When we got off the plane in Winnipeg, my husband said to me, "So, we are driving the next time?". It was a quarter to midnight. Our flight from Toronto to Winnipeg was supposed to leave at 11:45am. We arrived about 11 hours later than I had planned. It does not help that my brother now lives in Carman, an hour and a half from Winnipeg. By the time we got into bed, it was 2am, local time.
We had arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, but not too much so the kids would get bored. I also hoped my son would have his afternoon nap on the plane. I had brought lunches and snacks for everyone, which we ate before our flight was scheduled to take off. My daughter went to the washroom before we got in line to board. All was going according to plan.
After milling around the gate for half an hour with all the other impatient passengers, my husband looks at his watch and questions our 11:10am boarding time. We decide to take the children for a walk and wait for them to announce our flight. As we walked further from our gate, I realized we might not hear any announcements as I was only hearing them for nearby gates. There was still a large crowd waiting to board when we came back.
The flight was showing a delay until noon on the departures display. This did not make much sense as we were already 30 minutes behind schedule. We sat for a bit, but our kids were anxious to get on the plane, so we took them for another walk. When we came back, there was no longer anyone waiting at the gate. However, many of the mothers with babies were still sitting down waiting. The gate no longer listed our flight, and I could not find it on the departures display. I panicked, and my husband wondered if they had boarded everyone really quickly. Not likely!
At the gate, the attendant said, "It appears your flight has been cancelled. Please go down the hall to Customer Service." No announcement, nothing on the display board. I guess we were all just supposed to figure this out on our own. We were not the last to know. Unfortunately, it seemed everyone with babies and small children were at the end of the line. My cell phone did inform me of an itinerary change just as I finished texting my brother that my flight was cancelled. I was already in the line for Customer Service. Thanks for trying to keep me updated.
One mother went up to the service desk to see if they would give priority to families with small children, but she was told others ahead of us would be angry if we were given preferential treatment. Unlikely, but I see how the attendant had to give us the "first come first served" line. We ended up in line for over an hour. There were only two to three people dealing with a whole cancelled plane.
Based on what happened when I reached the counter, I assume they automatically booked passengers on later flights. Most people appeared to be getting on the 13:50 flight. There was also an earlier flight at 13:05, but I am not sure if anyone was able to make it as most of us were still in line at 1pm. We are a family of four, and I was not optimistic. I was expecting a flight out around 4pm. "You have been booked onto the 8:55pm flight." Wonderful.
They gave us $10 food vouchers for the airport concourse restaurants for lunch. I asked about supper, and we were told we would have to come back. I jokingly asked if there was a way to get toy or book vouchers for my kids instead. The attendant kind of looked confused, but then answered she was not sure. If I had chosen to stay at the airport, or had not had the option of leaving, I might have explored the possibility further. My husband suggested they have a movie theatre for stranded passengers.
I decided we would try to get back to my parents' home in Oakville for the afternoon because I was not spending seven hours in the airport. Then it occurred to me that our carseats were checked in. The attendant said they would have to pull all our bags to get the seats. No problem. She radioed the baggage guys. The carseats were already on their way to Winnipeg. Of course they were!
As we were trying to figure out what to do, the attendant came up to us, and told us the airport has carseats they lend out. Good to know, and this makes sense, as baggage can be lost. I am assuming since I was making a concerted effort not to freak out at the Air Canada attendant she was willing to help us. Or, maybe she was one of the good ones. The others, I noticed, were taking their lunch breaks with our huge line of people not moving, and complaining about not getting their break on time.
In the end, we decided to take a cab home. We got vouchers to cover our cost. We did not use carseats for our kids, as taxis are exempt. Yes, we were driving on the 401 and the 403 around Toronto with our children, aged five and three, only wearing seatbelts. If you are over 30, you probably travelled this way too, and lived to tell about it. The scariest part was on our way back to the airport when someone drifted into our lane, but otherwise, the trips were without incident.
We were able to have a late lunch, and supper at my parents'. I had a short nap, but my son did not. In fact, he only slept for about ten minutes on our way back to the airport, and was up until we landed in Winnipeg. At least we were able to relax at home until 7pm. There were families who had been at the airport since midnight, the night before.
We ended up boarding our flight about 20 minutes late because the previous plane was still in the gate. After boarding, we were sitting for quite some time. The pilot apologized for the late arrival of the plane due to issues in New York, but we also had another delay. Maintenance noticed a cracked light on the wing. After checking it for 10 minutes, they decided to change it. This took another 30 minutes. All in all, our plane left an hour and a half after we were supposed to leave. Hence our very late arrival.
Thank goodness the planes now all have personal video screens, and the entertainment systems were functioning the whole time we were on the ground. They also handed out earphones free of charge (normally $3). I had forgotten to bring earbuds for the kids. Now I have some for our next trip. And, because they are Air Canada brand, they will replace them if they do not work.
When I told people about our delay, and cancelled flight, the first thing everyone asked was whether we were flying Air Canada. This is not a good sign. Some of my friends said 50% of the time when they fly Air Canada there is an issue. Not two weeks earlier, my parents had a 4 hour delay going to Penticton. They missed the connection, and had to stay at a hotel near Vancouver airport for the night. Most people recommended West Jet as a better, and more personable experience. Granted, the woman with whom we dealt was doing a pretty good job. She helped us out as much as possible, and was very pleasant. Her colleagues were not so jovial or helpful, and they were quite vocal about their displeasure.
I know keeping airplanes on schedule is a difficult task. I also know the airlines are trying to make money, and it probably saved them money by filling up the remaining flights with passengers from our cancelled flight. It just makes me wonder what it is about Air Canada that they seem to experience more issues with their flights than other airlines. It could be that Air Canada has more flights than West Jet, and percentagewise, maybe the issues are comparable.
Our flight home the following week also had a 30 minute delay. This time it was because a passenger refused to get on the plane, so they had to remove her bags. Not really a foreseeable circumstance. Just bad luck for us. Fortunately, our final destination was Toronto, and it was 8:30am. Not the late arrival of last week. I did not have to spend three days catching up on my sleep deficit like the week before. However, next time, we might consider driving out. We have the time, and it is much cheaper than flying.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Posted with Blogsy
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
In awe of Olympians
I am a bit of a running freak in the summer. The sun rises early, and I am able to get out of the house around 7am, and go for a daily jog. My husband is a teacher, and he is home in the summer. He stays in the house with the kids while I get my daily fix. If I have timed it well, I am usually home before everyone wakes up. I don't usually time it well, at least from my husband's perspective. For some reason my children don't sleep in during the summer. Does anyone else have this problem?
I wrote "jog" because after watching the women's marathon the other day, I realized I move at a snail's pace compared to them. It takes me 38 minutes to run about 6 km. I am under half an hour for 5km. These women had already run 11 km in 40 minutes when I tuned in, and it didn't look like their pace slowed terribly toward the end of the race. The gold medalist, Tiki Galena, finished the marathon in 2 hours and 23 minutes, after crashing, and injuring herself. If I kept my pace, and this is a big if, it would take me 4 hours and 26 minutes to complete a marathon.
Then there are the triatheletes. They swim 1.5km, bike 40km, and finish with a 10km run. I had thought about doing a triathalon, years ago. I used to swim daily in university, for exercise. I used to bike to school from my off campus home. I ran a bit back then too. I never got around to trying a triathalon. I remember talking to an organizer of one, he said as long as you stay on your feet during the run section, they will let you finsh. I am not sure if I am ambitious enough to do a triathalon anymore. I am barely ambitious enough to sign up for a 5 or 10km race.
I like running. It gives me some time to listen to my podcasts. Sometimes, I get lost in my thoughts while running. But, I don't really push myself. I have been told if I were to run in a race, I would probably be a little faster. Running with others automatically brings out the competitiveness in us. I can see that. Running around my neighbourhood, I rarely come across another runner. In Oakville, I pass by lots of runners, especially on the weekends. We are usually going in opposite directions, but I speed up when I run past someone.
I run because it makes me feel better, it is good for me, and I have the time in the spring and summer. Once the days start getting shorter, I find it harder to run. I am not a fan of running in the dark, alone. I also do not like running in the winter on snow and ice. My father used to run in the winter when we lived in Manitoba. Crazy man. I am always worried I will slip and fall. Yes, I like running, but these Olympians have a drive in them that makes them want to be the best in the world. Sometimes, I wish I had a strong passion for something, but we can't all be so driven. Some of us are quite happy, jogging along the highway, listening to Quirks and Quarks, and occasionally picking up the pace, just to see if we do have it in us.
I wrote "jog" because after watching the women's marathon the other day, I realized I move at a snail's pace compared to them. It takes me 38 minutes to run about 6 km. I am under half an hour for 5km. These women had already run 11 km in 40 minutes when I tuned in, and it didn't look like their pace slowed terribly toward the end of the race. The gold medalist, Tiki Galena, finished the marathon in 2 hours and 23 minutes, after crashing, and injuring herself. If I kept my pace, and this is a big if, it would take me 4 hours and 26 minutes to complete a marathon.
Then there are the triatheletes. They swim 1.5km, bike 40km, and finish with a 10km run. I had thought about doing a triathalon, years ago. I used to swim daily in university, for exercise. I used to bike to school from my off campus home. I ran a bit back then too. I never got around to trying a triathalon. I remember talking to an organizer of one, he said as long as you stay on your feet during the run section, they will let you finsh. I am not sure if I am ambitious enough to do a triathalon anymore. I am barely ambitious enough to sign up for a 5 or 10km race.
I like running. It gives me some time to listen to my podcasts. Sometimes, I get lost in my thoughts while running. But, I don't really push myself. I have been told if I were to run in a race, I would probably be a little faster. Running with others automatically brings out the competitiveness in us. I can see that. Running around my neighbourhood, I rarely come across another runner. In Oakville, I pass by lots of runners, especially on the weekends. We are usually going in opposite directions, but I speed up when I run past someone.
I run because it makes me feel better, it is good for me, and I have the time in the spring and summer. Once the days start getting shorter, I find it harder to run. I am not a fan of running in the dark, alone. I also do not like running in the winter on snow and ice. My father used to run in the winter when we lived in Manitoba. Crazy man. I am always worried I will slip and fall. Yes, I like running, but these Olympians have a drive in them that makes them want to be the best in the world. Sometimes, I wish I had a strong passion for something, but we can't all be so driven. Some of us are quite happy, jogging along the highway, listening to Quirks and Quarks, and occasionally picking up the pace, just to see if we do have it in us.
Monday, August 6, 2012
If memory serves me correctly...
I pride myself on my memory. I like to think I have a fairly good memory. Memory is a funny thing, though. Very often you will be convinced something happened a certain way, but, upon review, you realize the sequence may be incorrect, or something entirely different occurred. Of course, it helps if you were able to document it shortly after the incident, say in a journal, blog or tweet, or capture the moment on video. Nowdays, there are plenty of devices to help keep the memories alive, for better or for worse.
Why am I talking about memory? One of the more interesting parts of our of recent camping trip was running into someone from my hometown. You might not find this interesting, but I grew up in a small town in Manitoba, and Santa's Village (Bracebridge, Ontario) was the last place I was expecting to see someone from Pinawa.
My family, and I were standing around the Rec Centre at the campground, watching kids meet with "Santa", and someone called out my name. I turned, and looked, expecting to see a person from Sudbury. Instead, I was looking at a man whose face I could not place at all. Mentally, I was flipping through my memory book of faces, and I was coming up with nothing. It must have shown because almost immediately he introduced himself. Once he said his name, I recognized him, but it is amazing how the circumstances of our meeting did not allow me to see him as familiar, initially.
I had not seen him in about ten years. He was greyer, and bigger, and, as I said, not someone I was expecting to see at Santa's Village. Granted, he and his family live in Brampton, so it is only a two and a half hour drive for them. I am sure to run into other people from Pinawa in Ontario, as many of them have moved out here. My parents still visit often with his parents who live in the Niagara Region. In fact, I have seen his parents more recently, and frequently than I have seen him.
He introduced me to his wife, and she said we met at their wedding 12 years ago. Again, I had another memory break down. I did not remember being at their wedding. I suggested maybe we met at her inlaws house. It wasn't until I was speaking with my husband about how much the man had changed when my husband reminded me of their wedding. As soon as my husband said he was at the wedding too, all the images of the day came back to me.
I could not believe my husband was reminding me of something. Normally, his memory is not the best. Although, it tends to be more his short term memory that is an issue. He also remembered all these little details, like how the wife recorded a song of her singing. The best man was a videographer, and he did a montage for the wedding. I should have remembered. I have only been to five weddings. It was also the first wedding my husband and I went to. We had recently started dating.
When we met up with the family again, I apologized and said his wife was correct about us being at their wedding. He laughed, and said he didn't remember the day at all. He said it was a good thing they got married in 2000, because he can remember how long they were married for, but he has no recollection of the event himself. Too much alcohol, I assume. It is too bad to forgot such a monumental occasion in your life. I have extremely fond memories of my wedding day. It was a lot of fun.
Other days I don't want to forget, but are fading slightly, are the days when my children were born. Unfortunately, we do not have video of their births, but we do have plenty of pictures. I find now, my memories are often composed of images instead of a "live action" movie like memory. Sometimes, I wonder if I really remember the event, or if I just remember the pictures I took of the event.
Then, there are things you want to forget, but they keep cropping up in your mind. Those embarassing moments often stay with us forever. The funny thing is, we probably have a much more vivid impression of the incident (blown way out of proportion) than anyone else involved because we were the centre of the embarassment. We focus on what happened to us at that particular moment in time. The other people involved were probably just as focused on themselves, and they may have a completely different recollection of what happened.
Memory depends a lot of perception. You might think everyone remembers the time you walked into the sign post, but odds are, unless you remind them of it, they probably won't ever think about it. The reverse can be true as well. Something you might have thought was trivial could be swirling around in the memory of someone you know, and before long, they are angry with you about your behaviour, and you do not even know what you did.
Your memory is likely not what really happened, and unless we have constant video and audio recordings of everything we do, and say, there will always be misinterpretations, or exaggerations of what actually occured. The best we can hope for is the majority of people we interact with live in the moment, and don't dwell on the past. We want to, and shouldm remember the good. Remembering our "mistakes" is helpful, to not repeat hurtful, or silly actions, but we should not let them ruin our lives. Sit back, and think about your first, best kiss, when your baby first smiled at you, or the amazing meal you cooked last night. Those memories are worth holding on to.
Why am I talking about memory? One of the more interesting parts of our of recent camping trip was running into someone from my hometown. You might not find this interesting, but I grew up in a small town in Manitoba, and Santa's Village (Bracebridge, Ontario) was the last place I was expecting to see someone from Pinawa.
My family, and I were standing around the Rec Centre at the campground, watching kids meet with "Santa", and someone called out my name. I turned, and looked, expecting to see a person from Sudbury. Instead, I was looking at a man whose face I could not place at all. Mentally, I was flipping through my memory book of faces, and I was coming up with nothing. It must have shown because almost immediately he introduced himself. Once he said his name, I recognized him, but it is amazing how the circumstances of our meeting did not allow me to see him as familiar, initially.
I had not seen him in about ten years. He was greyer, and bigger, and, as I said, not someone I was expecting to see at Santa's Village. Granted, he and his family live in Brampton, so it is only a two and a half hour drive for them. I am sure to run into other people from Pinawa in Ontario, as many of them have moved out here. My parents still visit often with his parents who live in the Niagara Region. In fact, I have seen his parents more recently, and frequently than I have seen him.
He introduced me to his wife, and she said we met at their wedding 12 years ago. Again, I had another memory break down. I did not remember being at their wedding. I suggested maybe we met at her inlaws house. It wasn't until I was speaking with my husband about how much the man had changed when my husband reminded me of their wedding. As soon as my husband said he was at the wedding too, all the images of the day came back to me.
I could not believe my husband was reminding me of something. Normally, his memory is not the best. Although, it tends to be more his short term memory that is an issue. He also remembered all these little details, like how the wife recorded a song of her singing. The best man was a videographer, and he did a montage for the wedding. I should have remembered. I have only been to five weddings. It was also the first wedding my husband and I went to. We had recently started dating.
When we met up with the family again, I apologized and said his wife was correct about us being at their wedding. He laughed, and said he didn't remember the day at all. He said it was a good thing they got married in 2000, because he can remember how long they were married for, but he has no recollection of the event himself. Too much alcohol, I assume. It is too bad to forgot such a monumental occasion in your life. I have extremely fond memories of my wedding day. It was a lot of fun.
Other days I don't want to forget, but are fading slightly, are the days when my children were born. Unfortunately, we do not have video of their births, but we do have plenty of pictures. I find now, my memories are often composed of images instead of a "live action" movie like memory. Sometimes, I wonder if I really remember the event, or if I just remember the pictures I took of the event.
Then, there are things you want to forget, but they keep cropping up in your mind. Those embarassing moments often stay with us forever. The funny thing is, we probably have a much more vivid impression of the incident (blown way out of proportion) than anyone else involved because we were the centre of the embarassment. We focus on what happened to us at that particular moment in time. The other people involved were probably just as focused on themselves, and they may have a completely different recollection of what happened.
Memory depends a lot of perception. You might think everyone remembers the time you walked into the sign post, but odds are, unless you remind them of it, they probably won't ever think about it. The reverse can be true as well. Something you might have thought was trivial could be swirling around in the memory of someone you know, and before long, they are angry with you about your behaviour, and you do not even know what you did.
Your memory is likely not what really happened, and unless we have constant video and audio recordings of everything we do, and say, there will always be misinterpretations, or exaggerations of what actually occured. The best we can hope for is the majority of people we interact with live in the moment, and don't dwell on the past. We want to, and shouldm remember the good. Remembering our "mistakes" is helpful, to not repeat hurtful, or silly actions, but we should not let them ruin our lives. Sit back, and think about your first, best kiss, when your baby first smiled at you, or the amazing meal you cooked last night. Those memories are worth holding on to.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Camping success.
I must say, our first foray into camping was quite satisfactory. Despite a few minor hiccups, we had a very enjoyable three days at Whispering Pines Campground, next to Santa's Village. I know my husband's favourite part was when we finally went for a paddle in the canoe. I think the kids enjoyed that part too, even though my daughter said it was "tiring".
The hiccups? We had two too big air mattresses, so I had to go into town, and buy a twin. Upon my return, one of the other, larger air mattresses appeared to be leaking air. It was brand new. I am not really a fan of sleeping on an air mattress. I think they serve a better purpose when my children use them as a trampoline. I kind of felt like I was bouncing while sleeping. Or, sinking as the air leaked out. Note to self, ask for a Dreamtime Thermarest for Christmas... or my birthday, or both, and then I can have two.
Also, I forgot my pillow. There were two little ones in the double sleeping bag, which the children used. I forgot their pillows too (and their blankets!). My husband brought himself a pillow. I tried using my clothes the first night, but that just hurt my neck. I managed to share a small portion of my husband's pillow, but this did not work when my son decided to sleep in between us. The second night, I had half my husband's pillow right off the bat, and fell asleep quite easily. My son, however, stole his spot when Daddy went to get him something to drink, at my request. Daddy ended up with a baby pillow on the twin mattress, only to be woken up later by my irate son, angry Daddy stole his spot.
My daughter sleeps extremely well in tents. My son does not. Maybe he is still too young at three years old. Maybe he will always have issues. It was noisy outside our tent until about 9:30pm. We were beside the playground, and I think some parents were using the philosophy of tiring the kids out so they would instantly fall sleep, instead of trying to get them down before the meltdowns. My son wanted to be outside playing with these kids. We had two difficult evenings of him crawling about the tent in an effort to stall sleeping. It did not matter whether he had napped earlier in the day, or not. Fortunately, fatigue eventually won out, and we did get some long periods of sleep from him.
We had a great time. The kids enjoyed swimming, and shivering, in the refreshing pool. We checked out the waterfalls at the centre of Bracebridge. I found a great spot with a huge park for the kids, and a trail leading us up to the dam. If my children had been a little older, we probably could have walked all the way to downtown Bracebridge, and checked out the shops. Instead, we went back to the park, and had a fun little picnic.
The campground has a nice play structure, and when we were not in the pool, we were watching the kids run around the park. The campground Rec Centre also had lots of toys, games and books for the kids, and nightly activities. We did a family craft the second night, and "dined" with Santa the first night.
I think the hardest part for my daughter was waiting two days before we went to Santa's Village. We were right beside the park, but Mommy and Daddy decided to only visit the park on the last day of our stay. She did very well, and despite asking every hour or so, we still managed to keep her and her brother entertained until the big day arrived.
All in all I would call this trip a succes. We know what we would do differently next time. We have a better idea of the type of gear we would like to have with us. The camping stove, an on sale purchase, with the burner and grill, was a good idea. The electric cooler that does not allow you to put ice in it, not a good idea, especially on an unserviced site. Deflating air mattress, bad idea. So, off we go to Canadian Tire and Walmart to return our duds. Or, maybe this will be our strategy each year. Buy new gear, and return it after the camping trip. Naw, too much work.
http://santasvillage.ca/
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/SleepingBags/SleepingPadsInflating/PRD~5023-667/therm-a-rest-dreamtime-sleeping-pad.jsp
http://www.theheartofmuskoka.com/main4.cfm?id=8EC0106A-1372-5A65-3B8EB5CAE13274DF
The hiccups? We had two too big air mattresses, so I had to go into town, and buy a twin. Upon my return, one of the other, larger air mattresses appeared to be leaking air. It was brand new. I am not really a fan of sleeping on an air mattress. I think they serve a better purpose when my children use them as a trampoline. I kind of felt like I was bouncing while sleeping. Or, sinking as the air leaked out. Note to self, ask for a Dreamtime Thermarest for Christmas... or my birthday, or both, and then I can have two.
Also, I forgot my pillow. There were two little ones in the double sleeping bag, which the children used. I forgot their pillows too (and their blankets!). My husband brought himself a pillow. I tried using my clothes the first night, but that just hurt my neck. I managed to share a small portion of my husband's pillow, but this did not work when my son decided to sleep in between us. The second night, I had half my husband's pillow right off the bat, and fell asleep quite easily. My son, however, stole his spot when Daddy went to get him something to drink, at my request. Daddy ended up with a baby pillow on the twin mattress, only to be woken up later by my irate son, angry Daddy stole his spot.
My daughter sleeps extremely well in tents. My son does not. Maybe he is still too young at three years old. Maybe he will always have issues. It was noisy outside our tent until about 9:30pm. We were beside the playground, and I think some parents were using the philosophy of tiring the kids out so they would instantly fall sleep, instead of trying to get them down before the meltdowns. My son wanted to be outside playing with these kids. We had two difficult evenings of him crawling about the tent in an effort to stall sleeping. It did not matter whether he had napped earlier in the day, or not. Fortunately, fatigue eventually won out, and we did get some long periods of sleep from him.
We had a great time. The kids enjoyed swimming, and shivering, in the refreshing pool. We checked out the waterfalls at the centre of Bracebridge. I found a great spot with a huge park for the kids, and a trail leading us up to the dam. If my children had been a little older, we probably could have walked all the way to downtown Bracebridge, and checked out the shops. Instead, we went back to the park, and had a fun little picnic.
The campground has a nice play structure, and when we were not in the pool, we were watching the kids run around the park. The campground Rec Centre also had lots of toys, games and books for the kids, and nightly activities. We did a family craft the second night, and "dined" with Santa the first night.
I think the hardest part for my daughter was waiting two days before we went to Santa's Village. We were right beside the park, but Mommy and Daddy decided to only visit the park on the last day of our stay. She did very well, and despite asking every hour or so, we still managed to keep her and her brother entertained until the big day arrived.
All in all I would call this trip a succes. We know what we would do differently next time. We have a better idea of the type of gear we would like to have with us. The camping stove, an on sale purchase, with the burner and grill, was a good idea. The electric cooler that does not allow you to put ice in it, not a good idea, especially on an unserviced site. Deflating air mattress, bad idea. So, off we go to Canadian Tire and Walmart to return our duds. Or, maybe this will be our strategy each year. Buy new gear, and return it after the camping trip. Naw, too much work.
http://santasvillage.ca/
http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/SleepingBags/SleepingPadsInflating/PRD~5023-667/therm-a-rest-dreamtime-sleeping-pad.jsp
http://www.theheartofmuskoka.com/main4.cfm?id=8EC0106A-1372-5A65-3B8EB5CAE13274DF
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