Dear Loyal Readers,
Recently my family went on a much-needed vacation and I wrote all about it. It’s been a busy time since then so I haven’t had time to write it all down, but on this freezing rain day and since I don’t have to be at work until 2pm today, I am going to start inputting it all. So, here goes. I hope you enjoy the tale and the pictures and videos!
Amy McGuire
Friday, December 28, 2018 (10:32 am)
Dear Loyal Readers,
Today is the first day of our two week Florida vacation. My vacation officially started yesterday as I waited in Toronto Union station for the 7:45pm VIA Rail to Windsor. I arrived at the station almost 2 hours early (no point going home and then trying to get downtown in rush hour even though I was off work at 5) and got to relax in their cozy lounge until boarding. They have three Swarovski Crystal Christmas trees (faux trees draped in Swarovski Crystal ornaments that just shone like ice) set up behind a fence just beside the lounge and a few artificial ‘elf trees’ with ornaments in red and green set around several chairs and green couches. It was quite relaxing.
I’m glad I had that time before the train ride to wander and lounge because what was meant to be a 4 hour train ride turned into 5 hours when two commuter trains got in our way and then we stopped in London for VIA to remove one of the cars. Not sure what that was all about, but we were 47 minutes behind schedule according to the guy over the PA. I don’t remember his title. I was getting rather punchy by this point and am amazed I remember anything from that long trip. Because of the delay, I arrived in Windsor at 12:30 this morning instead of 11:44 last night and I was so grateful to see my wonderful husband waiting for me on the platform.
I drifted off pretty quickly after settling in for the night and then had one of those movie-type dreams where you wake up before the end, wishing you could have dreamed just a little bit longer. I think I got fairly good rest though because I haven’t yawned yet today and my mind is clear. We stayed with my husband’s aunt, uncle and cousins on his mom’s side last night and they have two adorable cats, two super sweet dogs and usually a menagerie of other animals. My daughter was especially sad to say goodbye to the black cat and black dog. The cat, Mozart, was the cuddliest and sweetest and curled up near my daughter last night to sleep. The dog, Angus, is a black lab (I think) and kept giving my daughter the most adoring gaze as she pet him and he followed her everywhere. I think he will miss her as much as she misses him.
We drove across the border at Detroit this morning and are traveling through Michigan at the moment. The weather is in the double digits (celcius) so all our winter coats are tucked away into the back of the van for the next couple weeks. It’s a nice 8-seater van so with just 5 of us, we can all spread out a bit. My daughter has taken the whole back seat and will probably keep it that whole trip. It’s cloudy today but not rainy which is nice when you’re stuck in a van for multiple hours each trip. Not that I’m complaining. Quite the opposite in fact. There is always something new to see. The grass is still pretty green in some places which offsets the smokestacks. We left Detroit behind a while ago but I was disturbed to see yellow smoke pouring out of the stack of one of the smelting factories. I don’t know how anyone can live in Detroit. I suppose you get used to it, but I will be happy when we get into a State where factories aren’t so prevalent, or at least not so smelly.
Tomorrow we should start seeing palm trees about noon when we hit Georgia. We have five people with five different music preferences in the van, so we all brought our own CDs and we take turns. It works pretty well. I’m also finding my sea bands work well too. It’s a long journey over 2 days and it’s nice to be able to write. I love being able to journal the journey. Someday I will read back over my blog posts and the memories will come flooding back in years to come. We haven’t made this trip in 2 years. As I am the only non-driver of the adults, it lets me get in some writing and do a lot of reading. I filled my eReader with library books before we left Toronto. Super convenient when you want books but can’t bring the real thing due to space. I guess I’ll sign off for now. I’ll write more as the mood strikes me.
Until next time, keep dreaming and never give up.
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