Vancouver

Saturday January 25th, 2025

	1st	2nd	3rd	Final
WSH	0	0	1	1
VAN	1	1	0	2

We finally did it! After ten years, the Canada Hockey Trips came to a successful end in Vancouver, British Columbia. To mark the occasion, my wife and I reserved the Penthouse Suite at the Wedgewood Hotel in downtown Vancouver. The room was beautiful, but there was a bit of an annoyance with the elevator that rumbled all day long. We sort-of got used to it, but it was a bit disappointing.

Unlike two years ago when I brought my wife to the snowy, sub-zero tundra of Calgary and Edmonton, Vancouver was a sunny 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Absolutely beautiful weather.

Remarkably there were absolutely no issues (other than the rumbling elevator) on this trip. We flew into and out of Vancouver airport with no delays and no drama, unlike the 26-hour fiasco trying to come home from Edmonton in 2022.

The Vancouver airport is wonderful. Very easy to navigate, immaculately clean and only about a 30 minute drive to our hotel in downtown Vancouver. Cabs were a breeze to get, and the driver was very friendly and got us to the hotel without a hitch.

This trip was all about relaxing and that’s why we splurged for the penthouse suite since we knew we would be spending a lot of time in the room. We did get out a bit before the game on Saturday and walked a few blocks to Five-Guys for a burger, stopping along the way so my wife could look at and purchase some trinkets from street merchants.

We decided to forgo the 20-minute walk to the arena and instead took our very first Uber. The experience was easy on the way to the arena, with a pick-up in front of the hotel being simple. Coming back from the game was another story, as our Uber driver could not locate us. Instead, we ended up cancelling our Uber and hitching a ride with another driver who was kind enough to give us a quick ride back to the hotel before he picked up his scheduled riders. We appreciated the ride and hope that the original riders didn’t have to wait too long.

As with all of the games I attended in Canada, I wore the home team’s colors, even though I am a Capitals fan. My wife was supporting the Caps by wearing her red, Ovie jersey. Never thought I would see the day my wife would own her very own hockey jersey!

Well, the game was close, but the Caps fell short losing 2-1 to the Canuks. It was a hard-fought game, and we had probably the best seats of any of the games I have attended in Canada. We were at center ice about half-way up the bowl.

We decided to spend Sunday in Vancouver, again mostly just to relax. We had a nice meal at an Italian restaurant that was right around the corner from the hotel. Food and service were both very good. After eating it was back to the hotel to prepare for our early morning departure (0500 hrs). We arrived at the airport in plenty of time to clear customs and relax before boarding our connecting flight to Denver. The flight left on-time and was smooth all the way.

We landed in Denver and had a 3-hour layover We decided to spend some time sitting in the atrium on the second floor of the airport and having a donut (or two) at Voodo Donuts, that had an alien with a donut out front. We could not resist getting our picture taken with our outer space friend.

We made it home safe, but tired and it took a day to shake off the jet lag from travel across country. Finishing my quest after ten years is very satisfying. Life got in the way for a couple of those years, but ultimately, I was able to complete the Odessey.

During that time, the Capitals won a Stanley Cup, too many family members passed away and COVID wreaked havoc on the world. In the end, I have many memories, all good, of my trip to the seven Canadian NHL cities. I plan to go back to where it all started, Toronto, once Ovie retires and is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

I will always be thankful to my wife who at first supported and ultimately joined, this adventure. Without her I would not have been able to fulfill this dream.