On to Japan..via a ferry, taxi, hotel and 2 planes

October 20, 2023

Well, it’s D Day as the expression goes. But in this case…it is Departure Day! We had a great sleep, tasty breakfast and relaxed in our room until noon while awaiting a taxi van to transport us to the airport. So far, so good.

When our trikes are folded they stand unsupported quite nicely.

The results of Barry’s handiwork packing our trikes. Pretty impressive.

Check in went smoothly, that is, until the supervisor got involved. We pack carefully to ensure that we don’t have to pay extra. With ANA we are allowed 100 lb each and this includes our trikes. This is our third flight with ANA and we didn’t know that the fine print stipulates that no item can be over 50 lbs. Sadly, each trike was over by 5 or 6 lbs., which meant we had to pay a surplus of $200 each. I guess we were lucky on our previous flights. We are trying to figure out what we can remove from our trikes for our next flight…perhaps the seats, the pedals? We could consider packing them as carry on items. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. Oh, well…such are the challenges of travel, so we will move on.

Previously, the inspection at security for our trikes had been a breeze. Today, however, we had to use a “charm offensive” to get through. We promised that next time we would use clear packaging, clear tape, etc. Glad that is over.

Now that we are checked in, we can relax and enjoy the beauty of Vancouver terminal. The artwork and carvings such as this one are beautiful

The Aquarium Wall is always a highlight for us, and this time we enjoyed new additions to this installation.

And the river continues through the terminal.

Despite the glitch at check in, we love flying with ANA. Being avid travellers, we truly appreciate how extraordinary and unique the onboard experience is. We have never received such a high level of hospitality from the crew onboard…and we are in Economy. We wonder what it must be like in a higher class of travel. The crew are hard working, gracious….they truly have a mission to serve and make the experience the best it can be. It started well with 2 choices of entree. We both had a seafood entree.

We both enjoyed an exceptional film, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry with Jim Broadbent, and followed this with the entertaining Guardians of Galaxy. Mary Ellen sat with a Flight Attendant who recommended that it was best to try to stay awake and try to adjust to the coming time zone of Osaka. That worked for a while, but ultimately, sleep overtook both of us. ANA makes the experience as painless as possible, but it is always exhausting and it is so good to disembark.

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Rich FrasierA few bumps, but you're off to a good start! Looking forward to following along!
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