Jun 21 - waiting

Somehow I should have something to do.  I'll probably have some sort of last minute emergency / delay, just hoping that it's not the car !  The last car trip to Toronto airport was more of an adventure than I want to experience at this point.

The bike's in the car.  The big bag (roller duffel) is in the car.  The bike weighs in at 49.5 pounds; the duffel at 45+ pounds.  I also have my smaller green duffel carry-on and my laptop briefcase with power supplies, books, laptop of course etc.

Emma's in her second set of wet clothing, wet head to toe.  She looks like plumber from the back, with her pants half way down her butt.  The crotch strap of the life jacket stops them from coming completely down.

She told me today that I'm more fun than Nana.  That's because she helps me in the workroom, goes for boat rides, does more interesting things than grocery shopping etc.  The other reason, probably, is that I"m one of a kind.  She's only got one Papa.  She has a Nana and Nanny.  Jeffrey and I are the "men in her life".

She'll probably change her tune after this coming weekend when Sandy is taking Megan and Emma to The Famous People Players on Saturday and the Ballet on Sunday.  It's too bad that Lauren wasn't able to join in but she's having a sleepover with a bunch of her friends that she'll be leaving behind when she moves to Barrie.   I hope that works out well for Lauren; she's very social.  She makes friends easily though, at least as far as I can tell.

I exchanged emails with Dan Shadoan today, Gold Rush organizer.  There was something that I was meaning to ask -- showers and towels ?  Well, it turns out that it's pretty limited in that regard.  A campground nearby at one, showers but no towels at another ... I think that I'll stop at a Wal-mart and pick up a couple of throw-aways to put in my drop bags.

I'll leave in about an hour.  That would get me to the motel about 7:30 but add some time for Home Depot and MEC in Barrie.  Then ... wait some more.  The flight is at 8:30 tomorrow morning so I'll be heading to the airport around 6am.  11a.m. Pacific Time or so and I should be in San Fran etc. etc.  I've got plenty of reading material !  I'm finally going to get to the 3rd and 4th books of the Game of Thrones series.

Onward ... ? don't know, keep reading.

It was an easy trip to Toronto, stopping at MEC and Lowes (since it is right beside MEC, easier), getting to the Comfort Inn Toronto Airport just before 8pm.  I'd had a Subway at Lowes but got a couple of pieces of pizza and two beer and retired to my room.  They wanted me to park in an overflow lot down the street but I said that I'd move the car in the morning, which I did.

I'm now parked right at the back of the hotel, which was a hassle, of course, for moving my bags to the front for the shuttle.  Predictably, I missed the 6am since it fills up quickly, but the driver was back within 10 minutes and I, along with a van full of people, headed to the airport.

What a hassle.  I got a luggage cart, naturally.  Get the luggage tags, check in, go through U.S. customs, get the oversized bag scanned, deposit the other checked bag (wheeled duffle) and continue on to baggage scan.  The scanner didn't like my miniature vice-grips but let me keep the small set of Allen Keys. Those both should have been in the wheeled duffel, my mistake.  Of course those were inside my cycling shoes in the bag so I had to empty all but my underwear and socks.  I though that they were complaining about the small scissors in my toiletries bag but no.

So ... just after 7am and I'm inside and having a Western Sandwich Bagel and coffee.  I'd had some good coffee in the room but the time between 5am and 6am had flown by with multiple trips to the far-off car.

It's always easier traveling with two, although that means that Sandy has to do some of this duty.  At least she can watch bags while I move cars.  As it is, I'm doing a lot of shuffling ... everything but my feet.

Hopefully everything gets to SFO on time or at least the same time as me.  The flight is at 8:30.   I've got lots of reading material.

Onward, really onward ?