WELCOME BACK TO CANADA, EH !

POST # 420

With Dora-dog as my travel companion, I departed on my journey back to Canada, yesterday.
After a restless night, I had a few more hours to visit with my dear friends, Guy and Pauline, and then we were off to the Orlando airport.  It was a long goodbye.  I think we all knew that it may in fact be the very last time that we get to spend together.  No one knows the future, but in this crazy world that we now live in, travel is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Orlando airport was like a ghost town.  Wearing this T-shirt helped put a smile on a few people, including the lady at security.  "What a cute dog."  Like I haven't heard that one before.  As a little side note, after she finished gushing about Dora-dog, she mentioned that we were both born on the same day. What are the odds?

It was a short flight to Atlanta, and then it was time for the longest flight of the day, Atlanta to Seattle.  In spite of the fact that I was tired, I couldn't help spending time gazing out the window, at the magnificent cloud formations, as we headed westward.

LANDING AT SEA-TAC

We landed at Sea-Tac around 5:30 p m, and after a very long walk to my connecting gate, I was on my way back to Canada, arriving just as the sun was setting.  Now it was time for the interesting part of the journey, that being, what would happen with this wayward, homeless wanderer as I presented myself to Customs and Immigration.  There were only maybe 20 people in the queue, so it wasn't long before I was processed.  The added twist this time was to talk to a second individual who was in charge of the quarantine question.  Turns out, the Canadian government has stopped putting recent arrivals into a quarantine facility.  I was faced with a decision on the spot of which hotel I may want to go to (and pay for), and I decided to head to my favourite location in East Vancouver.  The airport person was kind enough to let me use his phone, and I booked a two-week stay at the hotel.  It's more money than I was hoping to spend, however in order to abide with the 14-day period, I had to have an individual room.  I was also told before I left the airport, that things aren't as restrictive as they used to be here in Vancouver, so I was pleased to hear that.

Even though it had been a very long day, I still ended up having a rather late night.  By the time I put my earplugs in, I was ready for some solid rest. So far, so good.

I'm writing these words on the day after the journey.  It is a beautiful day, and I feel pretty good, all things considered.  Perhaps this two-week quarantine won't be as bad as I had thought it was going to be.

APPROACHING  VANCOUVER

VANCOUVER AIRPORT AT SUNSET

grateful for every breath,

Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

GOODBYE USA, HELLO CANADA

POST # 419

DEVO & LILOU

So, now what?  This thought keeps popping into my brain, as I ponder what happens the moment after I clear Customs and Immigration next week at Vancouver airport.  But first, let's talk about this past week, here in Florida.

In spite of the tropical heat and humidity, I have had a marvelous week, and I think that Devo and Lilou would concur.  I have tried to spend as much time as possible with these two, and enjoy their company.  We've settled into a very comfortable routine.  On any house/pet sit, it takes a few days to get that routine established, but the three of us are now there.

SUNRISE

A typical day begins around 7am with our first visit outside.  Bladders are emptied, and we do a little reconnaissance around the back yard, check out the sunrise, and watch the myriad of little geckos scamper away as we approach.  Then it's back inside to serve the baby boneheads their breakfast, while I get the coffee ready.

Devo and Lilou settle back in for their first nap of the day.  After all, they've been up for all of about ten minutes, so they need some beauty rest.  As I enjoy my coffee, I have the opportunity to do some reading, or perhaps listen to a podcast.

Then it's time to head out to the pool, for my early morning soak, and this is also when the three of us get to spend some quality time together.  They love to come up to the side of the pool and let me pet them, and in return, I get licked to death, mostly by Lilou.  This morning soak/play lasts for the better part of an hour, but with the heat and humidity rising,  there comes the time to go back inside, to cool down, and for them to have another nap.  It's breakfast time.

I am thankful that I have a bicycle to ride and with the exception of a couple of days when the sky was looking as black as I have ever seen a sky look, I get out and explore the local area.  The remainder of the afternoon is spent back home enjoying the backyard, with a second pool dip on the agenda, as soon as the sun has moved lower in the western sky so that I can enjoy soaking in the shade.

A TROPICAL PARADISE

BABY GECKO

The day is coming to a close, the sun has just set and so we retire once again. It's time now to put Devo and Lilou into the crate that they sleep in,  say goodnight to them, and then I go back to reading.  One last trip outside to gaze at the stars, and then I am ready to hit the hay.

SUNSET

Now getting back to the "So now what" question that I began this post with, next week on August 27th, I will fly back to Vancouver, with my arrival time scheduled for just after 8pm local time.  It will be the first time back into Canada since I departed way back on March 16th,  over 5 months ago.  I suspect that everything should be "normal" until I am cleared through customs and immigration.  But from then on, it's anyone's guess as to what my fate will be.  According to what I have read so far, I will be put into a quarantine facility, and there I will have to remain for 14 days.  I have no idea where said facility is located, but perhaps it will be a hotel near the airport.  Fourteen days in the same room.  That should be an interesting adventure.  I've had many adventures in my life, but being locked into a room for that length of time is new territory.  Once there (wherever there is),  I hope that there is an internet connection because email will be my communication tool.  I have already asked a friend that I worked with at Aquabus, to provide me with a food drop, so I shouldn't starve to death, however, if for some reason, I can't get in touch with my friend Congo Bob then I guess it's going to be a hungry two weeks.  I can afford to lose some weight, but two weeks could be a challenge.

Anyhow, that's my situation, and I guess I will know soon enough how it all pans out. The day after my arrival is blog day, so IF I have an internet connection, and IF I get in touch with Congo Bob, I will be able to write a few words with regards to my situation.

So stay tuned readers.  A post next week will mean that I at least have the internet.  If there is no post, then you can all speculate as to what my situation is.  I have been through way more challenging situations in my life than a two-week quarantine, so it should be fine.  I'm sure to find out next week.

Right now though, I am going to head back out into that tropical paradise.  I want to spend as many hours as possible outside until I depart.  

grateful for every breath (even in a hotel room),

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

PLAN F(lorida)

POST # 418

MARY'S BEAUTIFUL GARDEN

Last month, my sister Rosie sent me an email with the title, "Plan B."  My response was that instead of that, I had a Plan F.   So, here we go with the story.

As mentioned a week ago, I have moved to a new location.  Plan F stands for Florida.  My dear friends Guy and Pauline needed a house/pet sitter for a couple of weeks, and in spite of the general concern regarding travel these days, it would have been very difficult for me to decline their offer.  I strongly suspect that this will be the very last time that I visit Florida, which means that this is probably the last opportunity that I will have to spend time with them.  It was an easy decision for me to make. We had a few precious days to visit, prior to their departure a couple of days ago, and now I am settling in with the two baby boneheads, Devo and Lilou.  When I call one or the other of them, I make the mistake of saying Dora instead of one of their names, but I guess that is to be expected, at least for a while.

After Mary dropped me off at the charter bus stop, I travelled to Sea-Tac airport in preparation for my flight later that same day.  I took a couple of photos there, and they certainly portray the world we live in right now.  Sea-Tac, was like a ghost town.  The only good thing about it was that going through security was a breeze.  It took less than five minutes, if that.  

GHOST TOWN OUTSIDE

GHOST TOWN GOING THROUGH SECURITY

My journey consisted of two separate flights.  The first was to Las Vegas of all places, and I decided to take a photo of one of the passengers.  Looks like he's resting up, prior to hitting the blackjack table.

SOCIAL DISTANCING?

This first leg was the shorter of the two flights, and I only had a 38 minute time span between my arrival in Las Vegas, and my departure to Orlando.  Ordinarily, that could have been a big problem, but McCarran airport in Vegas, was about as busy as Sea-Tac, so I had time to spare to make my connecting flight.  Flight number two was packed like a sardine can.  Without a doubt I was the oldest person on this flight.  The majority were probably between 25 and 40 years old.  In all my years of flying, I've never experienced that before.  It made me wonder if the younger generation seems to be less troubled by the pandemic, than the older folks?   I sat down, put in my ear plugs, closed my eyes, and tried to get a least a little bit of rest prior to my arrival in Orlando.

I landed at Orlando around 6:15am local time, and headed outside to the pre-arranged location that Guy had suggested.  After only a very short wait, they rolled up, and we were on our way to their house in Maitland.

Now, it's just me and the baby boneheads.  Guy and Pauline left me with plenty of food and drink, so I don't really need to leave this place at all, if I don't want to.  There is a bike that I can use, if I want to do some exploring around the area, but with temperatures into the 90's every day, and humidity in the 80's, I think I will be spending as much time indoors as I can.  You know it's hot outside, when the airconditioning unit in the house is set at 80F, and when you walk indoors, it feels nice and cool.  Yikes!!!

So I am now settled in, and I am enjoying spending time with Devo and Lilou.  They are both very low maintenance, so my job is easy.  I spend most of my time indoors because of the heat outside, but I do make an effort a few times each day, to go out back and have a soak in the swimming pool.  It offers a temporary relief from the weather.  Accompanied by a cool drink, it's not a bad place to spend a little time.

CORONA- THE BEER, NOT THE VIRUS

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

THANK YOU MARY AND DORA-DOG

POST # 417

By the time that I post this, I will have changed locations, for the first time since March 16th, 2020.

It's going to feel a bit strange to be in a different place, but if nothing else, I have become quite adaptable  to changing locations over the many years that I have wandered this planet.

Yesterday was a very sad day for me. I said goodbye to my dear friend Mary, and Dora-dog.  In light of what is going on in the world these days,  I do wonder when I will be able to see them again?

I have now settled in at my new location, and I will update my readers next week.

Right now, I am getting over a sleepless night, and so I will keep this short. 

Of course, I couldn't finish this post without a few (read many) photos of my favourite bonehead on the planet.  I'm sure that Mary is taking very good care of her.

Dora knows that something is up.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer