DAY 1 - Travel from Tallahassee to Vancouver, B.C., the beginning of "a remarkable journey through the stunning landscapes, charming towns, and beautiful lakes of the Canadian Rockies." (Travel brochure)

Annnnd here I am - on the road again, struggling with this very, very old Netbook, but determined to memorialize this trip which will give me a big checkoff on the bucket list - to put my old south Alabama feet (well-covered in warm socks and shoes) on an actual glacier. While we still have glaciers.

Mike and I joined 20 OLLI friends very early this morning at the airport, beginning an eight-day trip that will take us to Vancouver, then north into the Canadian Rockies. Since our old bones take a lot of waking up in the morning, we rolled out at 2:30 a.m. (OMG) and bonded with our Uber driver promptly at 4:20 a.m.  (Side note here:  Gertrude "Trudy" O'Farrell is spending the next eight days with Miss Jean, the Puppy Lady, which is roughly equivalent to a week at the Ritz-Carlton.for dogs.)

After two very smooth, on-time flights, Tallahassee to Dallas to Vancouver, we landed and made our way to our home for a little bit, the Westin Bayshore Vancouver.  Since we had had the following to eat since 2:30 a.m.:  four small pieces of melon; two packets of airline biscotti, approximately 1X2Xmicroscopic; an Egg McMuffin - and since it was now 4:00 p.m. Tallahassee time, we grabbed a little lunch.

It's a beautiful day in Vancouver.  They have what looks like lots of cherry trees here, all in almost-full bloom. There are jonquils in the medians. And it's cold.  Locals are basking in the sunshine, loving it - it's 40 degrees. In April.  What were we thinking? (Thinking it's April, which is a beautiful month with great weather, but maybe not in Canada.)  Anyway, we brought  lots of warm clothes, although in admittedly odd combinations, so we are ready.

But first, we're taking a nap.