Rhonda Bracey: At Random

The radio in the rental car I picked up at LAX yesterday is pretty darned clever. I noticed that when it’s playing a song, the metadata for the song is also displayed — specifically the artist’s name and the song title. I have no idea how this is done, but I’m impressed! And no, I don’t think it’s a satellite radio — this is a fairly cheap rental car, not some high-end fancy thing.

I had booked a rental car (Compact) through National Car Rental via the internet before leaving. The process at the counter was quick and easy and I didn’t get asked every sullen question under the sun about insurance. That was nice.

But the big surprise was how they deal with allocating cars there! The lady behind the counter said “Go out to the lot and to the Compact section. Pick a car, any car. Whatever you want. The keys are in the door.” And so it was! What a great idea. No hassling with “I booked a [insert name and model of car here] but you’ve given me a [insert other car name/model here]” and the whole “We’re sorry Ma’am. We’ll upgrade you for no extra, but we have to print out all the forms again… blah blah blah … and did you want the CDW, LDW, PITA insurance with that?”

Another good thing about that system — if the car doesn’t work, you just try another one! This happened to the other guy in the lot at the same time. He got to the car he chose, tried to start it, but it wouldn’t start. So he gets out of the car, grabs his suit jacket and bag and just hops into another one in that section. Cool!

… was actually a pretty nice place to be first thing this morning! I HATE having to come into or go out of LAX as it’s usually a bloody nightmare. Not so this morning — at least part of it.

We touched down around 7:30am as scheduled, but we couldn’t get off the plane until 7:50 even though we were at the gate and the jetway doors were lined up by 7:40 (I have no idea what the hold up was).

Because this aircraft (A380) is so huge and it’s two storeys high and there’s a jetway for both storeys, I think we were in a different part of LAX. It was a LONG walk through a major construction zone (are they EVER going to finish that airport? They’ve been in construction mode every time I’ve landed there since 1993!). When we got to immigration, they was much joy (in my heart anyway) — we were the only plane being processed! Yay! Last time I landed at LAX it was just after a couple of 747s came in from Korea and South America and the immigration lines were very long and very very slow.

Anyhow, immigration took seconds, the bags came through nice and quick, and I was waved through customs.

I was out in the street, on a rental car shuttle bus, and had signed up for the rental car by 8:20am! That has to be a record!! Maybe it’s the downturn in the economy, maybe we were just lucky. Whatever. My experience meter at LAX just went into positive territory.

What a view on my flight to Hong Kong – and I wasn’t even in a window seat!

Instead of going over the Pacific, the flight followed the west coasts of Canada and Alaska, then Siberia and China. Even though many had their window shades down, thus missing the most spectacular views of glaciers, mountains, snow, rivers, etc., I was able to see much of the Alaskan coast and a little of Siberia. The lady sitting next to me kept the window open for quite some time until the stewards asked her to close it for ‘the comfort of the other passengers’. That was such a shame as this is an AMAZING part of the earth and seeing it from 11kms up is an amazing experience.

I took LOTS of photos!

… but without the trains!

I was up at 5:30am and said my goodbyes to Jill and Brian just after 6:00am. I was on my way again, this time to catch the 7:45am ferry back to Vancouver from Duke Point (south of Nanaimo). I had a reservation so had to arrive between 6:45 and 7:15. I got to the terminal at 7:00am, which was a tad longer than expected as the drive was a little hairy.

It was dark and raining when I left and the windscreen was partly iced. The roads were wet and there were warning signs for deer, icy bridges, and aquaplaning. It was very cold (about 1 to 2C) and my biggest concern was ice on the roads—especially black ice! So I took it slow and arrived at the ferry terminal safe and sound.

It’s now 7:15am and the sky is getting lighter. I’m at the head of my queue for the ferry  (Queen of Alberni) which hasn’t arrived from Vancouver yet, but I expect it’ll get here soon. The trip takes 2 hours.

After I arrive, it’s off to Vancouver Airport (refuelling on the way) to return the rental car and then to check in for my Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong, which is due to leave around 3:30pm. I lose Wednesday night (tonight) and much of Thursday, arriving in Hong Kong around 9pm Thursday night.

Update 1: The ferry left on time and my car was the first in one of the lines, so it’ll be one of the first off. Guess that reservation was worth it! Actually, it was the peace of mind that was worth the $15 booking fee (which is deducted from your fare—I didn’t know that, so it was a pleasant surprise!). Without knowing anything about the schedules, the capacity, and the usage, I didn’t want to risk being stuck on a ferry vetween Vancouver Island and the mainland when my flight took off.

Update 2: I’m now in the Cathay Pacific lounge. I got fuel, but only just. There was not a single gas station from the Tsawwassen ferry terminal to the airport, except one on the other side of the busy highway. I thought I’d have to pay Hertz’s exhorbitant fuel charge, but luckily there’s a gas station on the airport land just before the parking area and the rental car return place. Its price was higher than outside ($1.217 per litre compared to $1.179 on the Island), but it was cheaper than the $3 per litre Hertz were charging!

Vancouver Airport, like SeaTac, is undergoing some major construction to put in a rail line. So it was quite a long haul from the rental car return to the International Terminal—at least, when you followed their detour signs. I think if I’d ignored those and gone straight across the road to the domestic terminal, I’d have been able to walk through to international anyway. And the signage in the terminal! Don’t get me started!! You walk in to the International Terminal and there are NO signs as to what to do next or where to go. A red cap guy told me I had to go up a level to Departures. When I got there, there are no clear signs to tell you where to go if you AREN’T travelling to the US. I eventually found the correct place, but only after asking someone else who worked there. After that it was all very painless.

So now I have another 3 hours before the flight is called. Next post will probably be from Hong Kong unless something grabs my attention that I feel like writing about!

Well, my three days/four nights on Vancouver Island are at a close. I had a totally relaxing time with our friends, Jill and Brian. But, by God, it was COLD!

The usual daytime temperature for this time of year is around 12C, but the days I was there the maximum ranged from 4 to 8C and no higher. We went walking quite a bit (they have a big dog), and the wind just cut through whatever you were wearing.  For our long walk yesterday, I had on my new polar fleece vest, my polar fleece jacket, borrowed wool gloves, and my wool footy scarf. I was still cold…

Thanks Jill and Brian, as always, for your wonderful friendship and hospitality.

The Chevy Malibu I rented had the windscreen washer nozzles cleverly concealed on the actual wipers. This feature is probably on other vehicles, but it was the first time I’d seen it. Very clever and sensible—the water goes on the windscreen, not all over the roof if the sprayers have been shifted when you last washed the car!