Wish trip Day 4: The itinerary

When we booked Dominic's wish trip, so much time was spent getting to Vancouver that we left planning what we'd do and when until we arrived.

Lots of folks had ideas. Due to his love of water, the aquarium was a must. So was a ferry ride. And we wanted to swim.

Christmas lights and a train ride. Whistler. Hockey games. Horses. A museum. Fancy restaurants. Far more than we could ever get to in our trip, especially with mornings taken up with trips to the children's hospital and potentially daily platelet transfusions.

So we're staying longer.

With our next appointment in Calgary set for next Tuesday, and our flight back scheduled for this Friday, we have opted to push our flight home to Sunday.

We still won't do half of the things that were suggested for us, but there's no pressure to do anything anyhow. Well, maybe the aquarium. And a hockey game.

One part of a wish trip that makes it truly special is the people who get involved. We've had so much support since Dom's diagnosis, I almost shouldn't have been surprised when folks started contacting us offering unique contacts and experiences for our time here.

One of the first was an unexpected phone call from Vancouver Canucks head coach Willie Desjardins. He coached the Medicine Hat Tigers to prominence a decade ago, the team winning league titles during my early years with the Medicine Hat News sports department. He wanted us to come to the Jan. 6 Canucks game.

Tonight we met with him and his wife Rhonda for dinner, appropriately with the world junior championship game on the TV. Dom was charming as usual, helping Rhonda take selfies and giggling like a maniac.

Back in our hotel room, we set up what we're doing the rest of the week. Aquarium, booked. Dinner with another friend. More swimming. And we happened to check the forecast, as it's been raining since we arrived.

Suddenly, there's nothing but sun the next five days.