YYZ to PVR - Part One

My trip to the airport started in the usual way. I packed, showered, ate and called everyone to say goodbye. I tried to lift my suitcase and it was pretty heavy. I started thinking that maybe I had set a new record, even for myself, with respect to the weight of my largest suitcase. I laid it down flat and slid it down the staircase to the main floor of the two storey penthouse apartment. I could lift it, barely, and manoeuvred it out the door and towards the elevator. I slipped Yvonne's key under her door and pressed the down button. Once inside, I pressed "7" so that I could leave the cell phone inside Heidi's door (she is returning it to Christine -- thank you ladies, once again, for all your help!) I left my suitcase propped against the open door of the elevator like a drunken sailor, knowing that the doors wouldn't close with "his" bulk in the way. As I jumped back into the elevator, it started beeping in protest so I dragged the dude inside and the doors slowly closed.

Once on the ground floor, I rolled the suitcase down the ramp to the front door. We have many handicapped people living in our building so it is equipped with everything to make their entrance and egress easier -- ramps, card readers instead of keys and one button door openers. I easily made my way outside to wait at the curb for my Aunt Carmen to arrive in her car. It started to drizzle so I put on my jacket, even though the temperature was quite warm. It started to rain a little bit harder so I moved myself, my laptop and my backpack into the lee of the building for shelter but left my suitcase out by the driveway. Then it started to pour! I know my suitcase (a 30" Samsonite Silhouette 8) is made of pretty durable teflon material but I wasn't sure how much water it could repel so I decided to get it out of the rain. I got soaked wheeling its cumbersome mass into the lee of building. I was standing under our very stylish "awning" (made of stainless steel with large decorative slots to let the sun and rain artfully through). Next think I know, a serious drip problem developed off the corner of the awning under which I had located my stash. I decided to move everything back inside the building.

Carmen was about 20 minutes late at this time and I debated loading the elevator again for the trip up to the 7th floor so that I could check the cell phone for messages. But I had less than 5 minutes of time on the phone that morning when I called her to confirm the pick up so I decided to just wait it out and give her another few minutes. She finally arrived and it took the both of us to lift the blue behemoth into the trunk of her car! Finally settled in the passenger seat, we headed out to the airport. Once there, she quickly dropped me at the third entrance to T3 (Terminal Three) and we said our quick goodbyes. I rolled up to the Signature Vacations counter to get my ticket, which I had ordered online 8 days prior. After using my passport for ID, I realized I had not yet filled out the address portion of my passport so I did that at their counter. I rolled over to the SkyService check in area which didn't seem very busy. The flight departure time was less then two hours away. Waiting my turn, I checked my papers and everything seemed in order: tickets, passport, FM3, luggage tags, teddy bears in my carry on, deadly eyebrow tweezers and nail clippers in my big suitcase, ready to be checked out of harm's way.

I stubbed my toe trying to lift the bugger onto the weigh station beside the counter when my turn finally arrived. It registered at just over 40 kgs! The airline representative then calmly informed me that my suitcase was too heavy and the Union governing the luggage handlers prohibited them from lifting anything over 32 kgs. WEAKLINGS! :) She informed me that I would have to "lose" 8 kgs. or place it in another bag. (I was allowed two pieces of checked luggage but only had one). I knew my knapsack wasn't big enough to carry another 8 oz., let alone 8 kgs. She suggested I buy another bag and redistribute some of my luggage.*groan* So off I trundled, with my albatross in tow, into the nearest giftshop where I luckily found a soft-sided gym bag for only $24.99! Regardless of what people might say about the cost of a small bottle of water at the airport ($2.49), the cost of luggage is considerably less! LOL I paid with VISA and proceeded to a section of four chairs next to one of the security gates so that everyone in line there could see everything in my luggage. How humiliating! Good thing I sent the tampons ahead with my friend Rik the Friday before! Haha!!!

To be continued ...