See you at Christmas time!

This morning I left Warsaw with Mom and Dad at 7:00 am. John had just gotten home and so we said good-bye and he stayed with the pups. They were up and ready to play, so I said bye to them too.

We made it to Pearson in no time. I said bye to Mom and Dad at the entrance of the airport. It was a bit teary. I hadn't really thought about what leaving by myself would feel like. I choked back tears through most of the check-in process. There were so many people around and everything was really overwhelming. I felt much better by the time I got to my gate and sat beside a napping cowboy for a few minutes before boarding the plane. Watching the pilot and flight attendants prepare for the trip was also really reassuring. I wished I had a cell phone so I could call Nat or Em and talk to them about leaving for long trips.

I felt a bit nervous during take-off at 11:00 am. I wonder if that feeling ever goes away? Flying just seems so unnatural. On the plane I sat over the wing and looked over the clouds for most of the trip. I had to choose between Star Trek (which I haven't seen), 17 Again, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (which I have seen). I decided to go with x-Men because I wanted to see Gambit, who is played by Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights. I've been watching that a lot lately and didn't remember him in the movie. I ended up fast-forwarding through a lot of parts. Then I went with the Canadian short films. Some sort of interesting. Some not so great. The movies got me through the 5 hour flight and we actually arrived about 25 minutes early.

When we came in to Vancouver we flew over the Rockies. I could see the peak of Mt. Baker in Washington over the clouds. The lakes in the mountains are very cool to see. Once I landed I collected my gear and met Crystal and Geoff. It was so good to see both of them! It's been awhile and it was really nice to catch up.

We drove to their apartment past the Canadaline which is the new rail system between the airport and the downtown, built for the Olympics. A lot of places around these parts are getting fixed up for the big events this February. We had lunch at their place, which felt like dinner because my body is three hours ahead of things around here, then went for a walk down to Kits pool and beach. The pool is massive: 127 m long and salt water. It's built right into the side of the harbour. There were tons of people swimming. We drove around and saw Crystal's gym. David Suzuki also works out there and so does Zac Efron. Yep. Crystal was on the stationary bike right behind Zac Efron the other day.

A screenshot of Kits pool on the shoreline. It's the light blue spot. As you can see, it's pretty much the length of a city block.

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After our walk Crystal and Geoff took me to Lynn Canyon Park. It's in North Van and is owned by the district.

We hiked over a suspension bridge! Luckily I've outgrown some of my childhood fear of bridges. They are everywhere in this city. Driving bridges, walking bridges, stories about bridge history.






And saw a fantastic waterfall. It was very beautiful.



Then we came to this cobbleboulder beach. The water was chilly, but manageable. I dipped my toes in. A lot of people were swimming.



There were all sorts of trees covered with all sorts of mosses. This is one particularly mossy example.










Okay, so we're about to have second dinner, so I have to get to it. I'll add more soon!

Love, Cass