Adios BC, Hello CA

Tuesday was our last day in Vancouver, and we just hung out on Granville Island. It was also the only warm and sunny day we had while we were there!

We popped over to Sevasty's in the Net Loft building for some breakfast, and then I went on the hunt for some boxes to ship things home, as I was quite afraid that our luggage was going to be over limit. I found a couple, and after some re-packing and shifting of contents, the boxes were stuffed with not needed things like our cruise formal wear and the laundry, and the bags were likely to pass any scrutiny we received.

After dropping our parcels at the post office, we headed back over to the Market to let Tenley chase the birds one last time, and then we trotted back over by the pond to The Cat's Meow for some lunch. It was so nice out that we opted to sit on the patio, and in the process we met one of the waitresses who was there for lunch... and who also happend to have been adopted from Korea when she was 3. She was delighted to see Tenley, and echoed the thing we have heard from so many adults who were adopted: reassure them with love. Always let them know how much you love them, and if you have biological children, always make sure they know that they are loved equally. It's always nice to see well adjusted adopted adults, and reassuring to know that they love their parents and that your kid has a strong chance of being well adjusted and loving you too.

When we finished our lunch, it was time to check out and catch a taxi to the airport. Our check in went smoothly; and we had a good laugh about the fact that as you come up to Customs and Immigration there is a large sign that says "Welcome to the United States". Apparently we've annexed the Vancouver airport.

I have to say that I love the Vancouver airport. Why? Well, it's clean and in pristine condition, there's a nice array of shops and food, and best yet: there are play structures for children. No kidding! We had a large plastic Little Tykes structure with stairs, tunnels, and 2 slides on that gushy foam stuff right by our gate. Two gates down there was a boat and teeter-totter thing. It was brilliant, and the Tenster happily ran herself ragged so she was already good and tired when we hit her with a dose of Benadryl before we boarded.

However, in true Tenster form, she had a complete hysterical kicking screming back arching meltdown for 30 minutes as we boarded and taxied...just like the flight home from China! Fortunately, she collapsed into sleep after we had been in the air about 5 minutes, and bless her twisted little heart she slept all the way to LA!!

It was a Charles Dickens vacation: the best of times and the worst of times. We have learned that it is miserable to be on a cruise with Tenley until she a) no longers finds stairs a novelty, b) learns to sit at the table for a meal like a lady, and c) is potty trained and old enough to go into the kids programs. Vancouver was great though. Being in one place, having the ability to moves around and find engaging activities to wear her out made all the difference. So we'll just have to do destination vacations with Tenley...but there's no way in hell I'm taking her to London this fall!!!