Travel Day

I did manage to get some stuff done yesterday, but the most important thing was to pack. I just laid out the backpack (portable office), the clothes suitcase and the sample suitcase and as I remembered things, they got packed. Are you kidding? That's not how it happened.

The backpack hadn't really been unpacked since getting home from the retreat so it didn't take much to get it ready. I did think about the charger for the FitBit, but I didn't throw it in and guess what? My FitBit needs to be charged today. Oh well. Not like it's going to collect a lot of data over the next couple of days, but I will miss having the time handy.

You do have to love the portable office. I've got my iPad out (it's my portable radio which is super easy with the Radio Canada Player app). I've got my laptop to blog with and my phone which was used to take pictures. Yep - portable office. I love it!!

The clothes suitcase was the last to pack as usual. But hopefully, I threw in enough stuff for a couple of days. I did throw in a hat because well - it's cold here.

I was going to take the afternoon flight so that I could do my drive in the daylight. Nope - that flight got canceled and I was on the 4:40 flight. Oh well - it could be worse. I arrived at the airport with time to spare - no more winging it at the last minute - not with that checked bag and that was the last flight of the day. I was a bit worried about the weight of the sample suitcase, but it was fine.

Breezed through security, although it's a bit tougher in the winter. I almost forgot my coat! DUH!!!

Instead of boarding at 4:10, we didn't board until almost 40 minutes later. Why? The flight attendant was late!!!!  I get it when you're late for an office job, but a flight attendant? When the pilots, plane, and passengers are ready and you're not? And that plane had to fly back to Toronto so all the people at the Timmins airport were waiting. Oh well.

She was a very friendly person, but very strict. She actually asked people if they had their seat belts fastened as she couldn't see some of them because of all the clothing. It was freezing when we got on the plane so most people kept their coats on. We were like little sardines in a long tin can. I did take my coat off soon after we took off.

So where did I land? In Timmins, Ontario. That's way up north! Fortunately, they did not get the snow that we had back in Toronto, but it was cold. We flew up on a Dash-8 which is a small plane. I was in row 11 and I was two rows from the back. But the plane was full. The Dash-8 is a prop plane and it's fascinating to see the prop when the plane is in the air. See that quarter circle in the photo below? That's the edges of the prop. The blades are rotating so fast that it looks like a solid ring, but it's only three or four blades going at very high speed.

View from the plane

We had to wait in a queue to take off and I was watching the planes on the runway beside us. Have you ever thought about a plane taking off? It starts off slow, then it speeds up a lot and then it takes off. Just amazing when you think about it and how much weight is involved.

To top it off, we had headwinds so that slowed the flight down. We were forty minutes late compared to our original arrival time. I got my rented car and then I was off. I had a good laugh about the car. It's a Toyota Corolla. I got in and felt like I was home. The car is grey, a sedan and an automatic, but the interior is EXACTLY like my car. So I knew where all the controls were. I tried to pair my phone with the car, but that didn't happen. I probably messed up the pairing of my own car back home. No worries.

Timmins was NOT my final destination. I was off to Cochrane so that's a little over one hour away. The timing could not have been more perfect. Why? There was a full moon last night so it was a very easy drive. I didn't realize at first and then I was wondering why it appeared to be so light out, I looked out the window to see the full moon shining down on me. Thankfully there were no moose along the highway. The roads were clear and I made the trip with no issues. I also learned something about my car. It has auto high beams. Since I never use high beams back home, I didn't know that, but I should have known that.

I had booked the motel room a couple of weeks back and I swear that I was staying at the Travelodge. I arrived and NO, they had no reservation for me. Actually, I think the clerk thought it hilarious that I would reserve a motel room in the middle of nowhere in the winter in the middle of the week. She said I was likely at the Thriftlodge which was across the street. I checked my e-mail and yes - she was right.

I'm always leery of these motel rooms. Are they going to be cold? That happened to us once on one of our road trips. We didn't go to the motel room before dinner and when we arrived at the room, it was freezing. I'm happy to report that my room is toasty warm.

I emptied the car as I didn't want my stuff to be sitting in the freezing car overnight. I had to make several trips, but not before I locked myself out of the room and had to walk to the office to get a new key. It was a bit of a comedy of errors travel day, but it all worked out. I had a good sleep and I'm ready to go this morning.

Cochrane sign

Cochrane is home to a polar bear habitat. I'm hoping to get out and see them later today. This is the big sign as you enter the town. That's a big polar bear beside the sign above. Did you know the population of Cochrane is about 5,000? (That's from 2016)

For those of you back home who think it's cold. Think again!  This is the temperature here. Although I've already been out - had to get breakfast at Tim's and while the thermometer says it's cold, it's not that bad. Mind you, I was in the car and back (in my fleece PJs) before I could feel the cold.

Temperature this morning

My car had no problem starting. I did hear the diesel truck parked here overnight startup earlier so it could warm up, but the car was just fine.

So there you have the trials and tribulations of yet another travel day.

I notice that no one has sent me a picture or an e-mail of a gadget that they bought that they don't use. Don't forget to do that. Otherwise, the gadget blog post is going to be just my gadgets.

Don't forget to check out QUILTsocial today for more information on those fusible products.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a super day and stay warm!!!!

Ciao!!!!