Moving along - trunks and suitcases

On one of the blogs that I read regularly the author was writing about taking a university student back to school for another term.

Summer is almost over and Labour Day weekend is coming soon. Soon there will be school buses on the road again. I saw some last week - one of the local school boards went back to classes early.

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I went to camp for 6 summers.
I went to boarding school for 4 years.
I went to university for 6 years.

I used a large old trunk. It was a family one from the past. Kathi being younger got a new one.

I had this trunk for quite a while. Finally I took it to the curb for the garbage. It was very old and smelly by that time.

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I got my first suitcase - it was a Samsonite turquoise one - for my 13th birthday. I was going to need it for going to boarding school in the fall of that year.

The suitcases that I have now are somewhat out of date but that is alright - I am not much of a traveller.

This fall I will need them a few times.

I am going on an overnight women’s renewal weekend from St. John’s.
I will be spending a few nights at the convent in Toronto.
I will be going to Vancouver for a week or so.

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What is interesting about my current large suitcase is that it is several generations out of date. It has soft sides and is a light blue colour. It has a fuzzy ball attached. It is quite noticeable when it arrives with all the luggage off the airplane.
　

Outing to Rockport and Merrickville

A friend and I took a day trip yesterday for a cruise on the St. Lawrence River and to the touristy town of Merrickville.

The drive was quite pleasant on the back roads. Travelling on the major highways was not so interesting.

It was a hot day and a nice time to be on the river. We saw many large cottages (American) and large boats flying American flags. One was not too sure which country we were in at any time.

We had a full meal on board and it was very nice. We sat with some interesting folks.

Rockport is very tiny and looks like it shuts down for the winter.

Then on to Merrickville on the Rideau Canal. There are lots of historic buildings. We watched boats going through the locks. We figured out that they were coming from the Ottawa direction and going towards Kingston. There are lots of places to see here - we stopped in a few stores and bought some ice cream - much needed in the heat.

On the drive home we came through Kemptville where one can now attend the University of Guelph. It is growing by leaps and bounds.

We saw some nice scenery and nice areas of the countryside - including the river. It was nice to take a bus trip and to not have to drive in the heat. The bus was air conditioned and my little car is not.

　

Kings Town - Kingston Ontario

Kingston City Hall.

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I had been to Kingston twice before - for a library group meeting and a little trip with my mom some years ago. This time it was a one day bus trip. It was a very hot summer day and it was good to be in an air conditioned place whenever possible.

We had a very nice lunch at a real pub. We took a trolley bus tour of the city.

We only went by Fort Henry and did not stop so we did not see the mascot goat that lives there. We also did not get an O Henry chocolate bar which I did on my first visit there.

We saw various sites connected with John A. Macdonald. We saw what would have been Parliament Hill if Kingston had been the capital instead of Ottawa. It did not look to be too impressive but I can say that living in Ottawa!

We had an ice cream cone after the bus tour to help us cool off.

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The tour guide on the bus was a university student and he talked the whole time. He told us that the city was known as Kings Town before it was Kingston.

Russian influences

I am planning to travel to foreign countries - the U.S. - and now I need to acquire a passport. I checked out my old ones that were filed away. One of the interesting border stamps was from Poker Creek Alaska - a very tiny place.

My mom were taking a tour through northern areas. We went to Dawson Creek and Whitehorse and Juneau Alaska. From there we took a cruise ship down the coast to Vancouver. It was beautiful scenery.

We stopped at Sitka Alaska where the Russian influence is visible in the buildings especially the churches. The Russians sold Alaska to the U.S. in 1867 - the same year Canada became a country.

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Many thousands of miles away my mom was with her cousin near the Finnish Russian border. My mom was interested in visiting Russia. When you look on a map the major border crossing city of Vaalimaa Finland is across from St. Petersburg. She asked her cousin about this but she said there was no way they would ever go to Russia. Finland is a small country and Russia is a large one. Finland was Russian for over 100 years. During WW II Finland was on the German side.

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On a related note I worked with someone whose background was Russian. When her mom died I went to the funeral. It was quite a different experience because the service was so unfamiliar.

Airports

Folks in Ottawa who want to see President Obama tomorrow will not be able to see him at the airport. He will not even see the newly renovated terminal.

On my trip to and from Montreal last fall the bus stopped at the Dorval Airport - now known as the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

On my first trip to England in the fall of 1975 we left from Dorval. There was some possibility that we would return to Mirabel Airport but it was not open when we returned.

Mirabel Airport was close by where my mom lived in Lachute. You could hear the planes flying over the house.

I did fly out of there on another trip - to England and France. They had some interesting shuttles which took you out to your plane. I was watching a movie where the shuttles looked to be quite familiar. Sure enough in the credits, the movie was filmed there.

Now the airport looks to be very lonely. What a waste! It is easy to find some sad looking pictures on the Internet.

U.S. travels

Isn’t she cute? This was me in the summer of 1953 so I was just past 2 years old. We went to Maine.

There were other family trips to this part of New England. I do remember being introduced to certain foods which have continued to be favourites. On my first trip I had scrambled eggs for breakfast and as a nice touch parsley was added. I called it seashore flower. Then some years later when I was a preteen my parents were eating lobster for dinner. I was interested in trying some and I did. I quite liked it.

My latest trip to the U.S. was with my mom to Ithaca New York. We enjoyed the drive there and back. We stayed at a bed and breakfast. We enjoyed touring around the countryside and seeing the local sights.

Flying...what a nice view

So why is it good to get a window seat when flying? Is it fun to watch where you are?

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Returning from the Middle East, we flew high over London as our captain told us this. It was at night and brightly lit up.

Again returning from the Middle East, we stopped in Vienna. It was so green after the dry landscape of the Middle East.

When flying up to Alaska the pilot made a slight detour to let us see the highest mountain in Canada - Mount Logan. It was a beautiful day and we could clearly see its snowy top. There was some controversy a few years ago when there were plans to change the name of the mountain to Mount Trudeau. This did not happen.

Because of living in Ottawa, I often fly over the Great Lakes. I have to think of my geography lessons to remember which one is shaped like what. It is obvious when flying over this part of the country to see the effects of the Ice Age - the lakes all point in the same direction.

Last fall flying home from Vancouver the only view I had was of the Rockies - quite spectacular of course. The rest of the way home it was too cloudy to see anything.

There is a old picture taken by my dad of Iceland (or was it Greenland) out the window of the plane. He was on his way to Europe. It is not too clear what you are looking at.

Coming home from South America, we flew high above the Caribbean islands. The different colours of the water closer to the islands were very noticeable - a beautiful blue.

What is always interesting is leaving or coming into a city - whether I am familiar with the place or not. Can I find familiar landmarks or am I confused?

I do like flying over a city at night with all the lights twinkling.

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My first flight was not too enjoyable - I was quite nervous. It was in the company plane which belonged to the company where my dad worked. We went for a very short flight over the lakes and low mountains (Laurentians) near Lachute. Now I would really enjoy that view.