After our stay at the Holiday Inn Burnaby for the Stargate convention we moved to downtown Vancouver for a couple of days. Since we have had great stays at all of the Holiday Inns we have stayed in so far, we decided to stay at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Vancouver Downtown at 1110 Howe St.

The cost for the 2 days was $104 for the first night and $137 for the second. We booked it a couple of days before we intended to leave Burnaby.

Trying to save on yet another taxi fare, we decide to catch the Skytrain from Burnaby to downtown Vancouver. Fortunately, the Skytrain leaves from right outside our hotel but we also have our luggage with us and we have to consider whether there will be a heap of stairs to contend with. We decide to take the risk and check out of our Burnaby hotel and head to the 2nd floor which has direct access to the Skytrain.

We find one set of stairs before we even get to the Skytrain station but we manage and head through the overpass to get to the ticket machines. It will be 2 zones to get us to downtown Vancouver so it will cost us $3.75 each.

We head to the station and since the signs are well posted we are easily able to determine which side of the platform to catch the train from.

The trains arrive every few minutes so we don’t have to wait long before we are on our way.

We had checked Google Maps the day before and found that Granville station was the closest stop to the Holiday Inn Downtown Vancouver. The trip takes about 15 minutes and once on arrival we drag our luggage off the train and start the trek to our hotel.

Of course the directions from Google Maps are no real help since we get out of the station at a totally different exit and we are already disorientated. After going into a store to ask someone for directions to Howe St ,we are once again on our way.

Unfortunately, it is raining and cold and after walking close to a mile with our luggage we arrive at the hotel feeling a little sad and sorry for ourselves. Fortunately, however, we are given a room straight away, even though we are a little early for check-in. The young lady behind the counter is friendly and helpful and provides us with a map of Vancouver.

As we are Priority Club members we are given a few extra benefits including designated parking closest to the main entrance, complimentary appetizers in Medleys Lounge (on the lobby level) between 4-6pm on weekdays, a daily newspaper delivered to our door and complimentary local phone calls.

It is well worth becoming a Priority Club member. It’s free and you can rack up points to use for free accommodation.

We head up to our room on the 5th floor (#529). The lift is not very big and with us and our luggage it is just about full.

Our room is not particularly close to the lift but we do pass another lift before we get to our room. We do end up trying this lift at another time but find it is just as easy to walk the extra distance to use the main lift.

The room looks like a typical Holiday Inn room. This is a good thing as so far we have loved our time at each of the Holiday Inns we have stayed at.

The room is a double with two double beds that are very comfortable. Both have clean fresh linen and a padded mattress. There are four pillows on each bed. Two are labelled ’soft’ and the other two ‘firm’.

In the room is a tv cabinet with a 26in tv, a desk and chair, a padded lounging chair with foot rest and a mini-bar fridge hidden in a wood cabinet. On top of the cabinet is a 4 cup coffee maker with coffee and tea bags. There is also a bottle of water but at a cost of $3.50 per bottle, we decide to give this a miss.

The mini-bar is sealed but has a key to open it. Since the contents of most hotel mini-bars is way overpriced we don’t bother opening it.

Next to the lounging chair is a small table with an ice bucket and 3 glasses. We later find the ice machine near the lift. There is also a Coke machine with drinks at $1.25 each. This seems really cheap to us but when we have lunch the next day at a Food Court we buy a bottle of water and a can of Coke for $1.05 each. Not sure why Vancouver has such cheap drinks but we aren’t complaining.

The bathroom is relatively small with only a bathtub with shower and a toilet. The sink is separate from the bathroom, which I personally don’t like but we have seen this sort of set up in a number of hotels we have stayed at. The bathroom has a lockable door but the sink area is open.

In the alcove where the sink is situated is a hair dryer, a kettle for boiling water, an ironing board and iron and open hanging space. There is also a metal folding luggage rack.

Lighting in the room is okay - we are yet to find a hotel room with really good lighting. The bathroom, entryway and sink area have ceiling lighting while the rest of the room is lit by lamps.

Noise wasn’t too much of a problem. Street noise wasn’t too bad and we couldn’t hear people in the rooms on either side of us. The main noise came from doors shutting and people talking as they walked past the rooms. When other guests closed their doors they would often bang loudly and reverberate through the room.

This Holiday Inn provides free wireless internet. We were hoping for wired internet as it is much more stable. We didn’t have a problem connecting initially. It was just a matter of opening up a browser window and the Holiday Inn connection page opened up. We needed a code to get access and had to ring the front desk for this as it wasn’t anywhere to be seen in the room. We found the connection wasn’t good at all - it was slow and would constantly drop out.

This hotel has a coin operated laundry on level CD which must be accessed with a room key. There are 2 washing machines in the room and 2 dryers. We went to the front desk for change and they were happy to provide it. Both the washer  and the dryer cost $1.50 each to use and soap powder is also available for 75c per load. We found that the dryer didn’t dry our clothes enough so we had to put in another $1.50.

We found the room to be clean and well maintained. Housekeepking did a thorough job of cleaning the room each day.

One thing we don’t like is the lack of safe in the room. We carry a laptop with us so we like to lock this up when we leave the room. Leaving it with the front desk to lock up in the hotel safe is possible but not very convenient.

The view isn’t terribly spectacular. Just a city street and plenty of buildings. There is a small balcony but it was too cold for us to be out there.

The hotel is in a convenient position but it isn’t right in the city centre. It took us about 15 minutes to walk from the main shopping street back to our hotel however, it was an easy walk. We are just around the corner from the entertainment area which includes a large number of adults only shops.

There are plenty of places to eat near the hotel. We ate across the road for breakfast one morning and for dinner we ate in the hotel restaurant downstairs. The food was absolutely delicious and reasonably priced.

We took advantage of the hop-on, hop-off bus which has a stop across the road from the hotel. It cost us $35 for two days. This takes you to the main sites around Vancouver and you can get on and off at the various stops on the way. It was a shame that it was too cold and wet for us to get off the bus to look around.

This week we attended the Stargate Convention in Burnaby, Vancouver. We purchased the Preferred Weekend Package for the event which wasn’t as good as the Gold Package but unfortunately it was a last minute idea to attend and the Gold tickets were sold out. The Preferred Package got us a reserved ticket (albeit down the back of the hall), complimentary autographs by most of the stars attending and a tour of the Stargate set at Bridge Studios.

There were also a number of extra activities like the Chocolate Fantasy Welcoming Bingo Party with Dan Shea and David Palffy as the bingo callers and the Happy Hours on the Thursday and Friday nights. These were either at an extra cost or included free in the Gold Package so we didn’t attend any of these.

Day One 

So our day starts at 2pm on Thursday April 3rd, where host, Adam Malin introduces the first of the music video’s that have been submitted by fans of the show, after which he introduces Dan Shea to tumultuous applause from the crowd.

This is a question and answer time for each of the guests plus they have time to share stories about their time on the show.

Dan Shea - stunt co-ordinator in 213 episodes of Stargate from 1997 -2007 and he also doubled for Richard Dean Anderson in 177 episodes from 1997 - 2007.   Dan also acted as Sgt Siler and carries with him the wrench that is engraved with his characters name.  He has performed stunts in 59 episodes of Stargate Atlantis (2004-2007) and doubled for Richard Dean Anderson in 4 episodes from 2004 - 2006. His stunt work can also be seen on Pirates of the Caribbean -Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and X Men: The Last Stand (2006), I Robot (2004), Fantastic Four (2005), Scary Movie 4 (2004) and the Pink Panther where he doubled for Steve Martin are among a long list of movies he has been involved in.  

Dan Shea is very funny and informative (and almost manic at times) and in no time at all his 45 minutes of stage time comes to an end.

David Palffy - Played Anubis and Sokar on Stargate SG-1. David had the audience in stitches with his stories about wearing the black sock over his face as part of his costume. 

After David’s stint on stage, which was very entertaining, there were more music videos and a no minimum auction.  We weren’t going to bid on anything because of the lack of room in our suitcases and the posters were going for some pretty fancy prices. Then a poster with double photos of Michael Shanks as Daniel Jackson was put up and for some reason bidding stalled at $150.00, so I put my hand up just for the fun of having a bid and thinking this item would be like the others and go for much more, when all of sudden the poster was knocked down to me. So now we have a 1.5 metre poster to carry around with us.  We went to Staples and brought a couple of tubes to pack the poster in and we had to take the poster back on Sunday when Michael was appearing so that he could sign it.  An absolute bargain and I am delighted.

Once the auction finished it was time for the next guest to take the stage.  Adam comes to the stage to announce that Alexis Cruz won’t be available until the next day as he has been held up in the States.  So Dan Shea takes the stage in his place and is once again entertaining and amusing.

At 6:15pm patrons were called row by row to receive autographs on a complimentary basis from David while Dan signed for those who had purchased autograph tickets. 

Now this process of getting autographs takes a long time, in fact we waited around 2 hours for our row to be called. We were in row ‘O’ which was the second to last row in the room. 

We haven’t paid for any of the photo opportunities this time around. So we wandered around the prop room museum where we see Adria’s dresses, the Book of the Ori, Valla’s Ori bed, Apophis’s uniform and various other weaponary and costumes, there is also a puppet of Thor. Unfortunately, we are unable to share any of our photos as they had a sign up saying that any photos taken were for private use only.

Day 2

The convention starts at 12:00pm today and begins again with a music video submitted by a fan. Then it is time for the first guest of the day.

Alex Zahara - who played a number of roles on Stargate SG-1  (9 different roles in all) such as an Alien leader, Eggar, Iron Shirt, Michael, Warrick, Shy One and Xe’Ls.  One of my favourite episodes with Alex is when he played the hippy in the episode ‘1969′ where  a solar flare sends SG1 back in time to 1969.  One think we learnt from Alex is that when you go camping in bear country and you finish cooking, make sure you remove all your clothes and put them in a container well away from your tent.  The smell of food will bring bears looking for something to eat so the last thing you want to do is have anything that attracts them to you.  Another thing is that if moose come into the camp area, keep perfectly still as moose see the outline of tents as a solid object and will go around them.

James Bamford - or Bam Bam as he is known as, is a stunt co-ordinator on Stargate Atlantis and is proficient at martial arts and is skilled in the use of the staff. Bam Bam also performed and choreographered stunts on SG-1. He was also stunt co-ordinator on ‘Sanctuary’ and a stunt soldier on ‘Alien versus Predator’. James pays tribute to Heath Ledger which was a nice gesture.

Kavan Smith - Major Lorne on  both SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.

Alexis Cruz - Skaara/Klorel on Stargate SG-1. Alexis played the part of Skaara in the original Stargate movie in 1994 and reprised this role for 5 episodes of the series from 2000 to 2003. Not wanting to be tied to a series, Alexis opted to not appear regularly in the series and this gave him the opportunity to also play the part of Rafael in 16 episodes of the series ‘Touched by an Angel’ from 1997-2003. In 2007, Alexis played the part of Martin Allende in the series ‘Shark’. 

Alexis is great to listen to and more than makes up for his late appearance.

Autographs were available on a complimentary basis from James Bamford and Kavan Smith and Alex Zahara signed for those with autograph tickets.  Once again we have a long, long, wait for our row to be called.

At around 9pm there is a Cabaret with Alexis Cruz followed by James Bamford and Joseph Momoa.  There is a warning in the itinerary stating that Alexis’ performance is for adults only.

He takes the stage in three different acts, portraying latino’s in various stereotyped roles.  The performance is confronting, funny and thought provoking and can be likened to the show in Australia ‘Wogs out of Work’.

This performance is followed by James Bamford and one of his stuntmen. They show their style with sword fighting and stunt work. Jason Momoa has been held up but he arrived part way through the performance and they show how a sword fight is choreographed and taught to an actor.

Day 3

Today is what we have been waiting for. As fantastic as it is to meet the stars and hear about their time on Stargate and what they are doing now, today we go to the Bridge St studio to see the sets used in both SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.

The tours start at 6:30am and run throughout the morning but we have chosen 9:45am for our tour.  We all line up in the foyer of the Hilton Hotel waiting to board the buses. It is raining and bitterly cold so we are more than happy to hop on the bus where the driver has turned on the heating for the trip out to the studio.

We are met by Martin Gero - Writer/Producer in the parking lot and after a quick introduction on what we are about to see, we thankfully head inside. Once again we are unable to bring you any photos of this trip as we signed a waiver so you will just have to take my word that it was all totally awesome.

Apparently, part of the set originally was constructed for the movie Blade 3 and it was going to cost them a $250,000 to pull it down so the Stargate franchise brought the set from them for $1.00 - a win-win situation for both parties.

We pass through the first part of the building where there are various props set up and then we come across the Stargate Atlantis set and the stairs that lead up to Weir’s office and the control rooms. It is just amazing to be standing there in the middle of it all.

As we continue through the massive building we passed through the village used in Stargate Atlantis. As Martin explained, the village set is so large that it means they have to employ more extras to fill it for a crowd scene as if they use the 75 people that are usually available the set looks empty.

Next comes the bridge of the ‘Prometheus’ where the group takes turns at sitting in the ‘Captains chair’ for photos and then strolling around the set which is also used for the Daedalus and Aurora simply by having a color change to the perspex guidance panels.

Then it is onto the room where the ‘puddle jumper ’ is housed.  We all take turns to climb in for photo ops and pretend we are flying through the gate to other worlds.

Now comes the biggest thrill for SG1 fans - the set of the SG1 stargate where Dan Shea and Gary Jones are waiting by the Stargate for photo ops. After going up the stairs to check out the boardroom and General Hammond’s office we are ushered down to the gateroom for photos.

Paula and I decide to have a joint photo so the photographer takes two photos, so that we each get to stand next to Dan and then Gary.

Then it is back out into the cold and onto the buses to return to the Hilton Hotel.

This has been an amazing visit as anyone who is a fan of a show will realise. Seeing the set and knowing that you have walked in the areas where your favourite stars have walked and worked helps you appreciate the show even more, if that is at all possible.

The buses arrive back in time for lunch and another no minimum bid auction. Then it is time for todays first guest:

Corin Nemec - played Jonas Quinn for 26 episodes of Stargate SG1. I have to say that I loved Corin’s character when he joined the SG1 team when Michael Shanks took a break. He has lost weight since his Stargate days and looks great.

The audience is then treated to a few scenes from the new Stargate movie ‘Continuum’ which looks awesome.  This is the World Premier screening of the promo so it is a great thrill for us all to see. I am at a loss as to understand why the Stargate movies aren’t released into theatres instead of being released straight on DVD.  The acting and the storylines are so good and I am sure the Stargate franchise would extend it’s fan base enormously. The clips are presented by:-

Brad Wright - Co creator, writer and Producer and
Martin Wood - Executive Producer/Director.

After giving us the sneak peaks at the upcoming movie and giving away just a few spoilers, the pair graciously agreed to sign autographs.

This actually created a little bit of a drama as the queue was so long we all had to line up outside in the freezing cold. The line snaked around the patio area and took quite some time for everyone to finally get back inside to the table where the guys were signing  their autographs.  Being in the line meant we missed the Q & A for Chuck Campbell - the Technician in 38 episodes of Stargate Atlantis from 2005 to 2008 and 1 episode of Stargate in 2006 and Martin Gero -Producer, Co-Executive Producer, Co Producer, Creative consultant, Writer, Story Editor.  We had spent the morning with Martin and would have liked to have heard his talk but we had made the choice to get Brad and Martin’s autographs.

Gary Jones - Chief Harriman on Stargate SG1. A really nice guy and very funny. He had been up since the crack of dawn to get to the Stargate set in time for the tour photographs and it was now 5:30pm when he was on stage to entertain us all about his time on Stargate. Gary says he sat in the chair for 10 years saying things like “It’s SGC’s IDC, sir”  and that he still doesn’t know what that means to this day.  He thought he would get to leave the chair in the episode, Avatar, where Teal’c is trapped in a virtual reality game and a Kull Soldier invades the Gateroom and kills Captain O’Neil and Harriman, who is told to just swivel in the chair and die. So even in this episode he was unable to leave the chair to die gracefully elsewhere.

Jason Momoa - Ronon Dex in Stargate Atlantis. Born in Hawaii, Jason has appeared in 58 episodes of Stargate Atlantis during the 2005-2008 period.  He was Frankie Seau in 21 episodes of ‘North Shore’ from 2004-2005 and he also appeared in ‘Baywatch’ for 21 episodes from 1999 to 2001.  Jason performs many of his own stunts which are choreographed by James ‘Bam Bam’ Bamford. He mentioned that even today he is noticed more for his role on Baywatch than for Stargate.

Complimentary autographs for today are with Jason Momoa, Gary Jones and Corin Nemec and this process is due to start at 7pm, so once again we have a late night and our row is finally called at around 10:30pm. Chuck Campbell is signing for those who have brought an autograph ticket. So this has been a long day for both fans and stars and we are very grateful that they have given up their time to meet and greet with the fans.

There is a costume competition and the winner is dressed as an Ori Prior. And later there is a Celebrity Dessert Party for Gold Patrons exclusively.

Day 4

Sunday is the last day of the Convention and there are NORCO tours for those fans who have purchased tickets and then 20 lucky fans are having lunch with Michael Shanks and Lexa Doig and being taken to a secret location. We find out later that these 20 fans got to see a full screening of Continuum which is being released in July.

We have opted to meet up with James Martell, author of the Affiliate Marketers Handbook, his wife Arlene and two of his children Adam and Victoria. We have arranged to meet at the White Spot Restaurant. It is once again a miserable cold rainy day so we walk through Metrotown in an attempt to keep a little dry as of course we don’t have umbrella’s and raincoats.  It is close to 2 miles from the Holiday Inn and would have been a nice walk on a sunny day. 

We are students of James and follow his methods in our Affiliate Marketing business. The main purpose of this trip was to attend the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas in February, but as we are both avid Stargate fans we decided to stay on and attend the Stargate Convention in April as well.  So this has been a lengthy trip and one that we couldn’t have done without the Affiliate Marketing business which allows us to continue our business as we travel around as long as we have our laptop.

Lunch is very pleasant and the food is delicious, Adam has waffles with blueberries and the rest of us have hamburgers and fries.

All too soon the meal comes to an end and after we part company, Paula and I head back to the Convention in time to catch the last of the auctions in which everything is going for very high prices.  Bruce Woloshyn - Digital Effects Supervisor, Rainbow Sun Francks - Lt Aiden Ford on Stargate Atlantis and John Smith - Executive Producer, have all completed their Q & A sessions and it is now time for:-

Michael Shanks - Dr Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG1 for 197 episodes between 1997-2007. Michael’s role as Daniel Jackson was played by James Spader in the movie ‘Stargate’.  Michael is married to Lexa Doig (who had a supporting role in Stargate playing Dr Carolyn Lam) and has two children with her, Mia Tabitha and Samuel David, he also has a daughter named Tatiana with Vaitiarie Bandera, who played Daniel’s wife Sha’re on Stargate.

Lexa Doig - Dr Carolyn Lam. Lexa became the resident doctor on Stargate after Dr Janet Fraiser, played by Teryl Rothery, was killed in the episode ‘Heroes’.  Lexa is a little nervous at the start of her appearance but soon warms up to the audience who are very fond of her and help her to feel more at ease by talking about her life with Michael and her children.

It is autograph time again but this time we don’t have to wait until our row is called. At last we are able to go to the front of the queue for the autographs as I purchased a poster at the auction and got priority placement in the queue.  We are also able to have our complimentary autographs done by Michael and Lexa at the same time and then we join the queue for Rainbow Sun and before long we have all our autographs and are able to head off back to the hotel.

This has been an amazing weekend for us and we thoroughly recommend the experience for all Stargate fans. Next time we will only go if we can get Gold Passes as the wait for autographs is much shorter.  So we will try again for the 2009 Convention.

While we were attending the Stargate convention in Vancouver we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Burnaby. We had tried to book into the Hilton Hotel which is where the convention was being held but it was booked out.

Fortunately, the Holiday Inn is within a few minutes walk to the Hilton so it still worked out well.

Getting to Burnaby wasn’t as easy as we thought. Most airports have shuttle buses but when we got to Vancouver airport the only transportation available was a bus that only went to Downtown Vancouver. The lady at the information booth recommended a taxi and told us it would cost between $40 and $50. We walked out of the terminal and noticed a sign for limousine services and asked the attendent how much it would cost to get to our hotel in Burnaby. She quoted $50 for a stretch limousine. We immediately said yes to this as it was going to be a lot more room and a lot more fun in a limo.

We got to the hotel about 30 minutes later and made our way to the counter to check in. The lobby is quite impressive for a Holiday Inn with marble floors, chandeliers and some comfortable couches.

Check-in was smooth and the staff behind the counter very friendly and helpful. They provided us with a page of recommended eating places in the area complete with directions and a mini-map of the area. We are also given a piece of paper that explains breakfast times and where the breakfast room is located and also where the pool, laundromat and fitness room can be found. This piece of paper also has the wireless internet user name and password on the back.

We head up to our room on the 4th floor (#409) and upon entering the room realise that yes, we are in a Holiday Inn room. We have stayed in a number of them during our trip to the US and Canada and they are all relatively similar. We kind of breathe a sigh of relief as we know that this will be a nice stay as have all our Holiday Inn stays so far.

We have a double room with two queen beds with nice comfortable padded mattresses and clean white fresh linen and four pillows on each bed.

The rest of the room is made up of a tv cabinet with a 26in tv, a desk with a padded office chair and a padded lounge chair. There is also a microwave and a mini-fridge. We loved this as we were able to buy frozen dinners when we didn’t feel like eating out.

The room has an air conditioner/heater although it didn’t heat up very well even though we had it on the highest setting possible. It was relatively quiet and didn’t annoy us at all.

Speaking of noise, we found the room to be very quiet. We never heard anyone from the connecting rooms, however we could hear doors slamming from the hallway on occasion. We never heard any noise from the street below.

Lighting in the room was okay. It was lit by various lamps in the room and was adequate for our needs.

Storage space was fairly standard with four drawers under the tv cabinet and open hanging space at the entrance way.

There are two mirrors in the main room - one over the desk and a full length mirror on the wall. The bathroom also has a large mirror over the sink.

Between the beds was a cupboard with a lamp, clock radio and a phone.

The bathroom  is a good size and includes a bathtub with a shower, a toilet and a sink. Next to the sink there is a 4 cup coffee maker, two glass mugs, paper cups and of course coffee. We were never left any tea so we took tea bags at breakfast to take back to our room. On the other side of the sink was an ice bucket and two glasses.

Toiletries in the bathroom included shampoo, conditioner and soap. There is also a hair dryer in the room.

Most Holiday Inns provide free internet access. We prefer wired access as it is usually more stable but this hotel only has wireless. As expected we found the connection to be a bit erratic. We had a good connection most of the time but every now and then it would just drop out and one night it just wouldn’t work at all. Still, it was free so we weren’t complaining.

Breakfast is complimentary and was available in the breakfast room on the 2nd floor. It included bacon or sausage patties and mini omelettes. There are also biscuits, boiled eggs, yoghurt, cereals, bread and bagels and of course various juices and tea an coffee.

One of the other great things about this hotel is the coin laundry on the 3rd floor. From our room we just had to walk down the stairs that were right outside our room to get to it.

The laundry room is only small and you need to have your room key to get into it. It only has one washing machine, one dryer and a dispensing machine with soap powder.

The washing machine costs $1.50 and the dryer costs the same. The dryer takes 60 minutes. The powder also costs $1.50 but we went and bought some from the dollar shop. If you need quarters just ask at the front desk.

The view from our room was of the street below and also across to the Sky Train.

The hotel is in an excellent position with the Sky Train opposite (that takes you Downtown) and a bus terminal right next door. It is also conveniently connected to BC’s largest shopping complex, Metropolis at Metrotown which is a massive (and we mean massive) shopping mall that has just about every shop imaginable and a large food court. In fact there are over 500 shops and services, 16 theatres, restaurants and more. 

Overall we had a great stay at this hotel and we would definitely stay here again.

Our Rating of the  Holiday Inn Express Vancouver-Metrotown (Burnaby):

Checking in and out 5/5
Room 4/5
Position 5/5
Price 4/5 
Cleanliness 4.5/5

We booked this package directly through the Holiday Inn  website.

After leaving San Diego to head to Vancouver for the Stargate Convention, we learned one valuable lesson, pack something to eat on the plane as they only serve drinks. 

We arrive at Vancouver airport and decide to take a limousine to the hotel, mainly because it is only slightly dearer than a taxi and if we take a shuttle, we have to change buses or transfer to the Skytrain as we are going to Burnaby.

So we feel pretty special arriving at the Holiday Inn in our sleek black limo.

After booking in and dropping off our bags we head over to the really huge shopping area next to the hotel to grab some lunch before heading off to find the Hilton Hotel where the convention is being staged.  Metrotown has a great range of foods available in the foodhall and we settle on a couple of chicken meals.

Then it’s off to find the Hilton which much to our delight is just around the corner from the Holiday Inn. Brilliant, we thought we would have a long walk each day so we are more than happy at how close the two hotels are.

There is a very, very long queue when we arrive to register so we go for a walk around the shops attached to the Hilton. These are mainly Asian food stalls and shops, reminding us of our time in Yiwu in China when we were there on a jewellery buying expedition.

Eventually we realise the queue is just going to keep growing so we stand in line with all the other Stargate fans and wait patiently for our turn.

Finally we reach the top of the stairs to find the queue goes down and around in a long snake like line down the corridor. Groans all round.

And at last it is our turn to receive a very nice black bag, the itinerary, a pass on a cord showing our seat number and a shiny turquoise hand band which it turns out we have to leave on for the full 4 days.

As this is only the registration day there is not much going on so after looking at the photos of the stars from each of the Stargate series (signed and unsigned), and the rest of the merchandise such as t-shirts, hoodies, calendars etc we go back to our hotel. We are both excited to be here in Vancouver at the Stargate Convention and are really looking forward to the visit to the Bridge St set on Saturday to see where both Stargate  - SG1 and Stargate Atlantis are filmed.

Roll on tomorrow.

Today we are catching up with some friends from Australia at the San Diego zoo at 10am in front of the Panda cage.

Leon and Simone are on their honeymoon and they have been travelling around California for the past three weeks, just as we have, but today is the first opportunity we have had to catch up.

After an early breakfast we catch the No 1 bus 8:15am bus outside the hotel, and change to the No 7 bus at University Ave. The No 7 bus drops us off just near the zoo. From the bus stop turn left at the corner and the zoo is just a short walk.

We are given a map with our ticket and from the look of it the Panda enclosure is right at the other side of the park. We have arrived early so we catch the bus tour around the park to get orientated.

To start with it’s a bit like a Jurassic Park tour with no animals to see but as we get further around some of the animals are active.

This is a set tour so we have to stay on the bus until it returns to the point where we set off from. There are also buses that have set down nd pick up points around the park which is ideal if you find yourself getting tired.

By now it is ten minutes to ten so Paula checks the map to find the quickest way back to the Panda cage.

Before long we see Leon in the distance. There is lots to talk about as we head off past the Sun Bears to see the Panda’s.

Leon and Simone have driven around Yosemite, San Francisco and they have just arrived in San Diego after a few days in Las Vegas. Pretty much the same trip as we have done except we went to The Grand Canyon instead of Yosemite.

Panda’s are super sensitive to loud noise so everyone is requested to be very quiet. A lady is sitting on a stool quietly relating facts about the Panda’s.

These animals consume 30-40 pound of bamboo each day. The park is self sufficient in that they grow the plants and fruits that are required by the animals. So there are great clusters of bamboo growing a the around park.

Everyone is really enjoying the antics of the Panda’s as they chew up the bamboo shoots. These animals are so cuddy looking and are a big hit.

Then it’s off to have drink and chat before going to see the Polar Bears, another firm favourite with the crowds.

To get to the Polar Bear enclosure from the Panda’s we take the escalator up past where the future home for the elephants is being built.

Then walk past the Takins cages and the entrance to the Skyfari Aerial tram which travels high over the zoo.

We can only see the bears heads to start with, they are messing about and fall into the water in front of the viewing area and we manage to get some underwater photos before moving to the outside viewing area.

As if on command the bears put on a great show of tumbling and pushing each other. Everyone gets lots of great photos and suddenly the bears leave the water and head to the back of the enclosure, no longer interested in their captive audience.

Our next stop is the Zebra cage, but they have just been fed and as the three of them have their heads in the trough we are treated to a display of their rear ends only. This is thoroughly uninteresting so we move on back up the hill to the Skyfari.

The price for unlimited rides on this and the buses is included in our ticket price of $34.00. You can purchase a park only ticket for $24.00, which is fine if you aren’t going to utilise the buse and Skyfari Aerial Tram. Personally I think it is better value to pay the extra $10.00.

Travelling across the top of the zoo is quite exillarating and there is a great view of the park below.

Once we reach the other side of the park we say goodbye to Leon and Simone and each set off our separate ways to explore further.

This gorgeous bird looks as if he is artificial - he is so vibrant and colorful.

Today there is a street fair in Rolando St which is only a couple of minutes from the Best Western Hotel in El Cajon Blvd.

We head down the road at about 10am and not all the stall holders have set up as yet. After strolling down through the rides and stalls we go up the road to Ralph’s to get something to have for lunch later in the day.

We want to do some work and are hoping our room is cleaned by the time we get back. Unfortunately it isn’t. We are finding that housekeeepking comes around really early when we are getting ready to go for breakfast and if you aren’t ready they don’t come back until late in the afternoon. This works fine for the week days but on Sunday when we want to work this isn’t convenient as it breaks into our work time. We wait around for housekeeping to knock as they are just next door, but they move up to the other end of the units.

So in the end we go out to the street fair again, to give housekeeping more time to clean the room, and this time there are lots more people enjoying the beautiful day and taking part in the activities.

Almost everyone seems to have brought their dog with them for a day out and there are plenty of stalls with dog related clothing and toys.

There are also a variety of food and drink stalls, a music stage, and activities  for the kids such as face painting and rides. 

The police have a recruitment drive on and they are all very smartly dressed with their shiny badges.  The officers mingle with the crowd and they are very approachable and friendly.

When we arrive back the room still hasn’t been cleaned so rather than keep waiting we settle in to work and will make do with the room not being serviced.

Paula is busy working on the changes to our cookware website. I’m just relaxing writing posts for the travel blog.

The beauty off having an affiliate business means we can work on our websites wherever we are in the world.

After reading some of the reviews on the internet about Tijuana we have decided against going there today and instead we went into the Gas Lamp district to have a look around.

Now that we have worked out the bus system, we caught the No. 1 bus right across the road from the hotel and this took us to one of the trolley stations. Unfortunately the bus doesn’t stop at the trolley stop we were going to, 70th Street, on Saturdays and we ended up at the Amaya Drive stop.  Here we hopped onto the Orange line trolley and this was a totally new experience from yesterday.  The young girl across from us had a radio blaring which she proceeded to sing along to.

Although there are signs everywhere stating that patrons must use earplugs with radios etc, have drinks covered and not put their feet on the seats, a number of the patrons on this line ignored all three instructions.

This line goes through some shopping areas where we saw the 99cent shop, the commercial area, past the cemetary, and less tourist related areas. There is a fair amount of graffiti on the buildings which we didn’t notice on the trip into town using the green line.

The trip on the orange line also takes longer to get to Downtown.  We get of at the Gaslamp Quarter which is across from the Convention Centre which is an outstanding looking building, as is much of the development in the Downtown area.

Fifth Ave is cordoned off today and there are stalls set up in the middle of the road selling paintings and bric a brac.  We go into the Hard Rock Hotel which was opened last year, to buy some pins for our collections. This is a stunning looking hotel and very close to the water and transport.  One of the pins we purchase is a split pin of which one half is the sun and the other is the moon. 

We can only get one half of the pin set and have to head off to find the Hard Rock Cafe 5 blocks away to buy the other half. An excellent merchandising ploy on behalf of the Hard Rock Cafe group.

As always the directions are very vague, “It’s 5 blocks away”, with a wave of the hand in a general direction.  It is also in 4th Avenue not 5th but we find this out later after we have been unable to find it and have to go to an informtion booth for further directions.

On the way we stop to check out a store that sells clothing where nothing is over $5.99 and although there are some good buys we leave without making a purchase.

After finally finding the Hard Rock Cafe we end up only buying the one pin each, simply because the staff behind the counter are too busy interacting with each other and leave us standing for so long we become disinterested.

Then it’s off to lunch back at Anthony’s Fish Grotto once again. We request a table by the window so that we can look out over San Diego bay.  The meal is as delicious as yesterday’s and today we are given the bonus of two delicious rounds of bread with butter that has been mixed with sun dried tomatoes  - delicious.

For the return journey we take the blue line trolley and change to the green line at Old Town San Diego then catching the No 1 bus at Amaya Drive which drops us right at the hotel door.

Breakfast is provided by the Best Western Hotel so we were up early to make the most of this before heading out to take a look around. The Best Western Lamplighter Inn & Suites is in a good position if you have a car, which of course we don’t. So if you are like us and are relying on public transport, here are some instructions to help you get around.

There are buses and the MT Trolley which will get you to all the main attractions, there is also a hop on, hop off sightseeing bus and the Old Town Trolley Tour - not to be confused with the MT Trolley system.

We decided to start with the MT Trolley which meant leaving our hotel and turning right into El Cajon Blvd. Walk up past the Howard Johnson Hotel and the Fitness centre and turn right into College Ave and walk to until you come to the San Diego State University (SDSU) which will be straight ahead.  The walk is 1.5 miles from the hotel to SDSU and it is a nice easy walk. When you get to the Transit Centre go down the escalator or stairs and purchase your ticket from one of the vending machines.  We intend to be out and about so we brought a 4 day pass for $15 each. Go through the doors to the left of the vending machines and go downstairs to the platform.

The trolley’s run every 15 minutes and it’s not too long before ours arrives. The transit center and the trolley are extremely clean and there is no graffiti anywhere. It is such a nice change to find a place where the people take pride in public property.

Another thing I noticed is that when an elderly or infirm person hops on the trolley, the young people stand up and offer their seat straight away. None of this ignoring them or looking the other way as is often seen in other centers.

We are on the Green Line trolley which takes us to Old Town.

The Plaza del Pasado or Old Town in San Diego is a historic town that captures the festive spirit of Mexico and where some of the old buildings have been turned into restaurants and shops and others such as the old courthouse and the dentist rooms are preserved so todays youth can see how things were in the past.

It is a beautiful day to spend time strolling around the shops and outdoor markets and we take our time enjoying the exotic aromas and colorful decor of the plaza. Old Town is considered to be the birthplace of California and in 1769 it became the first permanent Spanish settlement in California.

In 1846 the population numbered 250 and had grown somewhat and it was incorporated as a city in 1850 with the government activities centred around the Plaza Viejo.  After the business district of Old San Diego was burned down in 1872, the business centre moved to the present day site of Downtown San Diego.

Some of historic buildings still standing are the Casa De Machado which was built in the adobe style of construction by Corporal Jose Manuel Machado for his daughter Maria Antonia Machado de Silvas, The Temple Beth Israel which was the first synagogue built in San Diego in 1889. Most of the other buildings are recontructions such as the Brick Courthouse and the George Johnson House. But all are worthy of a visit.

Then it is off to catch the Blue Line Trolley, which leaves from where the Green Line ends, and head off into the Civic Centre in Downtown San Diego.

By now it is lunchtime and we head over to Anthony’s Seafood Grotto which is right on the water of San Diego Bay. The food is absolutely delicious and our waitress is friendly and chatty. Once again our accents cause comment, most seem to think we are English and are pleasantly surprised when we state we are Aussies. This generally leads to conversations about how long it took us to get to the US, where we have been and how long we will be in town.

After lunch we head off down to the USS Midway Museum which has a 4 acre flight deck and gives visitors the opportunity to explore the ship with the aid of an audio presentation.  The tickets are $15.00 and the ticket office suggest making sure you have 1.5 to 3 hours to complete the tour.  We decide that we will return another day and do this tour.

By now we have picked up a number of maps and public transport timetables and routes and it turns out that we have a bus that stops right outside our hotel which will take us to the trolley transit station.  Before we discover this piece of information we decide to hop of at another stop, other than the SDSU to see if it is closer to our hotel.  So we hop off at the 70th Street stop, and turn right from the carriage and set off in what we hope is the right direction. The No.1 bus (which runs past our hotel) goes by, so we figure if go in the same direction we will at least be heading the right way.

We turn left into 70th Street and walk up a rather steep hill until we reach El Cajon Blvd.  Here we turn left and continue. It is simply a matter of walking along El Cajon Blvd. We are at number 6900 when we turn onto the Blvd from 70th Street and our hotel is numbe 6474 so we have a way to go.  We pop into Ralph’s on the way and pick up some groceries and a Ralph Card that gives us some excellent discounts on our items.  I am a sucker for saving money and will join just about anything if it gives me a bargain.

Our feet are getting tired - thank goodness we brought good quality ARA walking shoes before our trip because we have walked many miles since we arrived in the States, and we are very happy when the hotel looms into sight.

After a nice hot cup of tea we head out to do some washing at the laundromat which is almost next door to the hotel. Turn left as you leave the hotel reception area and walk  just past the Chicken Rotissere store where there is a block of shops with the laundromat.  After putting the washing into the washer we go back to the hotel to watch some more Stargate episodes. Our hotel has more stations than any other we have stayed in so far and one is a sci fi station so this makes us very happy.

Paula also spends time on the phone to the internet company as we have been unable to connect to our hotel’s internet, which is included in the price of the room. It turns out that we have to update the drivers in our Acer notebook before it will connect to the right service. 

Once the washing and drying has completed and we once again have nice clean clothes, we set off for dinner.  We had intended to  eat at the buffet at the Howard Johnson hotel that is just up the road, but it is closed when we get there.  We continue up the road and come to a Mexican restaurant.  The food turns out to be awesome and of course way more than we can eat.

Tomorrow we are going to head off to Tijuana on the blue line trolley.

We are up early today so that we can fit in our last buffet breakfast before heading to the airport. Played a last round at the Wheel of Fortune but lost once more. Sad really as we have been having such a great winning run on this machine.

Our flight to San Diego is with US Airways. We were unable to book in at the booth as our trip ends in Vancouver so we have to go to the counter to be booked in and the lady behind the counter puts us in different rows. So once we have gone through the necessary checks to get into the airport lounge, I go up and ask at the counter if we can be seated together. The trip seems to go quicker having someone to talk to during the flight.

So they print out both tickets in my name, when I sat back down I said to Paula “there is going to be a problem here”.

And sure enough once we board there is a lady sitting in Paula’s seat and she has a ticket with the same number. So after some discussion it is decided that the other lady will be moved and Paula and I will sit together. Then there is a call for Paul C. which of course is meant to be Paula. With both tickets now in my name they were unsure if she had boarded.

So we settle down for the flight when the good looking young man next to me says “Are you married?”. Well after recovering myself from such a forthright question I answer in the affirmative and add “But Paula’s not”. Now where is this leading to I wonder.

It turns out that Eric, as the young man’s name turns out to be, has a friend, Sheryl Jo Harris who has written a book named ‘The Guide to Getting Your Man’ The MAN-ual, which he hands to Paula for an opinion. The book is all about how to obtain and maintain a relationship and the manual is separated into sections to assist you to identify what catagory, such as ‘Mama’s Boy’, the Jealous Guy, the Controller, the Married Man etc and how to identify and deal with your relationship situation. So check out her website where you can buy a copy.

The time flies by as our new friend keeps us entertained with anecdotes of his travels, with his employment in the golfing industry, to Hawaii, Hong Kong, Thailand, Europe and he even spent a year in Melbourne.  Paula and I have also visited these places so we have much in common to talk about when it comes to travel.  His stories are funny and entertaining and we tell him he should document his experiences on a blog for others to read. Eric is charming, engaging, articulate and very talkative and before long the plane is ready to land. We part company and Paula and I set off to find a shuttle to the Best Western Hotel.

So here we are in San Diego at the start of another adventure. Our hotel turns out to be miles from anywhere, it is ideal for someone with a car but otherwise it is out in the sticks. We go for a walk to find something to eat as it is now 4pm and we haven’t eaten since breakfast.  The only thing that is open is the Pizza Hut, a big comedown from the buffet meals we have been having in Las Vegas and it costs the same price.  There doesn’t seem to be anything in this area in the way of restaurants so we brought some snacks at a garage until we can suss things out a bit more tomorrow.

Tonight was an absolutely awesome experience, we have just arrived back at the hotel after seeing Elton John at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Our seats were on the second mezzanine, in the middle, three rows back (row C seats 409/410) but the theatre is built in such a way that everyone has a fantastic view.  Elton was fantastic, although his voice has mellowed with time, everyone is very forgiving because he still sounds great and he gives everything to his performance and everyone just loved being there.

Dressed in a black chinese style jacket that contrasted nicely against the Red Piano that was set on a black and white striped star edged in a red light, Elton opened the show with the perinneal favourite ‘Benny and the Jets’

Elton is excellent in concert and this was no exception. In real life he sounds pretty much exactly like he does on his records.

Elton was backed by his highly talented band members: Davy Johnstone on guitar, Guy Babylon on Keyboards, Bob Birch on bass guitar, Joh Mahon on percussion and the amazing Nigel Olsson on drums.

The stage props were somewhat amusing and we weren’t sure what their purpose was as they didn’t seem to tie in with any of the songs. Perhaps the huge boobs with enormous pink nipples, the banana set between two peaches and the pair of legs in high heels and the lipstick were representative of Las Vegas.

For one of the songs those seated in the front few rows were able to get up on stage and surround the piano as Elton played.

All I can say is we loved the show and the tickets were a steal at $125.00 plus $12.50 booking fee and $5.00 tax - total $137.50.  When Elton was recently in Australia the tickets were a lot more expensive at $300 plus, and we would have had to take a trip to Sydney and stay overnight.

There was a photographer taking photos that were later turned into an album with a photo of the visitors on one side and a signed photo of Elton on the other.  The photographer on our floor didn’t make it to our section which was a shame because it would have been excellent to have had such a great looking souvenir of the night.

If you are in Vegas while Elton is here, then do yourself a favour and go and see the show. Just be warned that if you are a bit sensitive to seeing full frontal female nudity then you might want to stay away.

Tickets range in price from $100-$250 plus tax and booking fee.

The song list for the night was:

Benny and the Jets
Philadelphia Freedom
Believe
Daniel
Rocket Man
Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues
Someone Saved My Life Tonight
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Tiny Dancer
Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Candle In The Wind
Pinball Wizard
Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting
I’m Still Standing
Your Song

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to see Elton John in concert at Caesars Palace.Tickets are available for a variety of dates at TicketsNow