Canadian Hockey Excursion II

Day 1 (Tuesday)

It was nearly like any normal day—awakening at 4:50 a.m. Except this day had more urgency to it. Shower, shave, dress. Get the last minute items into the suitcase. My son and I were heading to Newark Airport to start our second NHL/Devils hockey adventure.

The drive to the airport was easy. We went to the kiosk, retrieved our boarding passes and luggage tags, dropped off our two suitcases and made our through TSA-Pre-Check without any trouble. We were actually stunned that Air Canada didn’t charge us for our luggage. I could not recall if I had pre-paid that, but it was certainly enjoyable to not have to use my credit card that early.

Breakfast consisted of bagels and cream cheese, with water for me and juice for Brian. Before long we were on board the plane and, after the expected Newark Airport delay to takeoff, we headed to Toronto. 

The skies were cloudy over New York State, but parted as we headed over Lake Ontario towards Toronto. The route into Pearson International Airport takes the plane very close to downtown, so we could clearly see the CN Tower, all of the high rise buildings which adorn the waterfront and head inland, as well as the Air Canada Centre, where the Maple Leafs and Raptors play, and Rogers Centre, home to the Blue Jays. 

Upon landing, we scurried to the Domestic terminal to pass through Canadian customs. Which was a line of 300 plus individuals and families, setting us into a small panic, even though we had about an hour and a half before takeoff. The line inched along for a while, adding to our angst, until we were able to turn the corner and see that Canada felt that 3 agents would be sufficient for their needs. For crossing into Canada was a mere formality.

Once rid of that issue, we made it to our gate, bought our lunch and snack supplies, filled our bottles with water and headed out to Alberta. Which is a fairly long flight.

Much of the flight was unimpressive, except seeing Lake Superior covered with ice, passing nearby well-known hockey towns like Thunder Bay, Ontario, Saskatoon, Red Deer, Alberta and grabbing a well-earned hour nap.

Surprisingly, Edmonton has a very nice airport about a half hour south of the city. When we claimed our bags, we hailed an Uber for the trip into the city. As you travel into the city, the plains become less and the route shows the signs of a typical Canadian suburb, populated by fast food establishments, auto dealers and other essential services. There is plenty of oil-affiliated business in and around the town, as would be expected. The downtown is not huge, and there are a few high rise buildings, but not nearly on a par with Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.

After we worked out separately, my son and I found that within our hotel, the Westin Edmonton, the Share Restaurant was participating in “Downtown Dining Week.” The three course meal, at a cost of $30.00 CA each, was a tasting menu plus, and by far the best meal on the trip. The seared scallops in beet puree with squash and barley risotto and green onion was delectable. The entrees of Roast Cauliflower Steak and Pomegranate Chicken were equally delicious. Topping off this memorable meal was Saskatoon berry buckle with white chocolate ice cream. I still think of how good it tasted.

Day 2 (Wednesday)

Wednesday was a big day. My son had on his walking shoes and a route planned out for us. Fortunately, the weather, which just days earlier had included sub-zero temperatures, was more cooperative with a bright and sunny sky and temps in the 30’s, which created some icy and slushy conditions.,  We began by heading to the Alberta criminal courts. Would you have expected less from two attorneys? It was akin to a misdemeanor court. The most interesting event was when a counsellor entered a plea in absentia for his client and then a small fine was imposed.

We trekked past the Rogers Place, the modernistic new home of the Oilers, which replaced the Northlands Coliseum in 2016. On our northward journey to Nando’s, a fast food plus restaurant that my son loves from his semester in South Africa, we passed MacEwen University, a school built on the old CN Railway line headed to northern Alberta. Established in 1971, the school is quite sizable.

With my son fully sated with Nando’s chicken, we took leave and headed to the Alberta Parliament building some distance away. We toured the Ontario Parliament in 2016, so whenever we are in a city with a legislature, we head for the tour.

It is a beautiful building, modeled after the Minnesota State Capital in St. Paul and built in the early part of the 20th century. Among the quirky features inside are potted palm trees inside the dome area and a spot where the waters from the fountain below can be heard rushing through the pipes. We saw plenty of paintings of the Lieutenant-Governors and Premiers; a history of voting rights for women and the First Nation; a tour of the Legislative Assembly itself; a viewing of their ceremonial maces, swords, etc. which are ceremonial and necessary for the legislature to operate. When in session, there is a certain door which only the British monarch and a few individuals can enter, only upon three knocks and acceptance by the Lieutenant-General. The building reeked of history. We even had an incident when a member of our tour, a First Nation member, walked off the tour after recounting how the First Nation was so discriminated against in his youth in Edmonton; he recalled that signs at the doors to restaurants clearly said “no dogs and Indians.”

Our choice for dinner was the chain Old Spaghetti Factory nearby the arena. Heavily populated by Oilers partisans, my son in his red Devils jersey clearly stood out. The dining review: lousy food.

Rogers Place is state of the art and gorgeous. I liked it even better than the Air Canada Center and the Prudential Center. The fans are nice and knowledgeable. It is big league in its amenities and atmosphere. A first rate hockey environment.

The Oilers try to make the game day experience ultra fan friendly. From the multi-page free game day magazine to the pre-game flash mob light show, the fans are part of the entertainment. The same goes with the intermissions. There is DJ music, loud and hip; drumming; a mascot. Something for everyone.

While the crowd was predominantly dressed orange or blue Oilers jerseys or shirts, small pockets of Devils fans were there, clad in the home red New Jersey uniform.

The Edmonton faithful came expecting a win against the lowly Devils, having come off an impressive win two night earlier against Vancouver, while Jersey had been trounced by Calgary 9-4 one night before. There was a fight early in the first period which set the tone for a physical contest. Edmonton superstar Connor Mc David, flashed his moves and collected two assists in helping Edmonton take an early lead. Those two assists put Mc David over100 points for the season, an impressive feat over a very average team.

An early Oilers lead was overcome by the Devils dominating the second and third periods. Playing a smart and tough style of hockey, coupled with a porous goaltending effort by Edmonton, the Devils prevailed 6-3 behind scoring from New Jersey native Kenny Agostino who, along with Damon Severson and Kevin Rooney, tallied a goal and and an assist. The Oilers faithful in the nearly full arena which seats over 18,000 was sent into the cool Edmonton evening grumbling and grousing abut the team’s lack of effort.

At the Westin we quickly rejoiced over a surprisingly easy Devils victory, a nearly 27,000 step day with new highs in steps, calories burnt and exercise according to my Apple Watch. Then it was time for sleep; we had a noontime flight to Vancouver on Thursday.

Day 3 (Thursday)

Another Uber ferried us to Edmonton, where we had breakfast, picked up lunch and snacks, and boarded our Air Canada plane for the next leg of the journey—Vancouver. A much shorter flight over the spectacular Canadian Rockies deposited us at the Vancouver airport, where there was a coolness in the cloudy day, but without snow on the ground.

With some minimal difficulties in arranging payment for the train into the city (we learned that, for at least the train kiosks, US debit cards are treated as credit cards), we made it to downtown and another Westin. The reason we chose Westin hotels on the trip was based on location—both were in reasonable walking distance to the arenas and in Edmonton, that was where the Devils were staying, along with a horde of tall young women, in town for the Canadian collegiate volleyball championships at the University of Alberta. 

Both of us exercised separately, then we decided, with some effort, to locate a Japanese restaurant which would be suitable for my son’s more experiential palate and my narrower tastes. We hiked through a rainy, bustling city of high-rise buildings ad people venturing out for the evening to our destination. 

My son elected a number of sushi items for his meal. I chose chicken teriyaki and California roll for myself. While the meal overall was tasty—especially the sushi—the teriyaki was breaded and fried, to my surprise. After returning to the hotel, we opted for some Dairy Queen for dessert—my son had a shake and I had a cup of vanilla soft ice cream.

Day 4 (Friday)

I know I was in trouble when I awoke to an upset stomach. I confused hunger pangs with what would later disable me. Since it was my late father’s 100th birthday, we had decided that our meals would be a bagel and lox for breakfast and a Chinese lunch. 

It took us some effort to locate the bagel place we wanted. The whole wheat “bagel” was definitely not a New York-style bagel, but it was most enjoyable. Except that, even with the water I brought with me to wash it down, the ingesting of this breakfast only enhanced my stomach’s woes.

We had a solid morning agenda, with a trip to the waterfront, the adjacent, quaint Gastown and its unique steam clock and then over the water to the Olympic Village. Even with utilizing the rails for part of the trip, we logged 13,000 steps that morning. 

As we hit the the hotel, I was finished. I had to lie down. I was weak, nauseous, and tired. I slept the majority of the afternoon, while my son alighted to the Vancouver Nando’s, which he found to be disappointing compared to his Edmonton Nando’s meal. I was more interested in surviving.

He left me for more sightseeing, and I made it to the bathroom on numerous occasions, hoping to vomit out the trouble that I had ingested and to try to get some fluid inside of me, as I had severely dehydrated. I threw up mucous, which helped me break a sweat, which is a usual sign that I was recovering. Except that I felt even lousier. 

The two lawyers negotiated a deal—if I could keep a bowl of soup down, I could attend the game that night. Brian went to dinner on his own. We tried to separate our hockey tickets, but Ticketmaster was giving us all sorts of trouble in that department. 

I decided that I had to go to the game—that was the reason why we were in British Columbia—and it was two days before his 34th birthday and I could not disappoint Brian. Summoning up all out all of my strength, I made it to the adjacent IGA Supermarket and purchased a cup of chicken with wild rice soup. In front of my son, I somehow kept the broth, rice and vegetables down and I pronounced myself fit to attend the game. I knew I was lying to myself, and I swore that I would take a period by period approach to the contest.

Even if the walk was only a couple of blocks, it felt like a marathon. We entered the Rogers Arena, the home of the Canucks and where the Canadians defeated our US team to take home the men’s hockey gold medal in 2010. My son still despises Sidney Crosby for scoring the game winner.

I purchased a Gatorade, a bottle of water and a soft pretzel, which would prove to be the second part of dinner. Unlike Edmonton, the inside of the arena is not as new and there are railings to lean on—a throwback to the old Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. The Canucks had all of the bells and whistles needed to attract the younger crowd plus marching drum corps. Of course, there were plenty of Canucks shirts, but the number of Devils gear grew and some of the people were familiar, which surprised my son, who thought we were crazy to undertake this venture.

Gnawing at my pretzel and drinking my Gatorade, I watched the teams battle through a scoreless first period. The Canucks, fighting for a playoff berth just like the Oilers, looked listless.

During the second period, the Canucks came to life, tallying twice and making the Devils look like they were not going to score on this evening. The second period ended with New Jersey in deep trouble.

Somehow, the Devils came to life with about 6 minutes left in the game, scoring twice to tie the score, and stunning the late arriving, date night, beer guzzling younger crowd. (For the record, hockey fans everywhere drink beer, but the Canadian fans love their Molson). After completing a 5 minute, 3 on 3 overtime session, a thrilling 8 round shootout was won by the Devils, giving them the win and sending the Canucks fans in pursuit of other activities to wash away the bad loss.

For us, we had two surprising wins. For me, I was very happy that I made it through the game and back to the hotel. I felt like crap and we had a 5:30 wake up call for our return flight to Newark.

Day 5 (Saturday)

I had a bad night’s sleep, sweating and awakening multiple times. My stomach was still queasy, but I had no choice to soldier on to the airport. Encountering more trouble with the train ticket kiosks, somehow, with the assistance of a polite railway agent, we were able to enter the US and International terminal. Which was a madhouse. 

Brian deftly maneuvered himself to a spot where we could secure our travel documents and get our bags checked. From there we separated, as I had Global Entry and he didn’t. I made it past security without issue. The US Customs kiosk was slightly balky when scanning my passport, but in the end, I was though to the gate and I eventually met Brian. The best we could do was get a greasy croissant sandwich from Burger King for breakfast and a turkey on whole wheat for my lunch in the little time we had left before boarding the massive Air Canada Boeing 787 headed to Newark.

I valiantly tried to remain awake to take in the sights. The Canadian Rockies wee even more magnificent with their snow cover. We flew over much of lower Alberta, entering the US airspace in eastern Montana. Everything was snow covered, but I was able to discern Minneapolis and St.Paul, Milwaukee, Lake Michigan. We made one short return to Canadian airspace east of Detroit before heading along the New York-Pennsylvania border and into the New York Metropolitan area.

Our landing was a bit bumpy due to some wind at Newark. After retrieving our baggage after a long wait to dismount the gigantic plane, I was very happy to seem wife as she sat in our Toyota outside Terminal A. 

Brian went on to a party in Hoboken and celebrated his birthday in New Jersey. I surprised my wife with a Chinese dinner, a day late to honor my father. I was finished with the egg drop soup, but I managed to have some of the chow mein and egg foo young, staples of my childhood. 

I had every intention of watching the Golden State Warriors play the Oklahoma City Thunder. My man cave couch said too bad, and I slept through about four-fifths of the game won by Golden State. Staying up solely to text Brian birthday wishes, I went out like a light @ 12:15 a.m…and slept most of Sunday.

Postscript (Tuesday)

I still have the crappy illness and and the gas and discomfort. I am no longer nauseous but I have had difficulty enjoying what I am eating and my sleep patterns are in disarray, having slept the majority of Sunday but little since then. My nephrologist believes that it is an airplane-derived illness, which is apparently quite common. I am not so sure this malady wasn’t from the Japanese food and the bagel, too. 

Brian is now 34 and back at work. Besides seeing my friendly nephrologist, I had 5 needles injecting pain relievers into the area around my soleus tendon and fibula. I am grounded for a couple of days. The Devils reverted to their former ways and were shut out 3-0 by Colorado to end their road trip. They are home this week against Washington and Boston. 

Just as well. It was a very worthwhile whirlwind 60 hours of sightseeing, extensive travel, Canadian food and, most of all, two New Jersey Devils victories. I am in need of some time to recover. In 17 days my wife and I are off to New Orleans to visit our daughter and to take in the Golden State Warriors game against the Pelicans.