Travel Day

There seem to be a few travel days this year, and the year is far from over. My Air Canada app is working overtime to keep everything organized! I will say that travel has become a lot easier with access to apps and online check-in, priority bookings, etc. 

I now have my favorite place to buy food at the airport in Toronto, which includes a decent sandwich that is easy to take on the plane. It doesn't come cheap - a bottle of water, a sandwich, and a cookie is $22.00!!!!

The day didn't start well, as I got all the luggage out of the house and down to the curb to catch the Uber. Then, halfway to the airport, I realized I didn't have my sweatshirt. ACK!!!! I need something on the plane -- it's always cold. I guess with all the up and down the stairs,  DH trying to help (he never does), and Murphy escaping the house because she was determined to get in the car, I didn't do a last-minute sweep of the front hall. Turns out I left my sweatshirt on the table with the dog leashes. 

So, after a few minutes of grumping at DH's attempt to help, I decided to let it go! I could always buy another one, which would have been silly, but if necessary, I would buy one. I'm gone for over a week, so I'll need something at some point. Then I remembered that I had two suitcases of samples. Hmm -- there must be something in there I can wear. And sure enough, when I arrived at the airport and opened the suitcases to get my sweatshirt jacket, I found my jean jacket. Perfect. 

The two suitcases got checked first, and it's always a pleasure to see them zip along the conveyor belt with no issues. Getting through security is a breeze, and then off to the gate. You have to love the priority line (NEXUS), and there is no need to remove anything from your bag or take anything off. I'm not sure if the regular line is like that. The line at Tim's wasn't long (that was a shock! but they are S L O W), and I had about 45 minutes to kill, so I stopped to get a tea. They asked if anyone wanted to check their luggage at the gate, and I was second in line. So, I also got rid of my small carry-on, which allowed me to board in Zone 2. You have to love that! Hey -- I had to wait for the other two suitcases, why not wait for a third? 

If things go as planned, I'll acquire a status level this year, allowing me to have Zone 2 boarding, regardless of whether I gate-check that bag! 

The flight was totally uneventful and on time. And guess what? I didn't need my jacket on the plane, which is unusual. It took some time to get my luggage, but I wasn't in a rush. I got a cart and then zipped off to rent the car. All went smoothly. 

OK -- so I really need to let this go, but I got into the rental car, and within FIVE minutes, I had everything adjusted, and my phone was CONNECTED to the vehicle with ZERO issues. Why? Because the car has Android Car Play -- that's why. But let it go --- let it go. My car doesn't have that, and it was the most frustrating thing to even attempt to connect the phone to the car, so I'm done with it. But the lame effort that Toyota hobbled together for Android users? I hope the person who made that decision got fired! It's never going to happen. Whoever buys my car needs to have Apple, and they will be happy!!!!

As we approached Edmonton, I looked out the window, and we passed the city but were still in the air. Wait a minute -- where's the airport? Turns out the airport is outside the city by about 30 minutes? But with the handy GPS on the car screen, getting on the road was no big deal. Actually, I'm in the west part of the city and nowhere near downtown. 

I felt like I was on an amazing race! I had to find the car rental at the airport, then the hotel, and then I had nothing to do for the afternoon, so I headed off to the West Edmonton Mall, just a few km away. 

The last time I was in Edmonton was on a school trip back in 1974, and we came by bus. Things have changed since then! By the way, there are no photos this morning. The email on my laptop is not working. I knew this and was supposed to get it working before I left. I forgot, so now I can't send, receive, or answer emails on my laptop. I can on my phone. When I attempted to get in touch with Microsoft yesterday, I just missed their support hours. So that's a job for later today. 

Let's say the city planners did not plan well for this hotel strip. I'm on a busy ONE-WAY street, but there is NO entrance off that street to get to the hotels. Nope -- you have to go to the next intersection, turn left, then turn left again, and then come through a big box mall to get here. And the fastest way through the mall is the alley beside the Wal-Mart. It's easy to get out of here but not in. That is totally crazy!!!!

And you wonder how safe it is with underground parking and card access in the elevator? I'm not worried, but it always makes you think. 

I had a blast at the mall. I only bought a dessert crepe (bananas and chocolate), which was amazing. I'd be tempted to go back. But I walked around and looked at the attractions - a skating rink that I think is NHL size as the Edmonton Oilers practice there. An indoor amusement park that looked totally wild - a drop zone, cars on overhead tracks that zoomed through the air and twirled, and lots more. There is a full-sized indoor water park; if you want to zipline across that water park, you can do so. 

And let's not forget the many stores! I don't know how many food court areas there were, and of course, candy and snack concessions everywhere. I do not think I would bring a child to this place! I really wanted to try the four-legged animal creatures you could ride. They were like small ATVs dressed as animals; you could ride them around. Imagine racing them around the mall? 

Of course, I looked for a geocache and found an adventure lab inside the mall, so I did that to amuse myself and to take me to the far reaches of the place. 

Anyway -- then I was exhausted and knew it was too early for bed, or I would never sleep, but I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I was awake half the night! Sigh!!!!!

MyFitbit has synced, but it won't change the time to the new time zone, so I must remember that I'm two hours ahead!!!!

Let's hope I can get some pictures up tomorrow -- I need my email to send them from my phone to the computer. I supposed I could do it on my phone, but that's just a hassle. 

I have two events today and will need time to sort the samples!!! 

Sorry this is late -- I forgot about the time zone change! Oops

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!