Las Vegas - Day 1: Checking in and clearing US immigration at Vancouver Airport

I am usually a night person but for some reason, both my husband and I were quite tired by 10 pm on Friday evening (a day before the trip). It was the first time that we both decided to sleep and pack the next morning. (Our flight was at 10 am the next day).

It was a good thing that we both woke up @ 6 am before the alarm even rang. We finished packing in 30 mins and even had time to have a leisurely breakfast and surfed the internet before leaving for the airport @ 7:30 am. If only we could this up for the next few days, we would be up bright and early for our drive to Grand Canyon.

Donald Duck @ YVR

We tried to do online check-in from the WestJet website but were unable to complete the transaction. I suspect that it was due to the fact that I was carrying a Singapore passport instead of a Canadian passport and require an ESTA authorization. The WestJet online check-in system was not able to verify if I had a valid ESTA.

Mickey Mouse @ YVR

Checking in at the Vancouver was easy except that we had a new WestJet staff checking us in and he could not figure out how to check on the ESTA status for me and instead of giving us boarding passes with 2 different names (my husband's and mine), he gave us boarding passes both with my husband's name. Always check the names and flight details on the boarding passes. Of course, we did not check and we were happily dropping off our baggage at the baggage drop off area when the airport staff realized the mistake (fortunately the check-in baggage was tagged to my name and I did not have a boarding pass) and sent us back to the check-in counter to get that corrected.

I was glad that we cleared the US immigration at the Vancouver airport. There was hardly any queue and the immigration officer was extremely friendly. It made us wonder if he was Canadian. He even checked and told us that as a Canadian Permanent Resident, I could apply for NEXUS too. I just assumed that NEXUS was only for Canadian and American Citizens. It would be so much faster to clear the US-Canadian Border to go shopping at Seattle Premium Outlet in the future.

Pluto @ YVR

While waiting at the Vancouver airport before we board the flight, we checked out an interesting collection of Disney Characters - Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goody and Pluto.

Goofy @ YVR

We were contemplating if we should buy some sandwiches for the flight. After our last surprise on Air Canada last November from Vancouver to Toronto (food was available for purchase on the flight but by the time the flight attendant got to us, there was nothing left), we decided to buy the C$7.99+ Turkey Sandwiches at the airport before we board the flight. It was a good decision as those Turkey sandwiches were surprisingly good.  The counter was just in front of the gate for our flight to Las Vegas, so do grab the Turkey sandwich before you board.