Day 2 - Thursday, June 8, 2023 - Newark to Vancouver

 We got up a little before 5am and got the 5:30 hotel shuttle to the airport which is only about 5 minutes away. It was another 10 minutes on the airport monorail to get to the terminal A station and then another 5 minutes by bus to the actual terminal.

The smoke from the Canada wildfires was so thick that the sun wasn't visible at sunrise and was just a dim to bright yellow-orange orb as it rose higher. Unfortunately, the photo doesn't show the intensity of the color.

It only took a few minutes to check-in at the airport and go to the gate. Our flight took off almost on time at 8am and got into Vancouver about 20 minutes early.

We breezed through customs in about 5 minutes. Our friends Scott and Jeanne who arrived in the evening two days before said it took two hours to get through customs.

We then got the sky train to the last stop in Vancouver which was only about 3 blocks from our hotel, an easy walk. It is a beautiful day with the temperature in the low 70s.

Fortunately, we were able to check in to the Days Inn hotel early and get organized.

We then walked down to the cruise ship terminal so we would know where it is for tomorrow and got day passes for the transit system. We had a nice lunch outside on the waterfront. I had a delicious seafood chowder with a local IPA and Carmen had a poke bowl.

We then got the bus to Stanley Park and went along the seawall to the totem museum. We were surpised at how far out the water was at low tide. The tide must be 8-10' in the bay. By the time we got back to the bus stop (11,000 steps so far today) we were tired and just took the bus back to the hotel.

For dinner we went to a Chinese BBQ restaurant in Chinatown for roast pork, roast chicken and salted duck egg. Chinatown seemed pretty dingy and unwelcoming in the evening with many homeless people on the sidewalk and some mentally ill people shouting at the universe. While we were waiting for the bus, a man walking by said that it was a bad neighborhood and to be careful!

For excitement, we took the SeaBus over to North Vancouver, walked to the waterfront park and then took the SeaBus back. Enough for one day.

Our flight route



Sunrise at Newark Airport with smoky haze

Replica of Japanese trading ship bowhead at Stanley Park

Totem museum at Stanley Park




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