It's a bit past 1PM and I'm sitting on a plane in Vancouver BC, waiting to take off for Whitehorse. I was unable to obtain a keyboard for my older PDA in time, so I'm writing this by hand and may be a bit terse.
I got up at 6AM to catch a 10AM flight out of Seattle. I was hoping for short lines, but I didn't want to bet on them.As it turned out, I needn't have bothered. Parking was a bit different this time -- it was valet only, and they wanted a record of when I'd be returning. I don't know if that was about security or simply about getting more cars into the lot.
There were no lines in the airport, and although there were more security personnel about, there really wasn't any more security. They didn't bother to check the bag containing my cell phone and PDA at all. The airport does look a bit different than when I saw it last in July -- some of the construction that's been underway is finishing up.
The hop up to Vancouver was short, in a small prop-driven commuter plane. My bag is a bit fat but it's almost all clothes, so it was able to squish into the smaller-than-usual overhead bin without difficulty. Despite the short flight, they served us juice, then coffee. Of course, with only 21 people on the plane, it didn't take long to serve everyone.
Vancouver was interesting. It started with the five-minute walk through deserted, carpeted corridors before reaching inhabited areas. I must have arrived just after a jumbo jet from Japan, because there were lines at Customs. For a long time I was last in line but eventually a few people filtered in after me. I had all the papers I needed, thankfully, although I did get a few extra questions because I don't know anybody in Whitehorse. Luckily, going somewhere just because you feel like it isn't a crime yet.
There definitely was more security at Vancouver, although it wasn't obtrusive. There were a couple people in the baggage claim area to gently herd us toward the exit where they collected our declaration cards. Once past there, I tried to find a departures display to find out what gate my connecting flight was at. There wasn't one. I only stood there looking lost for ten or fifteen seconds before someone came over and inquired if I needed help, and they directed me to the domestic terminal where I needed to go.
One thing I have always enjoyed about Canada is that getting into the country is always a pleasant, non-hostile experience, unlike getting back into the US. They're definitely doing their jobs, and they have proper airport security who asked me to turn on my cell phone and PDA , but they are always nice about it. I'm pleasant to them, they're pleasant to me, everything is in order and I'm on my way.
It still took me an hour and a half from getting off the first plane to arriving at the gate for the second, but l had deliberately picked an itinerary with a long, two-hour layover, so that wasn't a problem.
There was a bit of a holdup taking off for Whitehorse, possibly because some baggage was loaded for passengers who hadn't actually boarded (something which has been suggested in the US but all the airlines are fighting it due to the delays it could cause), but that's been straightened out and we're in the air now.
It's been a long time since I've been in a non-stretched 737 (a plain 737 instead of a 737-300). Only 19 rows!
More later.
We had already started our descent into Whitehorse before I saw the first sign of inhabitation, a lonely highway. lt was a while longer before I saw another road. Even longer before I saw the first building. Whitehorse really is in the middle of wilderness. I'd love to see the land in the summer. It's a bit stark and white now, although it's not buried in snow either.
The Whitehorse airport is as small as one might expect. It does have jetways, though. Or at least one. I didn't see any others, but that still puts it ahead of some airports l've been through.
There are a number of car rental companies. Each has a six-foot counter with only one person manning it. A friendly lady gives me the keys and I'm out the door before it occurs to me that I don't know how to get to the hotel!
Seized by a daredevil spirit, I decide to try to find it on my own. I follow other cars out of the airport -- the main road is visible from the terminal, just on the far side of the parking lot, and everyone is going right. A little way down the road is a sign for Whitehorse city center, so I take a right there and start trying to figure out how to locate 4th Street.
As it turns out, I'm ON 4th Street. Very convenient! I simply follow the road looking for the High Country Inn. I recognize the building from their web site before I see the sign.
There's no place for guests to park except along a street in back -- they have a tiny parking lot and it's full.
I get my room and check the Yellow Pages. One of the bookstores I'd been intending to visit is apparently gone, but has been replaced by another.
There's a listing for "Bunny Maid" maid service.
Many of the pages have little quotes in the corners to fill up space, including one from Douglas Adams.
There is only one listing under "Cleaning Compounds": Yukon Explosives Ltd.
Interesting place.
Dinner: prime rib at the hotel restaurant. Pretty good.
They have the Discovery channel, but not TLC. Bummer. At 8PM tonight, TLC is running a Junkyard Wars bloopers show, and then on Sunday they have a two-hour special. My VCR at home is set to record them, but it would be really cool to watch them here. Watched some Seattle news on KIRO instead. I've always thought it a bit odd that Canadian cable carries Seattle TV stations, but I've run into it before in Calgary and it's true here too.Interesting facts: when I was initially researching going to Whitehorse many months ago, I discovered that there was an airline, Canada 3000, which seemed to have the best prices on getting there. They didn't fly into the US at all, but it would still be cheaper to get a shuttle up to Vancouver on another airline and then switch to Canada 3000. As I'm sitting here, browsing through a complimentary newspaper, I discover that Canada 3000 ceased operations just a couple weeks ago. It's a good thing that Air Canada's fare, the one that prompted me to finally actually go, was low enough that I decided to just take it instead of hassling with changing airlines midstream. Another interesting fact: Air Canada is accused of ripping off travelers to and from the north in the same newspaper. The territorial government is making noise about it. Maybe going to Whitehorse will get cheaper.
Breakfast: adequate but no more than that. So far, I'm underwhelmed by the hotel. The room is cheap and the location seems to be good -- it's certainly easy to get to (although the city is too small for anything to be hard to find, I think) -- but the room is hot and awkwardly laid out, the only way to get any air circulation is to run the fan sitting on the desk, and the restaurant is mediocre. Still, everything is clean and in good condition. I've paid more for less. But I may consider staying somewhere else next time. I'm going out now to see how good the location really is.
So much for the hotel's location. The hotel is 4051, and 4194 is at the far end of the city. That's not saying much, at any crossroads you can see across the city from side to side, and it's only about a mile long. Nothing is very far away. It's chilly, but not that bad. So far it's no worse than what I grew up with in New York. I've just been living the soft life in Seattle for too long. My initial scouting was by car. I found the bookstore I want to go to, at the far end of the city. I wanted to get the postcards taken care of first, so I found the drugstore where the Post Office was. There was only metered parking nearby, and I had no coins, so I parked back at the hotel and walked instead. Stamps are taxable in Canada. I also found a Dairy Queen which I may visit for dinner some night. I'd like to try the fettuchine alfredo at the hotel restaurant, too.
The used bookstore was much smaller than I expected it to be. I shouldn't have been surprised, now that I've had time to see the size of the city. Nevertheless, they had a wall of science fiction and fantasy, and that's all I needed. I blew a couple of hours there before driving back to the hotel.
The fettuchine sucked. It's rare to find it as cheesy as I like it, but this stuff was half garlic. I think I'm going to give up on the hotel restaurant, although I may give them one last chance and see if they can make a decent burger. Meanwhile, I think I'll go get a sundae at Dairy Queen. After brushing my teeth. I find it amusing that the auto-complete feature on my PDA knows the word "sucked".
The Dairy Queen was refreshingly normal. This really is the deserted city. Even in the middle of the day, there's no traffic to block on the main street while I poke along looking for things. At 8PM you can almost walk across streets without looking. Saw an Esso station. In the US, they all became Exxon 25 years ago.
Sunday: I came up here for the express purpose of being lazy, and that's what I've done today. I didn't officially get out of bed until four o'clock. I managed to get dressed and groomed and go down to dinner. The hotel restaurant makes a serviceable burger. Nothing special but OK. I was thinking of hitting a movie after dinner -- Whitehorse has one theater with two screens -- but dinner took too long and I'd rather read my book anyway. Late in the evening here at least one of the TV channels turns into an endless ad for a phone chat line, featuring a number of models in small bikinis. It's good for a few minutes of eye candy.
Got up earlier than usual in order to get to the airport in time. When I went to wash my hair, there was no hot water. Luckily I found that out before I got my hair wet, so I went down to breakfast instead. Had a good Belgian waffle at the hotel restaurant, and when I got back to the room there was plenty of hot water. It was quite chilly this morning, a real snot-freezer. I had to sit in the car for ten or fifteen minutes before it was defrosted enough to drive. Speed limits are very low. In the city grid, it's 40 kph. On the main road outside of the grid, it's 60 -- about 40mph. Even the main highway is only 70. Got lost a little on the way. I turned too early and wound up on a road parallel to the one I wanted. A couple blocks later, they met up. Even though I was joining the main highway, there was no traffic. Wandered around the airport roads for a minute or two before finding my way to the rental car parking lot, even though I could see it the whole time. Sitting in the airport lobby now. It looks like security for gate one is open now. Maybe I'll go through in a few minutes. For a dry area which doesn't get much snow, it has snowed at least two days out of the four I've been here. On the other hand, the snowfall has never amounted to anything. Thc floor shakes and trembles almost constantly for no obvious reason. The entire day's flight listing takes up half a monitor. Security for gate one has just closed again. I have no idea.
Through security. Nobody was interested in my cell phone or PDA here, either.
This is going to be fun. It is now Snowing with a capital S. I can barely see the runway from the terminal, and nothing beyond that. They're boarding the plane as usual. I'm in my seat now. We'll see what happens next.
We had a fifteen-minute delay getting off the ground in Whitehorse while they sprayed the snow off the wings. We made most of that up on the way. Arrived at Vancouver with plenty of time and for once US Customs was easier than Canadian. It's still weird going through US Customs in Canada, though. Lovers of symbolism would no doubt have a field day with the fact that you have to walk through a store to get to US Customs and the departure gates. Once again, Vancouver is the only airport that wants me to demonstrate my cell phone and PDA.
The parking thing must have been because the lot was overflowing with Thanksgiving travellers' cars. Everything is back to normal now.