Planes, Trains and Buses was the order of the day yesterday.
I was up at 4:00 to catch a bus to the airport.at 4:49 in Grimsby Ontario. My long suffering wife got up to drive me to the bus stop. From there it was an easy Commute to the airport. I was there by 6:30 for a 9:30 flight.
I dropped my bag and said a hopeful goodbye to it. As it travelled along the belt my Apple AirTag plaintively complained it had lost touch. (But not for long)
Security was not too busy at 6:30 and, for once, I was not hand searched. The Homeland Secuity Customs was amazing. I went through the NEXXUS line peered into the facial recognition kiosk and I was in! I walked to the agents and one looked up from his iPad and said “John?” I replied yes and he said “Go straight through. “ THAT WAS IT!
My friend Brian had sent me a lounge pass by text and it worked (Thanks Brian!!!) making a 2 hour wait tolerable.
It was an uneventful four hour flight (after a short runway delay). The Air Canada app sent texts to me letting me know every 10 minutes that we were delayed. The full flight meant there was no available overhead space so all the excess carry ons were gate checked on the plane causing a delay. I guess when no one wants to check a bag – flights are delayed. Welcome to the new normal.
We flew over amazing landscapes but I did not get any aerial views of the Grand Canyon.
On landing my Air Tag worked great letting me know my bag had arrived with me.
My hostel is very nice (it’s also the only one in Phoenix. It is just a little outside downtown by about 2 miles but close to an entertainment district called Roosevelt Row.
By now it was mid afternoon so I embarked on a pub crawl. At the Greenwood Brewery I had the Sunny Mango Nitro beer – a nice creamy beer with a sweet flavor.
I moved on the the Wilderness DT pub where I had the “Don’t Fuck it Up” Honey Blonde Lager and Triple Tacos (Fish, Pulled Pork and Chicken).
Then I was off to the Rooftop bar for a view of the mountains and a nice local craft beer.
Rounding out the evening, I went to the Pemberton Bar(s) a mix of Food trucks, Portable bars and retail stores. You buy your drinks and wander around . There are lots of places to sit and people watch.
