July 9, 2009:

 

            I got up around 8:00 am and went for breakfast. This time breakfast cost only $2 as I had something that was included in the voucher. I went back to my room and decided to do a little bit more fanning hoping to catch a GM Classic. I boarded an MCI Classic and rode to Bridge Terminal. On the way, we passed a GM Classic with a rollsign heading back to the garage, but I was unable to photograph it. I transferred to a D40LF. I rode to the ferry docks.

 

            I didn’t have to wait long. GM Classic #928 showed up and I rode back to the Bridge terminal where the bus went out of service. I photographed it and then filmed it leaving.

 

 

 

            I then rode an MCI Classic back to my hotel. I then went back up to my room and finished packing. I then checked out of my hotel and went outside to await my bus. The bus came on time and I paid the driver $21. This is the cheapest way to get to the airport presently, however Metro Transit is thinking of running a Link bus route out to the airport (according to Mike Cormier).

 

            I got to the airport just before noon. I proceeded to check in for my flight. Once again, I was flying Air Canada. I could have taken an earlier flight, but I chose a 2:05 pm flight because it used a Boeing 767-300 wide body. This would be the first time in 11 years that I had flown on a wide body jet. I knew that I would not be flying home on the Gimli Glider because it is a 767-200 series and the aircraft was retired in January 2008 and flown out to the Mojave Dessert.

 

            I used the self serve check in and saw that I was assigned an aisle seat even though I booked a window seat! I checked to see if I could change, but all window seats on the flight were full! When I booked the flight, I checked the “preview seat availability” and saw plenty of window seats available. I checked my suitcase before I wandered around the airport for a few minutes. I went to an observation deck and took some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            I then walked by the baggage claim and photographed models of bridges in the Halifax area that I noticed when I first landed at Halifax.

 

 

 

            I then bought lunch at Burger King. However, they screwed up on my order. I did get it fixed.

 

            When I was done, I went through security. They had to send my money belt through a second time because the machine couldn’t get a clear picture! They also checked inside to make sure I wasn’t carrying anything illegal! This is a little unnerving because I had no problems when I sent it through the X-ray machine at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport on my Dallas trip!

 

            I was then cleared and I got my stuff together and went upstairs to the gates. I saw a place where I could have a 10 minute massage so I took advantage of it since I had plenty of time to get to my gate.

 

            When my massage was done, I paid and walked over to gate 24 to await boarding of my plane. I took a photo of my plane which as promised was a 767-300.

 

 

            I strongly believe that the plane is an ex Canadian Airlines (CP Air) plane. Canadian was bought out by rival Air Canada a number of years ago. My family and I had flown with Canadian once. We actually flew home on a similar plane.

 

            I went to buy a chocolate bar and a bottle of Coke from stores in the airport. Soon, it was time to board. I took my aisle seat next to someone flying from Halifax to Sydney, Australia. Air Canada presently uses the 767s for trans-Atlantic flights and I suspected that the plane had flown in across the Atlantic. I would turn out to be right as the crew announced they had started their day in London, England.

 

            I filmed the interior of the plane from my seat. I noticed the cabin lights kept changing from white to red to blue. The plane left on time. During the safety demonstration, they declined to explain fully what to do in the event of a water landing because they said it was a short flight. With the plane ditching in the Hudson River in January, I wonder if it was such a good idea. From my aisle seat, I managed to film the takeoff. I also noticed a flight attendant looked like movie star Owen Wilson.

 

            I bought a snack when served. I watched the movie “Bride Wars” on the plane’s personal entertainment system which occupied me for most of the flight.

 

            Soon, we were approaching Toronto. I could see the CN Tower which I managed to photograph from my aisle seat.

 

 

            Soon, I could see we were flying near where highways 401 and 407 meet. When we landed, I filmed the landing. I thought I saw Air Canada’s 65^th anniversary plane at the gate, but it turned out to be owned by Sunwing; a charter airline.

 

            The plane was soon parked at the gate. I got up. When I walked through the first class section, I filmed it. It had seats that could recline flat which would be an asset for long distance flights. I went inside the terminal and photographed my plane.

 

 

            I also photographed planes from KLM and Air France parked at Terminal 3.

 

 

 

            I then went downstairs to retrieve my luggage. I went to the baggage claim area for domestic flights and saw the four carousels. I saw my suitcase would be coming out on carousel #4 so I stood by it and waited and waited. My dad called me. I told him I was waiting for my suitcase. Nothing was coming out. An employee told us there was a mistake and our luggage would be coming out at carousel #3. We all moved to carousel 3.

 

            A few minutes later, the employee told us our luggage was coming out of carousel #4 as originally thought! We moved back over. My suitcase soon came out and I grabbed it and met my dad outside. We then left the airport. I phoned my mom to let her know I was home. I arrived home a little while later.

 

Conclusions:

 

            Aside from what happened when I flew home, this trip was excellent. I just wish I had some more time in Halifax so I could have visited the graves of Titanic victims including a Mr. J. Dawson. This was not the grave of Jack Dawson who was played by Leonardo Dicaprio in James Cameron’s Titanic (who is fictional), but a Joseph Dawson, a crew member.

 

            My ride on train 60 and the Ocean was good with no serious problems. I wish I could have been seated in the Hep1 coach on train 60 though. It was nice to see Mike Cormier again. Plus Halifax is a nice city to visit. Although this was the last in a series of trips I began planning in late 2006, I have more trips planned.

 

            Even if everything went extremely well on the flight, the next time I’ll most likely fly, I will fly on Westjet sometime in the fall. Until next time…

 

Click to go home.