Winter Flight to Canada

OK....time for a change of pace! Over the past couple of weeks, we decided to take advantage of an Air Canada seat sale and flew up to Prince Edward Island for a quick visit with my two children. And Katie was able to complete her Canadian permanent resident process by

Snowshoeing at Afton Lake

"landing" at Pearson Airport in Toronto (hence, the term "landed immigrant")! That was the culmination of almost a year of paperwork, medical tests, and security clearances, but now she can enter, exit, and live in Canada without worrying about visas and the vagaries of border crossings these days. We flew out of Denver through Toronto and Montreal and on to Charlottetown. Both Abby and Daniel met us at the airport, and handed off the keys to my Ford Escape 4x4 that I had left there last November.

We managed to arrive on the Island during the coldest week of the year (-18C with a -27C windchill), but the days were sunny and pleasant. Katie got her social insurance number and PEI medicare card with a minimum of paperwork...in fact, both were completed in a matter of minutes.

We were able to drive into the cottage on the lake despite the unplowed lane which is almost a kilometer through the woods. We lit a fire in the woodstove and ate a bowl of homemade chili warmed up in the microwave. Katie had never snowshoed before, so I broke out two pairs from the shed, and we walked across the lake to visit with Monica and Tom, our only neighbors on the lake. Both of us agreed that wintering there would be a great adventure, and I suspect we will extend our stays there until Christmas, at least. We had dinner in town with the kids Sunday night....and then watched the Super Bowl!

Unfortunately, our return trip was not the "uneventful" travel that we have come to expect...and enjoy. We ran smack into "increased security" at the airport as we changed planes for Chicago in Toronto. Our carry-ons were searched (one guy even opened a bottle of "Beano" caplets to make sure they weren't....what???); I went through a full-body scanner; and our checked bag was delayed due to security, and we had to clear customs and immigration without it. Then, with only 25 minutes to take-off, we went to the wrong gate, but thanks to a great bus driver managed to board with only minutes to spare. Of course, we had to wait in Denver to file a missing baggage claim and then had to drive 90 miles to Colorado Springs! Almost twelve hours in-transit! But our lost bag returned home today...thanks United!

There is something wrong with a security system that treats 60-year-old hippies as suspects and misses the 20-year-old Muslim men who pay cash for their one-way ticket and board a plane to Detroit in December with no checked baggage and no winter clothing! All hail RVing as a saner way to travel...