluntarily gate check luggage taking care to remind us that the plane was full and there might not be sufficient overhead room for all of our carry-on baggage.

Interestingly, the reason for the initial delay at the gate was that the ground crew was having some difficulty stowing luggage, meanwhile, inside there was still some space available overhead. Although the airline lists departure as 1022 the plane actually pushed back from the gate at 1040. Then from 1110 to 1125 we were at the anti-icing station and it was actually 1144 when the wheels left the ground. The flight was otherwise uneventful and we met our Princess Cruises representative around 1430 and arrived at the Long Beach Hilton by 1525.

LAX traffic protocols have changed. No longer do multitudes of cabs and hotel shuttles plug the road in front of the passenger terminals. Instead there is a fleet of green busses shuttling passengers and luggage to a transfer point where the taxis form long queues and vie with ride sharing vehicles for customers. The worst part of this system is that it creates an extra luggage handling step, on and off the shuttle and it is not particularly easy to throw a 20 kg (45 lb) on and off the shuttle bus. Otherwise it seems to reduce traffic on arrivals. Later we shall see what happens on the return.

During our search for a dinner venue, which we found, we came across the “Waters Edge Winery” right in downtown Long Beach. A short chat with one of their staff was intriguing and we decided to return after having dinner. Gail enjoyed her glass of sauvignon blanc while I tasted five of their offerings and all were very nice. Apparently, they are a group of franchised “mom and pop” micro winery operations. Yet another interesting concept.

Los Angeles and Queen Mary

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Thursday, September 27 and our first port of call, Los Angeles. More precisely, the World Cruise Centre in San Pedro. Although there are several berths here we were the only vessel in port today except for the battleship USS Iowa which is permanently mothballed here as a floating museum. Although Gail and I have been in LA numerous times and boarded ships at this same terminal we have never toured the Iowa nor the Queen Mary in Long Beach near by. Since the Queen Mary brought Dave, as a one year old, and his mother to Canada we decided to visit the aging Queen. 

The Queen Mary is a very large ship for her era and proved to be very fast. She held the two way Atlantic crossing speed records on several occasions at around 30 knots. Modern cruise ships place common rooms for dining and entertainment at lower levels and place passenger staterooms higher up. The Queen Mary’s configuration was exactly the opposite, giving her a sleek appearance. Never-the-less, Queen Mary and her namesake Queen Mary 2 are of similar size. Overall length: QM 1,019.4 ft (310.7 m), QM2 1,132 ft (345.03 m) and, for comparison, the US Navy carrier Midway 1,001 ft (305 m). Their displacements are also similar: QM 81,961 tons, QM2 79,287 tons and Midway 64,000 tons. Cruise ships today boast their size using a figure called gross tonnage which actually has little to do with weight. The QM2 is specified at about 150,000 GT while the largest cruise ships now sailing come in at about 230,000 GT. The Emerald Princess, our current ship, is listed as having a length of 951 ft (290 m) and 113,000 GT. She carries approximately 3100 passengers, the QM2 carries about 2600 and QM is listed at about 2100 but carried nearly 16,000 when operating as a WW II troop carrier.

 We enjoyed our time on Queen Mary then took a free shuttle bus to Long Beach where we found lunch and took a walk along the beach before taking our second taxi ride back to the ship in San Pedro.

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Port Mann Bridge

Getting to the ship

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Thanks to all who responded to my first post of this trip. A number of you replied to the email several others use the website to add to the post in the comments section. When you use the comments section of each post others who read from the website can also enjoy your comments.

Friday was a rainy day here in Kelowna but nothing like the unpleasant conditions in the Burlington area and most certainly not like the situation near Ottawa. Hopefully the community will work together to assist the tornado victims. It seems to me that the number of tornadoes in Canada is increasing. Climate change?

Saturday evening was lots of fun as daughter Tracy had organized a surprise 50th anniversary party for Jeff & Dave. It worked! They had no clue about what was to happen. They had a great evening with family and friends including video greetings from many who could not attend.

Sunday we drive to Vancouver and we are hoping to a good weather day. When living in Ontario as we don’t have to deal with weather variations resulting from altitude. Between Kelowna and Vancouver there are two mountain passes to be negotiated where snow is a distinct possibility at this time of year. Local rules demand the use of winter tires or the carrying of tire chains when traveling these mountain roads. Sunday’s forecast for the mountains seems favourable. We may, however, encounter some nasty stuff as we approach the coast.

The previous paragraph was speculative. We are now, as of 2:30 Sunday, at our Vancouver hotel. The drive on the eastern side of the mountains was nice and sunny but we found overcast and light rain as we descended the western slope. We arrived in Vancouver to a partially cloudy afternoon.

Eastern SlopeWestern Slope

Vancouver traffic was everything I expected it to be; insane. I wish I could claim it was better at home, but I can’t. At home, the highways overflow and fill up the city streets. In Vancouver there are no highways so everything is on the city streets. The results appear to be identical.

Sunday morning is cool but pleasant. No rain, so far. Our 10th floor hotel room has a marvellous view of a dozen or so other towers, There is a sliver of a gap through which some trees are visible in the distance. The view after we board the Emerald Princess should be far more interesting.

Today is our actual anniversary and we were married, 52 years ago, not that far from our hotel. We will continue celebrating both anniversaries as we cruise down the coast over the next 10 days. I will try to get photos of the harbour as we depart and post them in the next few days.

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Starting Westward

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Today is the day I rediscovered 3:30 AM. Gail tells me about it frequently, apparently she peaks at the clock. We had 3 alarms set, 2 iPhones and my regular bedside alarm clock set for 5 minutes earlier; needed only one. Once up, I attended to the most important task; getting coffee from the Tim Hortons across the street. By the time coffee was finished we grabbed the last suitcases, locked the door, took the elevator to the parking garage, loaded the luggage and began the drive to the airport. It was 4:15. 

I suppose we share the blame for selecting a 6:10 AM departure. The only other choice was an 8:00 AM departure from Toronto, the 6:10 was from Hamilton. Although the later departure looks good at first the extra hour needed at Toronto plus the longer commute equalizes everything. The 6:10 from Hamilton won! 

By the time we arrived, the place was in full operation. Check-in, with a REAL person was quick and painless. The Tim Hortons was doing a brisk business, although there was no long waiting line, so we joined the group of travellers sitting at tables with breakfast sandwiches and coffee before entering the departure lounge.

No long line to get through security either and the staff were actually smiling and seemed pleasant, perhaps even enjoyed their work. Once we passed the security check-point we waited in a lounge that was not over crowded until boarding. When boarding was called, passengers actually respected the boarding order as it was called out and, believe it or not, everyone got on board and found space for carry-ons.

Our stop in Calgary was just long enough to grab a snack or perhaps a second breakfast to be more accurate. We arrived at our departure lounge just in time to see our plane roll up to the gate. When the time came to board the aircraft all was well organized such that the doors closed and we departed just ahead of schedule.

Dave met us at Kelowna airport and before long we arrived at their home high up on the east bank of the lake. From there we have a clear view of the airport, the lake and the hills of West Kelowna.  It is here we stay until Sunday when we travel to Vancouver to join our cruise.

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