Apple Store Vancouver

Today was the grand opening of the first Apple store in Western Canada. There are already THREE such stores in Toronto and another one in Laval, Quebec. My original plan was to wake up early, go wait in line and get my free T-shirt like everybody else.

As usual, things did not go according to plan.

I woke up late because I was sleepy and by the time I walked over to the mall with the dog the store was already open and the lineup was around the corner, out on the street and wrapping around two sides of the block. An optimistic guess (by me) pegged the number of people in line at about seven hundred or so, which meant that if I really wanted that free T-shirt I could stand in line and still get one. But I also had to go into the office today around noon, so I probably would not have enough time to make it. I decided to get some photos and move on, and I'm kind of glad that I did. As you can see the store was already full so the line was only advancing as enough people left the store.

I should drop by on my way back to see if the line has dissipated by then. Ah, maybe not - I do have my dog with me and her stroller. I have a new appreciation for wheelchair bound folks though as Pacific Center mall and the Skytrain station at Granville Street do NOT have elevators placed conveniently. There are escalators all over the place which are great for folks on foot, but if you can't use those, you might as well ask directions because elevators are often hidden from view, or only get you part of the way to where you need to go. The other problem is they are often at the end of dark, secluded hallways that make you feel like a potential mugging victim.