Vancouver, B.C., ...eh?

Another weekend in the Pacific wet coast. Since Canada is just a hundred miles north of Lynnwood, WA where I'm staying, I hit the I-5 to check out Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.

After what seemed like half of forever getting out of the Seattle metroplex, I eventually began to skirt along the edge of the Cascade mountains, seeing little villages nestled beside small clear lakes and vineyards.

Getting into Canada was a snap. A Canadian border patrol agent of mid east origin asked me if I had any alcohol, tobacco or firearms. He also asked if I had been communicating with anyone over the internet. "No, sir." After adjusting my GPS and rental car settings to metric units, I was then on my way.

It took a little getting used to seeing my speedometer registering 100 and not going all that fast and speed limit signs posting 60 inside neighborhoods but after a while it didn't matter.

I found that the fall colors were still intact but the grass all over the place was still a verdant green. One traditional thing I saw was the logs floating on the Fraser River. It never occurred to me that they still used that method to get them to the sawmills.

Downtown Vancouver was a blend of old town and high rise buildings. Just like any other city, there was the usual collection of oddities, bums sleeping on grates and tourists snapping pictures. Vancouver has a thriving Asian population that expands well out of the traditional Chinatown.

Stopping at an ATM, I wondered if I could get Canadian money with my card, but that was a piece of cake. The bank was more than happy to charge me $1.50 for the experience. Incidentally, with the devaluing of the US dollar, the exchange rate is only a cent or two difference. I remember when it was as much as 1:1.75. Not wanting to return with unused foreign cash, I would later remember to spend all my Canadian money with the exception of a couple of quarters and a Loonie.

I listened to Canadian politics on the radio but didn't seem near as heated as our own. The radio also reminded me that long lines back into the US was inevitable and should expect waiting times as much as an hour. Heading east along the river in intermittent rain, I eventually decide to turn back south toward one of the crossings and face the long wait which only turned out to be 45 minutes. I have to say, security on the American side (cameras, electronic sensors, etc.) scrutinizes you a little more than the Canadians.

Even though it is anther country, the appearance and experience might as well have been another city in the state of Washington.

Delta Airlines Attendants Reject Union

By Charles Riley, staff reporterNovember 4, 2010: 9:09 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Delta Air Lines says its flight attendants have voted to forego union representation.

Delta (DAL, Fortune 500), the Atlanta-based carrier that two years ago merged with Northwest Airlines, said late Wednesday it has received notification from the National Mediation Board that a majority of its flight attendants voted to reject representation by the Association of Flight Attendants.

***

While I think that was a wise decision, it still does not detract from my observation that Delta Airlines has a less than wonderful record for delays and baggage losses plus the employees can downright surly when it comes to customer service relations, especially in Atlanta.

Yesterday in Memphis, we sat at or near the gate for an hour while some kind of conversation between the pilot, the control tower and Delta management discussed whether or not we could depart. The first explanation said something about refueling but it was a short flight to Baton Rouge and seemed unlikely that they would have not figured that into the schedule. Later, the pilot announced that it involved the plane had to be connected to some kind of electrical unit.

After about 45 minutes, the temperature in the plane had probably risen close to 90° and several passengers had already began steaming and hurling insults at Delta in general and the poor old (yes, old) flight attendant in particular. The guy sitting beside me was wearing a pin stripe suit, a pair of 20 year older style P3 Luxotica tortoise shell glasses and fanning himself. Every few seconds he would give an exasperated sigh and fidget with his cuff-links. He eventually came out of the jacket and began frantically writing on his Blackberry which we were not supposed to be doing with the door on the aircraft closed.

The flustered flight attendant knew no more about why we weren't in the friendly skies than we did but she took the brunt of the insults from the irate seat holders. Even though I do have a pretty low opinion of Delta crew members in general, I truly felt sorry for her. (See Grace The Flight Attendant)

The lady across the row from me yelled, "Open the damned door!" Shortly before a full mutiny ensued, we felt the plane jerk and realize we were being pushed out onto the tarmac and eventually the flight lane. After we were in the air, the cabin temperature cooled as well as the emotions of the paying customers but we still arrived an hour late in Baton Rouge.

A couple of years ago, I was on a Delta flight sitting behind a guy that has spiked hair so extreme that the top of it touched the overhead baggage compartment and made the tallest spike bend over like a broken palm frond.

Finding that amusing, I pulled out my phone (in the airplane mode) and was about to take a picture when the flight attendant loudly proclaimed, "YOU CAN'T USE A CELL PHONE ON DIS AIRPLANE !"

"Yes Ma'am, I understand but this phone is on Airplane Mode", I politely answered.

"I don't care what kind of mode you have but I can plainly see it be a cell phone!"

"Yes Ma'am, it is a cell phone but I have the phone part disabled and using only the camera."

"I don't know nothing about no airplane mode and if you don't cut it off rat now, you gone be in big trouble!"

Realizing you have to pick your battles, I cut it off, muttered under my breath and fumed the remainder of the trip. That's just one of my many battles with the lovely and gracious people with Delta Airlines and can only imagine how much it would have accelerated had they voted to become a union shop.

Sandy Lake Michigan

Here I am in southwest Michigan, just a few miles north of Indiana. It's been somewhat windy since my arrival last weekend in St Joseph but I've enjoyed taking pictures of the Lake Michigan shoreline

St Joseph, MI is right on the shore and has some fantastic opportunities. I went down after work one afternoon and squeezed off a few frames. The wind was blowing steady and hard, carrying sand with it and felt like I was being sandblasted. Moreover, I was concerned about the Nikon.

The Weather Channel had quite a story on it and was broadcasting from Muskegon making it sound as if the entire lake was being blown onshore. It must have been a slow news day for the weather guys.

Saturday, I rode down into Indiana and checked out the Indiana (I never knew they existed) Dunes State and National Parks. I walked quite a bit on various beaches and climbed Mount Baldy, a huge sand dune. The 125 foot"climb" was pretty much a trail in soft sand that would make you pant for breath even if it was level. As it was, it gave me my cardio for the day.

I've spent a couple of winters in Michigan and hopefully, I'll be out of here soon as the temperature has been dropping into the mid thirties at night. A sure sign of colder times to come.

Gulf Coast Police Motorcycle Skills Championship

Leaving Seattle Friday, I received a call while at the airport directing me to St Joseph, Michigan and the catch was, I would have to be there Sunday. That meant any long weekend plans were now compressed into Saturday and Sunday morning. That would be seeing children, grandchildren and accomplishing a couple of minor "honey-do" items on the list.

Saturday was the 2010 Gulf Coast Motorcycle Championship Skills competition in Gonzales. There was a lot of great riding from officers all over the south. They were so good, I had the feeling I should just call a tow truck and have mine hauled home never to ride it again. These guys are simply good.

There was a small window of time that I took a long ride out of the way to Alligator Bayou to check out a gang of old friends. I'm pretty sure they would have loved for me to join them but the water looked a tad nasty.