Second Stop: Vancouver

After Edmonton, our multi-city tour took on a whirlwind aspect and I haven't had a chance to update until today - more than a week later.  There is other news, but I'll try to do it in chronological order.

From Edmonton we flew Westjet to Vancouver.  I've complained before about my lousy experiences taking a tiny turboprop plane over the Canadian Rocky Mountains; this time we got a 737 jet plane and the trip was fine.  Nathan was a little cranky; my fault for waking him up in the middle of his nap.  But Westjet is great; I highly recommend them for all air travel in Canada.

I hadn't been to Vancouver in a very long time, and when I was younger our trips were always focused on family and I never really got to see much of the city.  Vancouver has also grown a lot in the 22 years since I moved away from British Columbia; it is now a booming metropolis of over 2 million people, with home-grown movie and tech industries, and host to the 2010 Winter Olympics.  (We got to see the Olympic Village and it looks beautiful.)  They also have a vibrant downtown and night life on par with any large American city.

More importantly, I got to reconnect with my aunt Frieda and cousins Ben and Rachel.  The details don't belong on a public blog, but suffice it to say that I was very happy to spend some time with them.  We also snuck in quick visits with Ian, as well as Sam and Randy Winter (my godparents).

We only got 24 hours in Vancouver.  Although the visit was short, it was sweet, and I'm looking forward to having much more contact with that side of the family.

Next stop: back in the USA!