Aboard a plane -- my first flight ever on Air Canada -- was refreshing. Four seats across each row (two to a side) makes everything much more comfortable for a 6-foot-4, 265-pound person such as myself. Sat next to a guy who, for the next three-plus hours only blurted a word once to let me know he needed to get past me to go to the bathroom. Sleep was the order of this flight, but the small screen in front of me prevented that from happening. Air Canada, for those unaware, offers a bevy of entertainment options to let the time pass. You can watch a movie (current stuff like in a hotel), listen to music, TV, etc. all from the comfort of your seat.
The comfort of this flight, however, couldn't stop my worry about the past 24 hours. Here it was, 24 hours AFTER my original flight was supposed to be a non-stop jet from L.A. to Vancouver where I'd spend Christmas Day. Snowy weather in Vancouver, the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics, forced tons of cancellations and postponed flights across the board. My flight, a 7 a.m. gig, was cancelled only hours before I was to be at LAX. Upset with this predicament, I contacted Orbitz.com, who I had booked my flight with and they were able to help me immensely. They rebooked me for a flight on Dec. 26 and were able to refund me money for the lost hotel night. The rebooked flight, however, was curious. I'd fly LAX to Calgary and then to Vancouver. The worry I felt, though, was that the weather would open up enough for me to make the connecting flight, get to the hotel quickly and then make it to the Vancouver Canucks arena in time for the Canucks-Edmonton Oilers game, the first of five games to see on this trip.
The flight from LAX to Calgary was smooth. We arrived at 12:45 p.m. (mountain time) with what would still be plenty of downtime before going on to Vancouver for a 4:15 p.m. flight that would get me into the city at 4:45 (Pacific time) for a 7 p.m. game.
All reports, though, out of Vancouver weren't looking too good. I had been told by a friend of mine that he was apologizing days before I was to leave that the city doesn't do too well when snow falls on its city. Again, this is the host city for a Winter Olympics? I realize the bulk of the snow-related events will be in Whistler, but should snow fall in Vancouver in February 2010, will the town shut down?
Anyway, I chose to grab lunch at Chili's in the Calgary airport to wait out my layover. I did so with a bacon burger and Rickards Red beer (made by Molson) which was delicious. I was served by Jaime, a 20-something bartender/waitress who was really cool and really Canadian with her thick accent. She also had her left arm in a sling, earned through a snowboarding accident days prior. "I've got to work. I can't afford to take time off," she said with a great smile. Her injury, however, did make it a bit hard to prevent spilling some brew. At one point, she knocked over a bit of beer that splashed onto my burger and caused her to apologize three or four times to me, even though it was all right. No harm, no foul. Perhaps I should have asked for a free beer? Then again, after the Rickards, there weren't any other good choices to tap into to be honest.
It was also here that another young person, Sashi, sat down next to me and ordered a Coors light and "clam juice." When he combined the crappy beer with the V-8 knockoff, I called it a Bloody Coors Light. He laughed when I told him that Coors Light isn't a great beer at all and that I could completely understand why he wanted to do SOMETHING to make it taste better, even if it was a V-8.
We struck up a conversation and he was pretty entertaining. He asked about my travels, showed me pictures of his family and told me I should go to Montreal for New Year's instead of being in Toronto. "Montreal never closes, it's like that Las Vegas of yours." We'll see about that, though in the last few days, I did read about professional parties that occur in Montreal each New Year's Eve and how great and wild they are to take in. Trouble is, I'm still in Toronto through Jan. 2 with a hockey game to attend on Jan. 1, so no go. Perhaps I'll assess the aftermath of a Montreal NYE by seeing how many people are at the airport when I fly in on the 2nd.
After this conversation reached a conclusion, we exchanged cards and parted ways. He did get on a flight to Toronto I'm certain while my flight to Vancouver was subsequently postponed three times while at the airport. When it got to be a 6 p.m. flight out of Calgary to Vancouver is when I chose NOT to take the flight. I went searching for my baggage in hopes that it wouldn't go to Vancouver without me. I did get the bag and that flight, I think, wound up not leaving until 9:30 that night. It would have been pointless for me to board the flight because I'd already missed the Canucks game -- a 3-2 Edmonton victory by the way -- and since I was already scheduled to come back to Calgary the very next day, I felt I should just stay in Calgary and not risk being stuck in Vancouver on Dec. 27 which might then also prevent me from seeing the Calgary Flames-Ottawa Senators game. So I stayed in Calgary and it proved to be the right choice.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
And so it begins ...
A little after 8 a.m. on the day after Christmas, one day later than originally scheduled, flight Air Canada 569's wheels finally left the ground at Los Angeles International Airport and the trip, one that I've wanted to do for years, had commenced.
Hockey, for the uninformed, is one of my truest passions in life. I attended my first hockey game in 1975 with family at the Forum in Inglewood. Kings vs. Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars). That's age 6 if you're counting at home. It was the initial spark, but the fire and passion for the game really took off after our family moved to Colorado in December 1977. At the time, the Denver Broncos were the talk of the town. They were embarking on a playoff run that would have them playing in the Super Bowl in January 1978 against Dallas -- the only one the Broncos played and long before John Elway arrived on the scene.
I was, however, drawn to hockey, much moreso than any other sport in the winter time. Denver's team was the NHL's Colorado Rockies (now the New Jersey Devils, for whom I still root for religiously). The Rockies, who had actually moved west from Kansas City where, as the Scouts, lasted only two seasons before heading to Denver in 1976. The Rockies, despite my attendance loyalty, lasted only six seasons before being sold and moved to New Jersey after the season ended in 1982.
Nonetheless, my hockey passion thrived for a team that was considered a laughing stock of sorts. Perennial losers, they did make one playoff appearance but with 16 out of 21 teams qualifying, even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while. It's not to say the team didn't have some talented players during its Denver run, but unless you follow hockey closely, names like Merlin Malinowski, Gary Croteau, Mike McEwen, Randy Pierce, Ron Delorme and Glenn "Chico" Resch are going to draw a blank.
For me, I grew up with the Rockies. I attended so many home games at the now-defunct McNichols Arena that perhaps I should have been given complimentary season ticket when the Colorado Avalanche (the former Quebec Nordiques) arrived in the mid-1990s. They promptly won the Stanley Cup in their first year, thus firmly planting their status as a team to support and follow and not discard like the Rockies were when I lived in Colorado from 1977-1985. Then again, while I was attending games, I got to see the last Montreal Canadiens dynasty of the late 70s play. I got to see the mighty New York Islanders teams that won 4 Cups in a row and I also got to see Wayne Gretzky and his powerhouse Edmonton Oiler teams in their NHL infancy and before they won their first Cup.
Just as fun was the time I spent following the Rockies away from game nights. The team's practice facility was only minutes away in Littleton and a lot of my weekends (at least one day when they were in town) were spent watching their practices, getting autographs and pucks and sticks from the players. Opposing teams also occasionally used South Suburban Ice Arena for a morning skate when in town to face the Rockies. Saw many top NHL stars that way and still, to this day, will never forgive then Toronto Maple Leafs player Rick Vaive, who was NEVER a star player, for his stupidity.
It certainly also didn't hurt that Gary Croteau, who was the captain of the Rockies at one point, lived on our cul-de-sac. Nice guy, decent NHL forward who played for the Rockies during my initial interest. He's also the first athlete I ever interviewed. I was 11 when my class project involved interviewing someone. Funny thing about this is that when I did the interview, the moment was also mentioned in an article about Croteau for GOAL Magazine, the NHL's publication which, at the time, served as the official game program at Rockies games. I still have a copy of the article where the writer mentions me and the interview. Pretty cool, huh?
Hockey, for the uninformed, is one of my truest passions in life. I attended my first hockey game in 1975 with family at the Forum in Inglewood. Kings vs. Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars). That's age 6 if you're counting at home. It was the initial spark, but the fire and passion for the game really took off after our family moved to Colorado in December 1977. At the time, the Denver Broncos were the talk of the town. They were embarking on a playoff run that would have them playing in the Super Bowl in January 1978 against Dallas -- the only one the Broncos played and long before John Elway arrived on the scene.
I was, however, drawn to hockey, much moreso than any other sport in the winter time. Denver's team was the NHL's Colorado Rockies (now the New Jersey Devils, for whom I still root for religiously). The Rockies, who had actually moved west from Kansas City where, as the Scouts, lasted only two seasons before heading to Denver in 1976. The Rockies, despite my attendance loyalty, lasted only six seasons before being sold and moved to New Jersey after the season ended in 1982.
Nonetheless, my hockey passion thrived for a team that was considered a laughing stock of sorts. Perennial losers, they did make one playoff appearance but with 16 out of 21 teams qualifying, even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while. It's not to say the team didn't have some talented players during its Denver run, but unless you follow hockey closely, names like Merlin Malinowski, Gary Croteau, Mike McEwen, Randy Pierce, Ron Delorme and Glenn "Chico" Resch are going to draw a blank.
For me, I grew up with the Rockies. I attended so many home games at the now-defunct McNichols Arena that perhaps I should have been given complimentary season ticket when the Colorado Avalanche (the former Quebec Nordiques) arrived in the mid-1990s. They promptly won the Stanley Cup in their first year, thus firmly planting their status as a team to support and follow and not discard like the Rockies were when I lived in Colorado from 1977-1985. Then again, while I was attending games, I got to see the last Montreal Canadiens dynasty of the late 70s play. I got to see the mighty New York Islanders teams that won 4 Cups in a row and I also got to see Wayne Gretzky and his powerhouse Edmonton Oiler teams in their NHL infancy and before they won their first Cup.
Just as fun was the time I spent following the Rockies away from game nights. The team's practice facility was only minutes away in Littleton and a lot of my weekends (at least one day when they were in town) were spent watching their practices, getting autographs and pucks and sticks from the players. Opposing teams also occasionally used South Suburban Ice Arena for a morning skate when in town to face the Rockies. Saw many top NHL stars that way and still, to this day, will never forgive then Toronto Maple Leafs player Rick Vaive, who was NEVER a star player, for his stupidity.
It certainly also didn't hurt that Gary Croteau, who was the captain of the Rockies at one point, lived on our cul-de-sac. Nice guy, decent NHL forward who played for the Rockies during my initial interest. He's also the first athlete I ever interviewed. I was 11 when my class project involved interviewing someone. Funny thing about this is that when I did the interview, the moment was also mentioned in an article about Croteau for GOAL Magazine, the NHL's publication which, at the time, served as the official game program at Rockies games. I still have a copy of the article where the writer mentions me and the interview. Pretty cool, huh?
Monday, December 15, 2008
A new post, eh?
Yes, it's true. The World of Wonder Tour is revving up for a new adventure, only this time it's staying within the friendly confines of North America. Canada, a place that has given me such wonderful contributions as Rush (the band, not the conservative talker) and, of course, hockey, will explored by yours truly. Can't wait to venture to so many new places I've never been before -- Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. There's also a possibility of a one-day excursion to Ottawa in between the Toronto and Montreal portion of my 11-day trip. I'm leaving on Christmas Day and will see three of the five NHL games in a four-day span.
The new year will be rung in while in Toronto and my first order of business on Jan. 1, 2009 will be seeing the Maple Leafs oppose the Buffalo Sabres. No college football bowl games for me, though, to be honest, I'm curious about that USC-Penn State Rose Bowl.
Nevertheless, I look forward to having my loyal readers -- and maybe even a few newbies? -- join me for my trip to, as Homer Simpson affectionately calls it, "America Junior."
So, as I prepare for my trip, I leave you with a mildly funny joke.
How do you spell Canada?
C eh, N eh, D eh ...
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