Yes, it’s great to be home again. But it really was a good week! Kind of a snowless one for as far north as I was but that did make traveling less complicated.

I left on Christmas Day flying from Savannah to Erie. I had a 3-hour layover in Detroit so I enjoyed a meal with my book at Chilis Too. The airport had a decent number of travelers for it being a major holiday. I arrived in Erie on time and was met by Lois. Before leaving the airport we were offered some goodies from a tray by an older janitor fellow. He had told Lois earlier which petit fours he had made. “This is a fancy airport,” he said of the small, 5 (?) gate airport.

Night shift with Lois the next two nights. I stayed up with her until 5 Tuesday morning and 3 on Wednesday morning. Good thing I got a half decent amount of sleep since Lois only had 1.5 hours due to a funeral and admitting a new resident. We headed out for Southern Ontario about 5 pm. Stopped at a Taco Bell for supper and they were in desperate need of a 1-800 call. No chicken, which I can understand since you never know exactly how many people will order chicken dishes but instead of mentioning it before you order, she would wait until you’ve perused the menu for several minutes, placed your order and then she’d say, “um, we don’t have any more chicken.” The floor was terribly littered. The pepsi and mtn. dew fountain drinks were spewing nothing but carbonated water. The drink area was terribly sticky and no, I am not overusing the word terribly!

We arrived at Wayne and Sheila’s place by 11. Got some chatting done and then headed to bed, after meeting their sweet little man Evan who woke up for his midnight snack. Slept in until 9:39 the next morning!! In the afternoon we did a little shopping in the small, friendly town of Milverton. Visited a little in the afternoon with Sheila’s mom and SIL Rachel and got to meet Dave and Rach’s cute little boy! Joyce and Sandra came over in the evening to chat a bit.

Friday afternoon went to Leon and Ruth’s place. Ruth took us on a tour of the 1880s house they are remodeling. I could really kick myself for not taking my camera along!!! It is quite a place and they are doing a great job with it. Can’t wait to see the finished project! In the evening we went out to eat for supper in honor of their oldest daughter’s 6th birthday. Afterward we went to Waterloo park to see the Christmas lights and take a short ride in a horse-drawn trolley. We stopped in at the Webers to see Phil and Marcia. Their baby was already sleeping so didn’t get to see him (other than pictures). Back to Wayne and Sheila’s place and enjoyed some hot tub time. A perfect ending to a lovely day.

Saturday Sharon came over for breakfast and we got to catch up on her life at Eagle’s Wings. We were privileged to hear some of her “bush time” experience. We headed back to PA, this time stopping in at Niagara, along with a whole passle of other people. Actually it wasn’t near as full as it is in the summer but crossing the border there took nearly an hour, even though our time with the customs agent took about 50 seconds.

I was given a gift certificate to Red Lobster so we really splurged and had a delicious meal. Their biscuits were even better than I remembered them to be!!

Sunday in PA, Monday flew back home. Nearly a hum-drum travel day until the last flight. We were all situated and nearly ready to leave on the plane in ATL and then they announced that there was a hydraulic leak that would take too long to fix so we had go the other end of the concourse (read: long walk – this is Atlanta) and eventually boarded another plane. Instead of arriving in Savannah at 7:30, it was close to 9. The NW agent said, no, they do not repair any zippers that get busted on suitcases. I asked what they do repair and he said only tears that you can see all the way through. Grrrr! I still may check with someone else on that.

Well, there you have it. I am typing under the influence of Nyquil so that probably explains why this update seems a little flat. I seem to have brought a cold back with me. Hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!! Now it’s time for me to do something I didn’t do in December: write a Christmas/end-of-the-year form letter.

Marylou

P.S. Oh, my! How could I forget to mention the Canadian cuisine such as Tim Hortons (english toffee cappucino for me), all-dressed chips (all the ruffles flavors combined), poutine, krispers, and one Harveys fast food restaurant is missing some vinegar packs that I brought along home to add to my fries at some later time. There is a link there for poutine which is also described by some as a “heart attack in a bowl.” The kid at the cash register at Harveys said the poutine was a good choice. When asked what kind of cheese was used he replied hesitantly, “Poutine cheese?” According to online sources it is white cheddar curds, the fresher the better.

 
The cool “water noodle” display at the Detroit airport.

After shopping in Milverton

Yours truly and Evan

Lois with Leon and Ruth’s girls

 
Sharon, Lois, Sheila and I before we left Ontario

 
The thundering falls at Niagara