Day 3 dawned with rain clouds in the air and raindrops on our windows. Actually it’s perfect weather to snuggle under a blanket with the fire going and watch hockey on tv… Except hockey is on at night here, unlike Australia where the NHL is on during the day. Therefore we needed something else to do.

And what better thing to on a wet day than to go to an aquarium? Vancouver Aquarium to be exact. Home of Pacific White-Sided Dolphins and of course Beluga Whales! So that’s where we headed. Vancouver Aquarium is located in Stanley Park – which is this beautiful large protected park on the peninsular between Coal Harbour and English Bay. It has a number of attractions and is really reminicent of NZ scenery. It took us a while to find it but the drive was lovely and we got to see the Olympic Rings that are on a barge in Coal Harbour.

The photos on the blackberry phones really don’t do the whales, dolphins or fish any justice, so I’ll leave the visuals until we can upload some good ones. We started in the Tropic Zone and saw the fish and animals that are found in areas likle Brazil. There were some beautiful macaws, a photogenic and attention loving tiger-stingray, a scary anaconda, a sleepy two-toed sloth and the terrifying pirrahnas. *shudders*

It was by then time to watch the Dolphin talk/training session so we headed out to the Wild Coast section and listened to the talk on the Pacific White-Sided Dolphins – a male named Spinikar, and two females, Hannah and Helen. They were dolphins who had been caught in fishing nets, rescued, rehabilitated and moved to the Aquarium. We watched their Dolphin show from the viewing platform under the aquarium later in the day, completely facinating. You could still see the scars the fishing nets left on the dolphins – one of the females barely had any flippers left. Very sad.

After the first dolphin talk we took a glimpse at the beluga whales before heading back inside to check out the shark tank. They only had little sharks, no great whites like we do. They did have a tank with an octopus in it. Oh my lord! I’d never seen one before, well, other than in the supermarket deli or crumbed as calamari. The Octopus was jammed in the corner of the tank though so the reflection didn’t make for a great photo. Then it was in to see the Jellies. They had moon jellies and blue bottles and about 7 others. Its animals like that that keep me out of the ocean. Well… that and an unusual allery to salt water.

Done with the Jellyfish, it was over to the Beluga enclosure for feeding time. They have 5 belugas in total but two of them are BABIES! They are so ugly they’re adorable and gorgeous! Baby belugas are born grey in colour and as they age, they shed their skin and become a lighter colour until they turn white. So strange. But they were just delightful to watch. Sam got some wonderful photos of them while I got some video action!

We got some hot chips after the beluga show to heat us up and then headed into the new Canada Arctic display with information on belugas, polar bears, orcas and more. It also had the viewing platform for the belugas. The divers had just cleaned the tanks, so it was a little cloudy with algae but we got some awesome photos and video.

The exit from the Canada Arctic display came out at the sea otters enclosure and OH MY GOD. A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! They were just brilliant! One was sleeping on his back with a maple leaf just being held on his belly by his paws. The other was having fun playing with a rock. The videos are AMAZING and came out so much better than the photos because of the raindrops on the glass.

It was then down to the frog display which we bypassed and the viewing platform for the dolphins before we wandered through the gift shop and then out the door.

We had lunch brought from home in the park before we headed out in search of 3 more Supernatural filming locations. We got a little lost trying to find Cleveland Dam – turns out we didn’t go far enough north so we’ll head over there again tomorrow. We did however find The Corner Cafe, where Sam and Dean grabbed a bite to eat in season 4, episode 15, “Death Takes A Holiday”. We bought two large coffees for a total of $3.75. They were awesome too. Got some photos of Sam with the table they sat at in the background, because these two other girls, who were also there because of Supernatural, were already sitting there.

Anyway we got some photos, including the autographed thank you from Jensen and Jared and headed out again. A few minutes east was St Paul’s Indian Catholic Church. It’s a beautiful building in reality. Thankfully the rain held off while we got photos of the building.

Tonight we got the internet working so we’ve been catching up on the world and Sam’s now going to do some work for Clintonius Maximus while I watch Supernatural!!!! On TV while it airs for the first time – I’m ECSTATIC!

It’s been a great day – again!

Day 1 in Vancouver had us waking up around 9am. 7 hours sleep we desperately needed! Once we were up and dressed, we headed out in search of sustenance: COFFEE! But first we needed money since we didn’t have any Canadian $ on us. That took awhile to find since it turns out that not every bank deals with Visa over here! As Sam said as we went on a 3 mile hike to find a Bank that takes Visa (which is RBC if you were wondering – Royal Bank of Canada!): Canucks tickets: $160, Flights to Canada: $1200, an ATM that accepts Visa: PRICELESS!

Once cash was secured, we found the nearest Tim Horton’s – or Timmy Ho’s as we like to call it – for a coffee! OMG SO GOOD.

We found a Subway in the same mall as Timmy Ho’s and had a ham and cheese flatbread – I didn’t think to take a picture before I ate mine and neither did Sam. Since it was 10.30am we headed down West Georgia St which is what we were on to where Budget was. The aquisition of the car was successful. We got a silver Toyota Camry Hybrid – better for the environment and our pockets as we’ll use half the petrol!

Today though once we got back from Budget, we walked down to the end of the Hornby St where we’re staying and caught the aquabus across to Granville Island. Granville Island is just south of Downtown and is the home of the Granville Island Marketplace which is this huge fresh produce market. We had some lunch:

Then we wandered around the markets and along the waterfront and the harbour. It is such a beautiful area! We took some wonderful photos with both ours and Sasky’s camera. We’ll upload them later to the photo gallery.

On our way home to the hotel we picked up some fresh fruit and vegetables so we can make our own dinners instead od eating out every night. It has been carb central so far and that has to be reduced!

On the aquabus back to Hornby St, Sam got some photos of the snowcapped mountain in the distance. Just amazing!

Tonight we’re at the Vancouver Canucks Vs New York Rangers NHL game at GM Place. Right now, warm ups are on. GM Place is smaller than the AAC in Dallas, but it is awesome to be here!

ETA: The Canucks Vs Rangers game was awesome. We were talking to some Rangers fans from NYC who has flown over for the Canadian roadtrip for the Rangers, and they were kind enough to take a photo of Sam and I in front of the doors to GM Place. It was great just chatting to them and talking about the differences between Australian and NHL hockey.

Anyway, the Canucks – would you believe – are sponsored by Mastercard! You think we could get money out at an ATM? No. Not on anything other than my credit card anyway. So we got out enough to get something to eat. We chose soft pretzels and share a collectors cup of diet coke.

The game was a good one. It was a sellout crowd and unlike the sellout crowds in Dallas where half the lower bowl don’t show up because they’re purchased by businessmen instead of fans, the whole crowd actually showed up! It was phenomenal. At one point the entire crowd (well the 95% that were Canuck fans) was chanting “Rangers SUCK, Rangers SUCK!” And my personal favourite, “Avery SUCKS!”

I won’t give away the result in case anyone reading this hasn’t seen the game and doesn’t want to get spoiled. I will say this… I did miss how the Stars do the National Anthems, and of course the crowd asking Bill how much time is left in the period. The Canucks repeat their scorers and penalties in case the crowd didn’t hear them the first time. And the arena looks smaller than the AAC. But it was definitely awesome to go and experience Canucks hockey.

There was an all-in brawl which I think only the goalies didn’t take part in, the atmosphere was amazing and the crowd was really behind their team. It was such a different experience to a Stars game. Not that I don’t love my Stars – I do. It was just… different. A lot of Canada has been different but its just been phenomenal so far!

We walked to and from GM Place. On the corner of Hornby & West Georgia Sts is The Vancouver Art Gallery. In front of the Art Gallery is a countdown for the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. It’s in 100 days if you’re wondering!

On the way back to our hotel we stopped at Timmy Hos for a coffee. We ordered skim lattes and got sugared hot milk, so I don’t think the Timmy Hos on Hornby will be getting our business again.

Right now Sam is trying to get our internet working on the laptops but so far has been unsuccessful. I’m hoping he doesn’t throw the Dell out the window before the night is through. Though, I’m that tired I am tempted to go to bed!

Well our first day is nearly done. We’re currently on a Greyhound Bus headed for Vancouver which means one more customs and immigration stop to go. We landed in LA at 7.00am, had a 5 hour layover in LA before we flew to Seattle.

Let me add in here that Sam and I managed between 1-2 hrs sleep between us on the flight to LA. Neither of us slept at LAX. So I passed out and slept on the plane from LA to Oakland. Sam stayed awake. We were delayed leaving Oakland because of some mechanical thing, but I have to give props to the pilot from LA to Oakland because it was such a smooth flight, I didn’t even know when we took off or landed.

It was on the Oakland to Seattle trip that we got our first glimpses of SNOW! Snow-capped mountains in the state of Washington. Beautiful!

It staryed to rain when we landed in Seattle but that was expected!

Sam’s wonderful mate, Clint (who I secretly call Clintonius Maximus) drove the 300 miles from snowy Spokane WA to pick us up at the airport and take us to the bus in Everett. The three of us gas-bagged the entire drive from the airport throught the BEAUTIFUL city of Seattle – HOMG the trees! The leaves are green and yellow and orange and red and its just so pretty in the fall! It was getting dark when we landed around 4.15pm so as we were going past where the Seattle Mariners play the lights in downtown Seattle were all lit up and beautiful. Didn’t get any pics because the camera was in our bags in the boot of the LINCOLN TOWN CAR we were being driven in – totally gangsta of Clint!

Anyway we finally got to Everett and picked up our tickets and then the three of us headed out to Red Robin for dinner. The burgers were FANTASTIC and our waiter Max had a little trouble with our accents but it was a fun night just hanging out with Clint. He drove us back to the Everett Station and waited with us for the bus which we are currently on. At the moment we’re in Mt Vernon we think!

We have a couple of hours until we get to Vancouver so it might be time to try and sleep!

THE SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS IN WASHINGTON STATE:

Edited to add: CANADIAN CUSTOMS

Two amusing incidents happened at the Canadian border control. The first was when the sniffer dog was doing his search, he got a little… excited and peed on the floor next to the last passenger in line’s bags. Moral of the story: don’t go last in line you might not like the smell of your belongings afterwards!

The second amusing thing was after stern Canadian official has passed us through customs and wished us an enjoyable stay in Vancouver, I quipped, “We will if the Reangers can beat the Canucks tomorrow night!” The official did a double take, then gave an amused “OOOOH!” with a warning look. Sam was shocked – “I can’t believe you said that!”

I grinned and said, “Well he’d already let us through!”

We’re now at our hotel and about to shower and collapse in bed. Night everyone!

After 12hrs and 20mins we are in the USA. The flight was pretty uneventful with only minor turbulence as we crossed the pacific.

It is now 8:45am in Los Angeles, which is 2:45am in Brisbane. We have a 5hr layover in LAX before a 3hr flight to Seattle, followed by 3hrs with my friend Clint and a 4hr bus trip up to Vancouver. We arrive in Vancouver at 11:45pm tonight.

We will update a few photos and another blog update before the day is out.

Our bags are packed – well mostly. Just a few last minute additions to be made now before the padlocks are clicked shut and the carry-ons zipped closed.

I’m pretty sure I’ve done everything we needed to do and booked everything we needed to book. Now it’s just a matter of getting some sleep before the final pack in the morning. Our flight leaves at 12pm tomororw, and we’re going to get to Brisbane International Airport around 9am. Should give us good time to get all booked in, decent seats and a wander through duty free.

Sam’s not a great flier, so I’m hoping the Brisbane to LA leg will be relatively painless. 13 hour flight. We have plenty of shows on the laptops to watch, including Supernatural, Fringe, and Merlin so we should be plenty occupied. We also have a couple of novels and our ipods to entertain us. I’m hoping to catch some shuteye since we’ll land in LA at 1am Brisbane time. Then it’s a 5 hour layover in LA before we fly to Seattle and meet up with Clint, who’s going to take us to Everett, WA to catch our bus to Vancouver at 7.55pm local time. We should arrive in Vancouver around 11:30pm local time. Which will be about… 5:30pm Tuesday in Australia.

Now that’s a long day!

We are well within the final 48hrs now and sheesh we’ve been busy!

Today was spent doing the last minute planning, running around getting a few final things and making lists of things that need to be packed, re-packed or set aside to be packed at a later time.

As you can see from the image to the right, we’re flying V Australia in their International Economy Class.  I don’t like flying, but i’m quite excited to be flying with these guys as they’ve got some pretty nifty features built into their economy package, from the most modern in-flight entertainment system to a USB port on each seat to power iPods and other devices.  They also have wider seats and more leg-room, so great for relaxing.

Tomorrow is our last day to get things packed, so we’ll be busy no-doubt.

We’re at the pointy end of preparations now. Wendys last day of work was yesterday, so with just 4 days til we fly out, we’re busy makking sure all the small things are taken care of; hair appts, rent agreement, bills paid, cleaning and of course packing.

If you were supposed to get a copy of our itinerary and have not yet received it, please let us know asap.

We’re excited!

We’re getting so close we can smell it!    Wendy only has 1 more day of work before she goes on holiday, and we’re all but organised and ready to take off.

Bring on Monday!

It’s 3:03am Sunday morning, the 25th October.  That means only just over 8 days from now before we fly out of Australia and our Epic Trip begins!