THAT'S right... I've been trying to get home now for 5 days.
Much as I love the sunshine, the great weather, the riding opportunities, the home cooking, the cold beer after a day bouncing over rocks and riding up and down mountains, yes as much as I thought originally buying this little oasis, imagined myself spending winters here, with maybe the occasional foray into Baja, the reality is, boy meets girl, girl has school age daughter, boy gets married, boy spends time south, but... boy lives north.
It's easy to forget temporarily when wandering around in a T-Shirt and shorts much of the time, that seeing 20 on the thermometer is much different than seeing minus 20!
Earlier in the week catching the news and hearing from home, there existed the very possibility I couldn't make it in one go. No problem leaving Phx but potential problem upon arrival in the snowy Great White North! I got on the horn to West Jet and from our conversation, there existed the probability of getting storm stayed in Toronto. In any event it didn't look good for getting to Charlottetown.
I decided to exercise the option of a later flight just in case, and re-booked for the 15th, Thursday.
With weather advisories in effect for central and Eastern Canada I called ahead, checked flight status on websites and even before proceeding to the airport via Super Shuttle, I called one last time.
Upon arrival I immediately stopped at the WJ counter and upon inquiry was told "there would be a 10 minute delay leaving due to de-icing the aircraft on the ramp in Toronto".
Security was an absolute breeze I mean I just walked through with no one in front or behind me. In fact I was in a lineup of ONE, as in Moi!
Finding seating at the gate, I kept an eye on the departure schedule and even when the aircraft was posted as 30 minutes delayed, I wasn't worried. Well until I got a text from Brenda informing me that the flight into C'Town scheduled for arrival at 26 minutes after midnight... had been cancelled!
I went to the csr (Charles, very helpful) at the gate and he checked telling me
"no... it's certainly looking like a GO"
Before I left the counter I checked with Brenda again and yes it was posted on the C'T Airport website that it is definitely cancelled which about at that moment, Charles verifies!
Great, now what... I've booked out of the 'Otel Frank, my shuttle ride was gone and even though I can in all likelihood get into TO... I wasn't going anywhere from there!
I've spent many days and nights in the 'Center of the Universe' during my motorcycle dealer days and don't particularly like the city. Nothing really, but certainly not as friendly as Phx or even LA for that matter. I would be stranded there for maybe two days and nights. Hotel budgets being what they are and with zero possibility of wandering around the Toronto Zoo, after exploring several options, none good... I settled on re-booking for the coming Sunday. Hopefully and according to forecasts of 9 degrees on the plus side... I will make it home a week late.
Judy came and grabbed me up from Terminal 4 and whisked us back through city traffic (freeway was clogged) in no time at all. Helps to have a driver that knows the local road situation!
So after making myself an orange juice from my back yard orange tree, here I sit once again, at my little writing desk, the sun is shining, Boo is laying on my arm as I try to type this with many many corrections, and thinking... there are worse places on the planet to be stuck...
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