June 9 June 10 June 11 June 12 June 13 June 14 June 15 June 16 June 17 June 18	Monday June 18, 2007 I had set the alarm for 5:30, knowing that we'd need to eat something before leaving the ship. Mom was up at 5, so the alarm wasn't needed. We bustled around getting the last minute stuff packed into the carry-ons, then left the cabin for breakfast, leaving the carry-ons on the desk so that Chris could make up the bed for the next occupants. Since the dining room wasn't open yet, we headed for the buffet. While eating breakfast, we watched the ship dock in Vancouver. I finished first, so I told Mom that I'd meet her in the Crooner's Lounge, just off the Atrium on deck 7. I went back to the cabin to pick up the carry-ons. Chris had already changed the room configuration. Where we had twin beds, the next occupants will have a king-size bed. Returning to the Crooner's Lounge, I discovered that several others had the same idea that I had - that the Crooner's Lounge would be a good place to wait for disembarkation. Every chair was occupied. I saw J and C there and we chatted for a while. I forgot to get an address of any kind from either of them, however. Oh, well. I back tracked the route that I had told Mom to use, so that I could intercept her and detour to the Provence Dining Room, which was the designated handicapped waiting area. I wound up waiting where I could watch the atrium elevator, the ladies room on that level, and the corridor she should be coming down. While waiting, I noticed two women standing outside the ladies room. Thinking there was a bit of a line (as usual), I didn't give it another thought. But they were talking softly to each other. Then a man walked out, spotted the two women, did a double take, took a closer look at the sign above the door and turned several shades of red. He had walked into the wrong one.... The line resumed. Mom soon appeared and we rode the elevator down to the Provence level. We checked in with the staff manning the door and picked seats for waiting. And people watching. I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go round.... We didn't have to wait long before the disembarkation process began. The group I was originally supposed to go with was the first group off the ship. Mom's was the third. I waited for her group to be called. Soon they called for Red 1 and 2. That was us. She got a good wheelchair driver and we were whisked to the head of the disembarkation line then the head of the Canadian customs line. From there, there was an escalator ride down to the bus level. Mom rode the escalator with another Princess Lines staff member in front of her. This lady almost missed a step at the top of the escalator by watching Mom more closely than her own feet. Good reflexes, however. The wheelchair was folded and came down right behind us. Mom walked most of the way to the bus from that final line. We had to pass between two buses with engines running and Mom yelled back "Don't breathe!" I thought the Princess Lines lady was going to bust, she was laughing so much! We got the handicapped seats on the bus (right behind the driver). The bus soon filled and we were on our way to the airport. The bus driver had quite a sense of humor. One "fact" he pointed out was that Vancouver had two million inhabitants, four million automobiles, and five million Starbucks... We had been told that Mom would only have to walk about twenty steps at the airport between the bus and the baggage. Wrong. The bus unloaded at one end of the terminal and the luggage was at the other. We stopped half way to fill in the U.S. customs forms, which were handed out as we left the bus. The line for luggage was quite long, so I suggested that Mom sit down on the seats nearby while I grabbed her suitcase and walker. She readily agreed. I quickly found both items and we were on our way to check in. Alaska Airlines has automated check-in and it actually worked correctly this time - we had to argue with the machines in Seattle on the way to Alaska. We got Mom's boarding pass and luggage tagged and the wheelchair called, then I had to go back and get a luggage trolley as there was no other way to handle the checked luggage (which had to go through customs before the airlines would accept it) and the carry-ons. Fortunately, wheelchairs get to go to the head of the various lines. We breezed through passport control, then customs. Then got rid of the checked luggage - the suitcase here and the walker over there. Then the security check, again bypassing the long lines and going to the shortest one. My computer bag wound up going through the x-ray twice, then they wanted to open it to verify that the pair of scissors inside were blunt. I carry a pair of old-style first-grade scissors (round point) with me to cut the tie-wraps off the checked luggage. Once they were satisfied that the scissors weren't pointed, we headed for our gate. We were there in plenty of time. The plane (a Dash 8) was small - 37 maximum passengers, but was adequate for the task. It was an older turbo-prop - one of those that vibrates terribly. Mom was a bit disconcerted, having a seat under the wing where she could see the propeller and watch the landing gear go up and down. The actual air time for the trip was 30 minutes and very uneventful. However, again, we had problems getting a wheelchair in Seattle. This time, one of the airline captains took charge and commandeered a chair and pusher (I think she was a supervisor as she wouldn't accept a tip) and we were soon in baggage claim. My suitcase was already there - probably made the earlier flight from Vancouver to Seattle and Mom's suitcase and walker arrived shortly. The walker was a bit more beat up. We'll have to repair the handle bumper when we get back to her house. I picked up the rental car papers and we rode the shuttle to Thrifty's parking lot. This time, they were again out of the car I had asked for, so they offered me a free upgrade to a Grand Caravan. It was either that or a paid upgrade to something else, so I took the "free" upgrade. And have decided I will never get a Grand Caravan for myself. It felt even bigger than Mom's car and has a couple of blind spots large enough to hide pick-up trucks in... We got to the ferry dock as a ferry was unloading, so we didn't have to wait in line very long. On the other side, we stopped in Poulsbo for lunch, dinner, supper, or something like that. By the time we finished, it was 5 pm, so we decided it was supper. We stopped at JJ's Fish House. Excellent halibut fish and chips - something to keep in mind if I'm ever in Poulsbo for supper again. Spooky (Mom's black cat) was glad to see someone come into the house. He was even happy to see me!!! My leg got well rubbed. We both crashed early. It had been a long day.