DAY 1 - After getting through the many layers of security at Los Angeles International Airport, Valerie and I had plenty of time to kill before our flight...a perfect excuse to pull out the D60 and start taking pictures. Actually, we were surprised by how relaxed things seemed for being at "orange" alert status...none of the guards stopped cars coming into LAX and we didn't even have to open our luggage (though they did inspect the outside)!

Our Alaska Airlines flight departed right on schedule...and the pilot felt confident that we would arrive in Vancouver quite a bit earlier than our itinerary suggested.

Somewhere over California

Approaching Lake Tahoe

The south shore of Lake Tahoe

Over Lake Tahoe

Soaring over Washington State looking towards the Olympic Mountains

Should be arriving in Vancouver shortly.

We arrived at YVR exactly on schedule...so much for being early.

Valerie and I didn't remember Vancouver's airport being THIS nice during our last visit (back in 1994)

I really liked the architecture of the building, but I wasn't too happy with how slowly we moved through Canadian Customs (Valerie picked the wrong line)

Once again taking advantage of her employee perks, Valerie booked us at the Marriott owned Renaissance Hotel in downtown Vancouver...definitely not The Ritz-Carlton.

The hotel's bathrooms were far from the lavish marble covered rooms we've grown accustomed to.

Not exactly five stars...but we can't really complain.

View from our room

The northward water-side view from the hotel was quite nice. Too bad we had a city view room.

Looking more to the west, we could see Stanley Park. Valerie and I didn't have time to visit the park during this trip. With my recent elbow injury, we weren't about to Rollerblade around the park like we did during our last visit anyway.

Valerie and I have fond memories of Robson Street from our last stay, so we decided to walk there first (Robson is just a few blocks south of the hotel).

This internationally-influenced street featured stores that thrilled Valerie (including some she has not found back in the States). And both of us enjoyed the wide range of restaurants.

One of Valerie's ex-coworkers returned to work for the Kimpton Group, an organization which operates boutique hotels like this one, the Pacific Palisades Hotel (conveniently located right on Robson Street)

Since Valerie likes the more casual style of this type of hotel, she requested a peek at one of their rooms. I have to admit, this one bedroom unit has a very warm and welcoming feel.

The living area just seemed more fun (and was surprisingly large).

Apparently, creativity is really encouraged among the employees...quite a bit different than the very formal and structured Ritz-Carlton culture. If we didn't have the perks, we'd definitely pick this place over the Renaissance.