End of America and Vancouver

Well after a dodgy last couple of hours in America we arrived in Canada.  It was such a relief, the people in US had been being so rude..like you go to a shop and people don't say 'hi how are you?' they just look at you, sometimes might even say 'what?'  We had quite the experience on the flight, turns out whatever flight you get in america, you have to pay to check in luggage, $25 a bag, my bag was 4 pounds over and that was going to cost $90…it didn't matter that Dick's bag was over 4 pounds lighter.  We figured it out without paying the $90 extra.  Then when we were waiting for the flight we realised that the carry-on rules in the US are a lot looser then here, think a bag double the size of what you would normally take on…big duffel bags etc, and everyone is allowed 2 bags (plus handbags, laptops etc)  Because it was a full flight there was too much carry-on so everyone was allowed to check-in there extra bags for FREE!!!  i could have screamed…. 

Anyways we arrived in Canada after a hilarious flight.  Mills tune-out, i'm retelling stories

Dick asked the flight attendant for a coke, this is how it went 

FA: sorry what did you say?
Dick: Coke…. cocca-cola?
FA: I'm sorry I don't know what Cart is..
Dick: No… Coke (points to a can), cocoa cola
Jordy: You know C-O-K-E.. coke
FA: Look, i'm an American Citizen and i've never heard of Cart, so i'm just going to give you a can of Coke.  

this is a shortened version and Dick thought he was taking the piss…after he walked away Dick was like… he was serious wasn't he?  It was really weird.  

Then the guy behind us started talking, he asked the lady next to him a couple of small talk questions, she asked him some, which apparently gave him permission to tell his life story and talk non-stop for 6 hours.  
Here are some highlights
"You know when i got that third promotion in London i thought, this isn''t me… I"m a really spiritual person you know."
"…That's when i just had to say to my wife you're having an affair aren't you?"
"Well i like to get up in the morning, i do some journalling at breakfast, then have some low-fat yoghurt, but you know low-fat yoghurt is actually high in sugar, then i go to the gym…."  We heard the schedule of his day 3 times.  no joke…this went on for the full 6 hours.  4 hours in he was like "oh, we've been going 4 hours already wow!" we were ready to jump out of the plane

Which is actually quite a nice segway…MILLS tune back in now….

Part way in I noticed on the back of the seats it said "Use seat bottom cushion as floatation"  This sparked a bit of curiosity and my worst thoughts were true. There were no life-jackets on that plane, in case of emergency we were to strap the seat cushion to ourselves and jump.  Clearly this was one emergency instruction we should have watched.

OK… so Vancouver, we had a airport transfer included in our package, so it was really nice not to get off and have to catch the bus and lug our luggage around again.  The package also paid for 5 nights in a hostel and it's really cool.  A great bar down below with cheap drinks for girls and a $4.95 dinner special every night.  We also get a free breaky and a whopping $2 if you want to upgrade to a hot breakfast.
Good news is we spoke to an amazing Aussie chick in an adventure shop today who gave us a bunch of contacts in Banff (she lived there for 3 years).  I might even be able to line up some nursing work in a  clinic she used to work at…prayers again appreciated.  We have booked overnight Greyhound bus tickets to Banff and leave tomorrow night.  We are a bit nervous, it's currently -15 and we are wearing most of our layers at -1….we have bought all our warm clothes, i think it's just a case of slowly climatizing. 

Dick's bitrhday was today, we went out for a brunch, and for dinner, we went to this great place called the factory, a total dive of a bar, but all their food is only 5.95… and it was the best feed we've had the whole trip, i had salmon in an asian sauce, rice and veges.  They also had $2.75 Sol beers for the night.  We had a great and cheap night out…suited Dick to a tee :)

It's been an interesting time in Vancouver, It has even snowed which was awesome.  We are realising we are going to be the oldest people wherever we get a job…seriously this place is swimming with 18year old guys here for the snow boarding and relaxed drug laws.