i have made it!....*finally*....as is becoming the norm, only after a bit of an itinerary change.....
I left the house in Grande Prairie at about 8am to make it to the airport for a 9am flight.... in morning rush hour with the retarded icy road conditions travelling at 10km the whole way i made it to the airport to find that my flight out was, surprise surprise, delayed by about 30 mins....but this was the least of my worries, for when i tried to check in for my US connection in edmonton... i was informed that the 4pm direct flight to LA i had booked myself on a few months earlier had now been changed to an 8.30am therefore leaving me with two *non-direct* choices: the first a 1pm through chicago and the second a 3pm through denver....unfortunately i had not been notified of the change as i should have been and given my delayed incoming flight they wouldnt put me on the 1pm.....so instead of two short flights i was instead lucky enough to have one short flight and two longer flights, all with nice layovers between....meaning i woke up in Grande Prairie, had breakfast in Edmonton, Lunch in Denver and supper in LA.....a 15hour day of travelling i would rather have avoided......on the bright side though all my layovers were long enough to ensure my baggage wasnt lost :)