Adventures in Vancouver!

Aloka and I went to Vancouver last weekend to visit my Dad and Stepmom, Jeanne! They very generously got us both tickets to come out and see them and to be there for my Dad's 60th birthday. My sister Katie and brother Winston were also there, so it was a nice reunion. Kate and Winston haven't seen Aloka since she was just an infant, it had been a while!

It was a short trip...we got there on Saturday afternoon, and had to leave Monday afternoon so I could be back at work for the following day. But it was nice, and Aloka got to spend some nice time with her relatives.
Among other things, she played on this weird playground contraption at the apartment building where Dad and Jeanne live. It was strange and kind of nice to be in rain, instead of the 3 feet of snow in my yard back home!
Here is a video of my sister Kate singing a beautiful song with goofy Aloka playing and so excited to be there!

And here's a video of my cutie pie brother Winston and my Dad being obnoxiously funny at the end:


On Sunday night we had a nice dinner party, and Jeanne, Kate and Winston made a yummy Mexican taco feast. I made the desert, which was Lava Cake (rich chocolate cake with a gooey runny center) topped with a Blackberry Compote (a la Kate) and Vanilla ice cream. It was pure chocolate decadence!!

Now, the main reason I'm calling this trip an adventure was, yes, it was exciting to go to a new big city we hadn't been to for a while, but MAINLY the adventure lies in the insane airline flight. All the locals here in Nelson think I'm making a big deal out of nothing, I know, but landing in a mountain town in really crappy weather is INSANE. It would take heavy bribery and massive and painful arm twisting for me to do it again in the winter.

Going out was fine....besides the fact that there was a weather advisory so we wouldn't know if our flight would actually go until we were at the airport waiting to board it. It was slightly stressful just because I had to pack, get all the food ready and drive an hour knowing we might just have to turn around and go back home. But we remained optimistic.
Arriving at the Trail "airport" was a sight to behold. It also operates as a flight club, and is a teeny, slightly smelly building that has some chairs and a dingy counter to get your tickets.
Now all you folks in the States can appreciate the fact that there is ZERO security! The only thing they did even remotely secure was check my ID to verify that yes, I had a ticket.
The plane arrived, a little 19 seater with no bathroom and not really a cockpit. Just, "the front of the plane where the pilots sit".
Ok, that's a little exaggeration, but seriously, they are just sitting there up in the front and you can see everything they're doing. Pretty cool. No overhead bins, but the pilot offered to throw my bag in the "closet" when I got on, the closet being an alcove behind the captains seat.

In hindsight, I should have just checked my bag, because what that entails is them taking your bag from you and throwing it in the "trunk" of the plane, a large compartment. Then when you get off, they just hand you your bags. And getting on and off the plane of course consists of walking out onto the tarmac and up the stairs onto the plane. But I'm sure you were already picturing that. A 19 seat propeller plane can't exactly have a jet bridge.
The flight was a little bumpy and a lot noisy, but was a fun adventure especially for Aloka. And it's also a very short 1 hour flight. Here are two videos, I took the first and Aloka took the second!


Now, the return wasn't so glamorous. When Dad brought us to the Vancouver airport (the little teeny South terminal where the little teeny planes live) they announced that there is a weather advisory and there is a strong possibility that they may get to Trail, not be able to land, and have to return back to Vancouver.
Eeeek!! I'm trying to imagine which is worse; having to return back to Vancouver, or having to land in maybe-we-should-cancel-the-flight weather! Good Lord.
The ticket agent also casually tells me that they compare landing in Trail like trying to land on the moon. He also said that there's about a 50% cancellation rate. "The MOON?" I'm still thinking. Did I agree to this?

We board the plane, (again no worries about security here, Dad could practically walk us to the plane) and take our seats. Aloka is already digging in to her bag of food, and treats that Jeanne and I made for her.
So, the one nice announcement is that there is a tailwind and will get us there in 50 minutes. Woo hoo! Some good news.

So far, the flight is bumpless, even despite taking off on a rainy foggy day in Vancouver. No mountains, no problem!
As we're approaching, the captain comes on the load speaker, which we could barely hear because the propellers were so loud, and says he thinks they can land but it will take some "maneuvering".
Ack!!! Maneuvering???? No, no, no, I'm thinking to myself. I must disembark! Help.
We're starting our decent, and once more, "Wade" our pilot (he has a huge sticker saying "Wade" on his pilot cap) turns around and says "Does anyone need a cab??" One lady raises her arm, and our buddy Wade calls the cab for her apparently.

Our decent begins. Except it was more of a plummet-sideways-out-of-the-sky type of thingy. We turned, we twisted, we pummeled, we practically somersaulted onto the run way. The lady in front of me was clutching her arm rest the whole time, but later told me when we were on the ground that "Wade" had a smile on his face the whole time so she knew we were probably going to be ok.

Aloka, in childlike wonder and living ever so in the moment, shouts (as were flying sideways towards the ground at 500 mph) COOL!!! MAMA I CAN SEE THE GROUND!!! I look out the window, and wish I hadn't... No, that was a view I'd rather not see from the angle I was at. But I manage to scrape a response to her, like "isn't that neat??" all the while, grateful that there are at least barf bags on the flight, should I need it.

We finally touched down, slid sideways a little, bouncing on the wheels a little, and then, thankfully stabilized and started slowing down.
I contemplated whether or not I had actual trauma from the flight, or if I would just get over it. I'm still not totally sure, but apparently, people get used to these landings. "That's life in the Kootenay's!" as everyone here keeps saying.
My friend Kara says she's probably done this landing 90 times. That would be 89 more times that I care to participate in, thank you very much.

I'm changing the title of this blog post to: "Only The Brave Shall Visit" or, "We'll Pick You Up In Spokane!"