Travel Day

Yesterday was an interesting travel day. Actually leading up to the day was interesting. Should I go? Should I stay? I'm not one to get too freaked out by this kind of stuff, but it always makes you wonder.

In the process of finalizing plans, I did have to change my flights and I ended up in seat 14B. Yep - the plane was full and I ended up in the middle seat. Well, we'll just have to deal with that when we get there. Then I noticed that I was in Zone 5 for boarding the plane which means that I'll be one of the last ones to board. This means that there may not be room for my carryon suitcase.

I arrived at the airport with plenty of time and literally flew through security. I did get a chuckle as I came down the stairs to the departure gate area. There used to be a Tim's at the bottom of the stairs and the lines were huge. It got to the point where you spent longer in that line than you did going through check-in and security.

The last time I was through the airport, I had noticed that that entire area was under construction. Hey - when is there NO construction at any airport? Well, guess what? It appears that Tim's is gone. It's replaced by a market type restaurant and there was no line.

So does that mean that people aren't buying coffee any more or they were so addicted to Tim's that whenever they saw one they had to buy something?

No line at the marketplace

I got to the designated gate and noticed that there weren't a lot of people there, but I was very early (for me). I overheard some folks talking about the Junos. They were part of the staff (crew??) heading to the Junos. One girl mentioned to a couple of guys that she had just seen a tweet that they were canceled and was asking if they had heard anything. Nope - they hadn't seen anything. And when she went back to show them the tweet it was gone. They all agreed that it shouldn't be announced with a tweet.

The gate crew announced that it was a full flight and if anyone would like to gate check their bag, they could do so. I ran to get my bag checked so I wouldn't have to worry about it on the plane. And then we started to board the plane. That was the FASTEST boarding ever. I got to my 14B to find NO ONE else in the row. Well, maybe they are all late. Nope - it appeared that many people on that "full" flight abandoned their tickets.

The view from my seat on my "full" flight

Upon arriving in Saskatoon, we all found out that the Junos had been officially canceled while we were in the air. I spoke to one of the guys who had been on the plane and he said he was at least going to consult with his colleagues and have a beer with them and then decide what to do. I suspect that many of them were on the plane back later in the day. Turns out that the Junos had probably been canceled before we got on the plane and someone had inadvertently leaked it on Twitter. Why do these leaks occur???

The Junos are canceled

This reminded me so much of the day that President Ronald Reagan was shot. It was March 30, 1981. We were on a plane to Vancouver and it was only when we arrived that the pilot announced that Reagan had been shot. Wow - things can happen when you're in isolation on a plane.

There were several reporters on our plane including a cameraman who had to fight his way (not very hard) to get off the plane before everyone else so he could tape the people getting off the plane. I happened to be right behind him so I missed getting on tape which is just fine by me. A few people had masks, but it was nowhere near what I was expecting.

And sadly, it was very subdued at the Saskatoon airport where we all arrived. 

Amazing how one quickly gets used to things. My new car (well - I've had it for over one year now), has a push-button start. No key required so you can keep the key in your pocket which is great if you've got loads of stuff in your hands or it's cold or whatever. The rental needs the key to start.

The car needs a key to start it

Not only that, but you need the key fob to lock and unlock the car, unlike mine which senses the key is near and will open the door when you touch the handle. I was all thumbs yesterday getting into the darn car. I guess I can handle that hardship. However, I noticed that it has Apple Car Play and Android Car Play which I haven't hooked up because I don't plan on doing a lot of driving. My car only has Apple Car Play and don't get me started on that!!

So I drove around to my usual spots. Two quilt stores were involved and I didn't buy anything at one of them. I was going to and then I asked myself the question - do you really need that? The answer was NO so I left it there. I was looking for whites with a silver touch to them and there was NOTHING like that.

I did buy a piece of fabric at the other store. When I went to get it cut, the owner announced that I was going to get 10% off because I was the FIRST person to buy this fabric and her staff and I'm guessing her customers wondering why the heck she bought it. It's been out for quite a while. I've made two quilts in the other colorway for magazines which haven't been published yet.

Bike fabric

I know that I said I wasn't going to buy any more bicycle fabric, but this one was made for me. Actually, I swear the designer (whom I know) did have me in mind when she selected the colors. If you remember, I just quilted some of the blue colorway for my backpack because I didn't know where to buy the orange. Now I have to quilt the fabric up and make something - I think I know what  - some travel accessories would be awesome.

Then off to the hotel where I was a total slug for the rest of the afternoon. I barely made it out of the room to get something to eat. I was totally engrossed in my book and technically had nothing to do so I took total advantage of the situation. Reading a thriller by Luanne Rice called Last Day. It's very exciting and I may have found a new author to read.

So not only was yesterday a weird travel day, but things are happening (or getting canceled or postponed). First off - the Etobicoke Quilt Show which was scheduled for the end of March has been POSTPONED. Matter of fact, ALL their guild activities have been put on hold for the moment. All group sessions (including my ongoing classes which were to start this month) have been put on hold as well. I'm going to do something via e-mail like I've been doing with my other groups. I may have a totally blank calendar by the time I get home.

I'm sure there will be more stuff coming down the pipeline. I have a feeling that it's going to be very quiet at my events, but I'm here so we'll make the best of it.

These are strange times and we have to run with it. But the one thing that has totally confounded me is the toilet paper. I've seen people posting pictures of empty skids where the TP was. People have been told to stock up on essential items. But do people realize why they've been told to do that? Not because there is going to be a shortage because items won't be shipped from overseas. NO - it's because if you need to go into quarantine, you need certain items. But some people won't need to buy TP for years from the sounds of it.

Oh well - there's nothing like NO COMMON sense to go around.

On that happy note, I'm out of here. I did manage a walk yesterday. The sun was out, but the temperature was cool and with the wind, it wasn't as nice as back home. Right now - it's minus 18 and feels like -27. I think I might just rely on my stocked up miles in my virtual challenge and take a hit today and tomorrow! That's a tad chilly to be out walking even though I brought warm stuff to wear.

Have a great day!!!!


Ciao!!!!