Vancouver, BC & HomeMay 24, 2008
|
|
Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver, BC
Up early today as we are supposed to get to leave the ship by 7:45 a.m. Our flight out of Vancouver to Houston is scheduled for 11:30. We passed under the Lions Gate Bridge coming into the harbor as we were eating breakfast. What an beautiful site! We were called off of the ship on time, but then were delayed leaving the cruise ship terminal because of a bus that had broken down. Finally, we boarded a bus and made it to the airport around 9:00. We thought that was plenty of time to make our flight...WRONG! There were three cruise ships that had docked this morning, and it was Saturday and a holiday weekend, and apparently US Customs & Immigration didn't feel the need to have more than one customs agent checking passports for about 7,000 - 8,000 people trying to get home. Thankfully, Continental Airlines held our flight for an extra 30 minutes while we all made it through customs and then security one by one. What a nightmare!! We made it to Houston, though, and everyone found a place to eat. Then while we waited for our flight to Lubbock, they announced there was a weight problem, so they wanted volunteers to stay in Houston. Doc & Lois decided to stay. When the rest of us got to Lubbock, we found that the rest of that solution was to leave about 1/2 of our luggage in Houston. They promised to get it delivered the next day, so we all made our way home, thankful that most of us had an extra day off (with the Memorial Day holiday), but more thankful for the fabulous time we had all had together in the beautiful place called Alaska.
