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