Thursday, August 22nd Part 1
This was the first trip in ages where we didn't have to get up at the crack of 2 am
It was weird actually and I don't think I liked it
I don't care to get up early, I am a night owl but now that I've experienced a later start to our journey, I MUCH prefer getting an early start, even if that means sacrificing some sleep.
Our flight didn't leave until 1:30pm but I like to leave early so that we have extra time just in case something happens. I was up at about 7am so I could shower, pack the last-minute items and we were all packed and ready to go just before 9am.
Poor Rob had caught a cold the day before we left so he was feeling run down a little but we left our house exactly when I had hoped we would be leaving. He had bought this hoodie last summer but hadn't worn it yet so I encouraged him to wear it on this trip.
At the airport, we grabbed some carts and threw our luggage on them and then went to take a photo and someone kindly offered to take a family pic.
Rob went to Park2Go to drop off our vehicle while Kira and I took care of the bags. This was also the first time for us a family not going through USA customs right away as we had a connecting flight in Toronto this time and you always pre-clear customs in your last Canadian airport.
We checked in at the kiosk, tagged our bags, dropped them off and then waited for Rob to get back. I had to remind him to get off at the domestic terminal as he's so used to getting off the shuttle bus at the USA/International terminal.
He found us, yay! Rob is directionally challenged and sometimes can't find things
He has many wonderful qualities but I'm afraid that if he was ever lost in the woods, we would never see him again.
And don't mind my weird, slightly grumpy looking face, in this pic and in many to come. After 10 months, I am still having issues with my braces, I loathe them and I am constantly moving my lips and mouth and I often look miserable in photos and if I don't smile very enthusiastically, my lips get caught on the braces and I look downright miserable.
We used the Nexus line to go through security and we all got through without any issues! Usually Rob gets a secondary screening but he breezed right through!
I knew Kira would get a kick out of flying through C gate because it would be her first time seeing the Link buses that travel between terminals. She loved them and requested that we take one.
Since we couldn't enjoy our traditional meal at The Kitchen, we stopped at Chili's instead. I enjoy Chili's and the only one left now in Calgary is at the airport so it was the perfect stop as we had plenty of time!
We got a great seat right at the window and Rob and Kira began their bunny ears war
My bracey, half-smile
Kira had....surprise, surprise...the chicken tenders and fries!
You will notice a trend in her food choices, if you haven't already
I had the delicious southwest egg rolls. I sure miss these babies!
And Rob was just in time to enjoy breakfast!
We lingered for awhile and then it was time to head to our gate, which was in the B terminal so we acquiesced to Kira's request for a ride on a Link bus. ☺
There's our plane!
We had about an hour to wait so I suggested to Rob that he get some rest. Poor guy has no luck when it comes to trips and getting sick.
Our plane had the tiniest overhead bins and they were making everyone gate-check any big bag and that included Rob's laptop case. He wasn't very happy about it but nothing we could do so we grabbed his actual laptop out before we checked it and put it in his backpack.
Kira was in the aisle seat of the middle three seats so our family selfie was challenging but she did it
We left Calgary a little late but thankfully we made it up in the air because we had a 90 minute layover in Toronto and we had to get through USA Customs and go through security again!! I wouldn't mind the stop in Toronto so much if we could avoid doing security again but because of the way they have their airport and customs set up there, you have to go through security again. Plus, it's a 4-hour flight so we knew we would have to have a bite to eat there too before boarding our second plane, so time was short!
One of the Great Lakes, I'm guessing Lake Huron probably??
And then downtown Toronto, with the CN Tower on the left.
I love it when you can see your plane's shadow like this
The hike from where you land to where you need to go for USA customs is quite the long, complicated journey but thankfully I had done this exact connection last September so I knew where to go. Security took forever but thankfully no hassles and customs was a breeze so we had just enough time to eat where I had wanted to eat....Wahlburgers!
(I always say it in Alma's voice
)
I had eaten here on my solo trip last year but only breakfast and I had really wanted to try a burger. I love the show and was hoping I would have the opportunity to go back but I wasn't getting my hopes up until we got through everything as one small delay would have burst my burger-eating bubble.
I was doing a thumbs-up pose for Rob, showing that we had made it and someone photobombed me, she really enjoyed doing that this trip.
Can you guess what she ordered???
I had a bite of these and they were REALLY good!
I didn't want to be too full for our next flight and we didn't have a lot of time so Rob and I decided to split a burger. I was NOT disappointed, it was delicious!!
I asked for a side of mayo and they brought me three
The service here was great and super fast! We had just enough time to hit the washrooms and find our gate. When we landed we had checked the monitors and found our gate number so we headed down this ridiculously long hallway and found it just in time....but it wasn't
our gate.
We were cutting it close so we had been speed walking and I was now hot and sweaty and my legs and feet were getting tired!!! Our flight would be taking off in about 25 minutes so they would be already boarding so we hoofed it all the way back to where we started, searching for our gate, hoping they were not fully boarded yet!
At my photo limit so I'm just going to leave you all in suspense.