Heading to Canada!

I'm heading back to Ontario to visit with family on the weekend and then attend the Canadian mini-CALLERLAB convention in London, ON.

Yes, I have my travel papers lined up: my green card is in my wallet where it should be and my passport has been placed inside my backpack. No mistakes this time! I still need to look through my pile of road maps for appropriate guides but that will only take a moment.

I've dug out my Canadian credit cards, Pizza Pizza slice card and a tonne o' Canuck bucks. To my surprise, I found I had nearly $700 stashed away but I'm taking only half of that, prefering to use my credit cards to document my business expenses.

My flight departs Baltimore at 3:20 PM; a rental car should be waiting for me in Buffalo. I've heard horror stories about folks booking a subcompact and being "upgraded" to a monster SUV because there's such a demand for small vehicles. I'm hoping that arriving just before the weekend may give me an edge but I'll be happy with anything smaller than an Excursion.

Tentatively, I'm shopping & visiting with friends in Toronto on Friday, spending all of Saturday with the family in Mississauga, heading to London Sunday (visiting with friends along the way in Cambridge), then spending the balance of the time in London (evenings should be largely free) before heading back to Buffalo on Thursday. Want to get together? Let me know!

Heading to Canada!

I'm heading back to Ontario to visit with family on the weekend and then attend the Canadian mini-CALLERLAB convention in London, ON.

Yes, I have my travel papers lined up: my green card is in my wallet where it should be and my passport has been placed inside my backpack. No mistakes this time! I still need to look through my pile of road maps for appropriate guides but that will only take a moment.

I've dug out my Canadian credit cards, Pizza Pizza slice card and a tonne o' Canuck bucks. To my surprise, I found I had nearly $700 stashed away but I'm taking only half of that, prefering to use my credit cards to document my business expenses.

My flight departs Baltimore at 3:20 PM; a rental car should be waiting for me in Buffalo. I've heard horror stories about folks booking a subcompact and being "upgraded" to a monster SUV because there's such a demand for small vehicles. I'm hoping that arriving just before the weekend may give me an edge but I'll be happy with anything smaller than an Excursion.

Tentatively, I'm shopping & visiting with friends in Toronto on Friday, spending all of Saturday with the family in Mississauga, heading to London Sunday (visiting with friends along the way in Cambridge), then spending the balance of the time in London (evenings should be largely free) before heading back to Buffalo on Thursday. Want to get together? Let me know!

In Toronto!

I'm here, but it was a bit of a bother.

cuyahogarvr delivered me to the airport in ample time. Getting my boarding pass, checking my luggage and getting through security was a breeze. Alas, the plane arrived 20 minutes late; further, someone decided that it should have fuel for its next jump so we had to wait for fuel to be located and loaded. In all, the flight left BWI an hour late.

Landing in Buffalo was fine. My suitcase appeared early on the carousel. Alas, the car rental offices were a complete zoo. Enterprise, Alamo, Hertz, Budget... all of them were out of cars and had long lines of people with reservations and confirmations in hand waiting for cars to be delivered. In all, it took an hour and a half for my car to make an appearance.

I am delighted to at least report that I wasn't given an Excursion, Tahoe or Suburban: I'm currently driving a Camry LE, a class larger than my reservation but I'm fine with that.

Scooting across Buffalo and across the border was trivial. Even the drive to Toronto was uneventful. After catching up with John & Chris, I got a burger from Licks just up the street and we've been lounging, catching up on news & dirt, checking out their latest household renovations and such.

Tomorrow, I have to cancel my satellite TV service, make a deposit at the bank, purchase a birthday present for my four year old neice and generally window shop in the downtown.

In Toronto!

I'm here, but it was a bit of a bother.

cuyahogarvr delivered me to the airport in ample time. Getting my boarding pass, checking my luggage and getting through security was a breeze. Alas, the plane arrived 20 minutes late; further, someone decided that it should have fuel for its next jump so we had to wait for fuel to be located and loaded. In all, the flight left BWI an hour late.

Landing in Buffalo was fine. My suitcase appeared early on the carousel. Alas, the car rental offices were a complete zoo. Enterprise, Alamo, Hertz, Budget... all of them were out of cars and had long lines of people with reservations and confirmations in hand waiting for cars to be delivered. In all, it took an hour and a half for my car to make an appearance.

I am delighted to at least report that I wasn't given an Excursion, Tahoe or Suburban: I'm currently driving a Camry LE, a class larger than my reservation but I'm fine with that.

Scooting across Buffalo and across the border was trivial. Even the drive to Toronto was uneventful. After catching up with John & Chris, I got a burger from Licks just up the street and we've been lounging, catching up on news & dirt, checking out their latest household renovations and such.

Tomorrow, I have to cancel my satellite TV service, make a deposit at the bank, purchase a birthday present for my four year old neice and generally window shop in the downtown.