On our way: Arctic 1

Heart of the Arctic: Arctic 1 July 18, 2022

This was the smoothest take off we’ve ever had on a holiday. Because we’ve been getting up at 5:30 for the last 3 mornings, it wasn’t hard to get up at 5:00 this morning. And, we had our bags packed ahead of time which is unheard of for us. We still had some last minute stuff to do like emptying the dishwasher and taking out the garbage but nothing onerous.

On our way out this morning I pulled out one of the zucchini plants. They were just too close together. I hated to do it but for the survival of the others and in order to have a better crop, I had to do it.

The plane was late getting in from Toronto so instead of leaving at 9:20 it was 10:50 before we pushed back from the gate. We had planned to get some lunch when we got to Ottawa which was supposed to have been about 12:30 Calgary time. By the time we actually got here it was 3:30 Calgary time and we were well and truly hungry. We got a cookie, some pretzels and a cup of tea on the plane so that was better than nothing. Both Richard and I were really cold on the plane, maybe because we hadn’t had anything to eat. Once we got cookies and a hot beverage we felt a bit warmer.

Our room looks out over the Rideau canal and we are right above a lock. I’m hoping that sometime in the next two days we’ll actually see a boat go through that lock. It was raining when we got here tonight but there’s now a heat warning for the next two days. Didn’t we just do this in Calgary?

Room with a view Chateau Laurier

We had a bit of an Abbot and Costello moment in the airport. We went to get a sub while we were waiting for the luggage to unload. Richard went downstairs to see what was happening and I finished my sub upstairs. He texted me to say that he had the bags. I texted him to say I’d be down. In the meantime he started up. Somehow we crossed each other so there were a series of ‘where are you’ emails. I eventually spotted him upstairs and through a series of hand gestures I thought he wanted me to go upstairs so I did. In the meantime he want downstairs so our positions were reversed. On the third try we ended up in the same place at the same time.

It’s now 10:30. It shouldn’t be hard to fall asleep tonight despite the lack of exercise. Tomorrow we’re up at 7:30 local time so that we’ll be ready to get a cab and go for the PCR tests. There are a lot of people here who aren’t wearing masks. I’ve got my fingers crossed that the virus just stays away, period.

Off to bed. Another adventure awaits tomorrow.