Sep 11 - 11/09/11 or 09/11/11, take your pick

Perhaps security was tighter, but that's hard to measure. There really was no difficulty traveling on the 10th anniversary. Of course we were flying from one non-U.S. airport to another, which probably had something to do with that.

it was a very long day. We had breakfast at the hotel and then drove to CDG airport. Along the way we got off and filled the tank, worried that we might not find an attended gas station. Most stations are 24/7 but most stations don't seem to take my credit cards in the machines, so I have to go inside to use them. Anyway, there was no problem -- a short drive and we were there.

Air Transat flies out of CDG Terminal 3, which is a satellite terminal without gates. Busses run from the terminal to the planes. Car Rental companies are at Terminals 1 & 2, so I dropped Sandy and the major luggage off and then drove to T1. It was a bit diddly getting to the place to drop my Europcar rental and there was no attendant, so I made a mental note of the spot and went to Arrivals and handed in the key there. No problem -- which spot ? -- 126; any damage ? -- no. That was it.

From there I had a train ride and long walk back to T3, all in all it was 40 minutes from when I dropped off Sandy until I got back. That was actually better than I had allowed, thinking that it might take an hour. 9am and ready to check-in to our 12:05p.m. flight, we hit the Air Transat very efficient and friendly and no queue counters and did that deed. We have been thoroughly impressed with Air Transat, would definitely fly them again and recommend them to others.

Through passport control and security, we found a spot to have a coffee and buy a sandwich for the flight. AT also fed us so we were in effect eating all day and well into the night (Europe time) by the time we went to bed at Sheryl's.

The flight left on time and arrived precisely on time. I called Sheryl from the plane as we touched down and almost exactly one hour later, met her with our luggage having cleared Customs and Immigration. The Immigration lady was a bit confused -- our story is always confusing -- Canadians, residing in the U.S., flying in from France to Montreal, cottage north of Toronto -- why are you here again ? After we explained the dual citizenship, dog with Sandy's sister, the smoke cleared ... ha ! I still don't understand it myself :).

Sheryl was in the terminal; Jimmy was parked somewhere in the vicinity and came to meet us in short order. Try as he might he couldn't find a way around the horrendous traffic problems created by construction on the bridges but eventually we got to Hemmingford. 1:45 landing; 2:45 out with luggage; 5pm at their house ... I guess not too bad considering. For us, however, having left our hotel before 7:30 a.m. France time (1:30 a.m. EDT) that was 15.5 hours of traveling. The flying part of the trip comes out to almost exactly half the time. I guess that beats flying to Hong Kong !

I read 1.5 books on the plane, will have to find time to finish the second book as we get back to normal up north. In a few days more than a month we head south, but there's lots to do in the meantime -- what's new !

Sheryl prepared supper -- ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, salad -- just about my favorite dinner. Then again I have so many favorites. Basically I like eating. I need to get biking to support my eating habit ! I'll get out in the next couple of days and then have a 200k brevet on Saturday that runs from Markham, a northern suburb of Toronto. On Sunday is the annual general meeting of Randonneurs Ontario, so I'll attend that too. Sandy is thinking of getting her hair done on Saturday in Toronto, but of course we'll be in different cars with different destinations and schedules. Here we go ... again ... still !

Today we're back on the road. From here we drive to Carol's to pick up the perch that they've gotten for us. From there we drive to the cottage aka our northern abode. Today too will be a long day.

I did pretty well sleeping last night, in bed at 8pm and up at 4:15. From midnight I would wake up every half hour or so and go back to sleep, luxuriating in the feeling that I could sleep as long as I want, always thinking that "body time" it was actually six hours later. I got up a little after 4am though, because at that point I could tell that if I stayed in bed too much longer I'd get a caffeine withdrawal headache. After all, my last coffee had been 24 hours earlier.

The X5 was a little reluctant to start, complaining, running rough. It had been parked on the grass for the last almost-month, including periods of very heavy rain, so it was undoubtedly damp. It was also undoubtedly just complaining due to the feeling of being forgotten ! Also happy to see us, of course, was Abby. She pretty well stayed glued to us and will be happy to get in the car and be back to normal. She's done very well here with lots of attention from Sheryl and Jimmy and the workmen re-doing their kitchen and all that entails. With the wall between the kitchen and living room knocked out, new flooring, hardwood floor work, they are through the worst of it. New cabinets will be delivered tomorrow and appliances soon afterward.

It's going to look great once completed with granite counters etc. In the meantime they are doing quite well, with cabinets, sink and major appliances -- including dishwasher -- over in what used to be the Doctor's office wing of the house. At some point that will be converted back to a garage but other than the lack of view out the back yard, it's just as cozy functional as it was before the construction started. Wayne, Willie and Mark helped Jimmy move some things over for the setup; a little plumbing and voila -- perfect !

Now I wait. Sandy will get up at some point, after all it's already noon France time. How long can she sleep ? She is definitely going to need coffee. Sheryl will be up soon too. Jimmy will probably wait for a bit before showing his face. I'm amazed at how he does it -- or anyone with shift work that is. He worked the night before, came home and then left for Montreal to pick us up. He was looking as tired as I was no doubt looking at dinner last night but was fighting to stay up longer so that he wouldn't be up in the middle of the night. I knew that I was done in and that it would take a couple of days for my body to get back to my-normal.

Onward ...