Day 1 (Tuesday, 25th December 2012)
6:15am on a Christmas Day our Samsung tablet started to persistently remind us every 15 min that we have to catch our flight this morning.
That happy tune coming from our mobile device did not make us jump for joy however. We were excited for the trip, but only reluctantly left the warmth of our covers. Apparently we would be receiving a not so warm welcome at our destination.… minus 30C, that is. Crazy, stupid? For sure something in between!
Time to open the eyes
Despite eyes still shut as we had not yet seen the beauty of the rising sun, we hastily packed up our remaining toiletries, food, and dropped off a reminder note for our neighbor to take care of our home in our absence. We quickly made our standard bacon and eggs breakfast, washed the dishes and did a final orientation as to where to go and where to park.
We were up for a surprise and already got a scare when checking online for the terminal we should be heading to. I went on the Air Canada flight search site and…. could not find the flight! It looked like the flight did not exist!
My stomach suddenly made a trip south. I ran from my office to seek a second opinion. I instantly felt stupid for booking something and not double checking the accuracy. Andi tried to keep cool, but I could see that he did mind having invested so much time, money and effort on a trip with flights that don’t exist.
The freeze extended to the computer and… my brain
He took over the computer only to realize that the webpage was frozen and was giving us flights from the day before. We refreshed the page and both felt a partial relief. I got back on the Air Canada flight website and my heart just about stopped…. the flight was still not there.
My eyelids retracted making my eyeballs pop out in terror. I took a deep breath and pulled myself together to not suffer a full blown panic attack. Andi peeked over the computer screen. “Check departures” he casually uttered. “You are looking at arrivals”. Duh…. was this a sign of things to come during this journey or what?
Christmas Day on a parking lot
Not even fifteen minutes later we were packed up in our old Subaru driving towards the Economy Lot of Park & Fly. It was 7:30 am on a Christmas Day and still dark outside. Everybody was sleeping and the roads were empty, but not the parking lot. This one was actually full, very full. I thought there were no spots left. We had to travel to the end of this rather large lot just to find a tiny spot facing the fence, which appeared to be somewhere close to China possibly.
The bus shelters were well spaced and within easy walking distance. We hauled our six bags which included one large luggage to check, one carry-on, and one personal item for each of us. Making sure we would be in compliance for size, weight and number with Air Canada’s latest baggage rules.
At the absence of rain and snow, the sun made a triumphant appearance and we were finally greeted by the light of day, as did seven other eager travelers arriving at the bus shelter. After exchanging joyful pleasantries, we all jokingly conceded that we must be void of traditional values to fly on this day of Christmas. While we were heading north and most of all west into the mountains, everyone else had chosen a southern destination to get away from what we would have to be embracing in mere hours.
.… to be continued
Click here to start reading our Seven Day Health Quest from the beginning (Part One)
Click here to continue to Part 3
