Home again, home again, jiggety jig

I got home very late last night (April 11), to bed after 1 AM, but I made it!

1. It was a wonderful holiday with Dad, lots of sightseeing, and we muddled through just fine food-wise, though neither of us cooks (I did bake my dairy-free, sugar-free Irish soda bread and pumpkin muffins, though.)

2. Both flights were on time and uneventful, as was the train to Toronto on April 3rd and the UP Express train from Union Station to the airport. No problems at all; yay! The bus home, was a different story, though.

3. I took over 800 pics that I have to wade through, cull, and then edit.

4. Trip highlights, other than spending time with Dad: The Reifel Bird Sanctuary, the Van Dusen Gardens, and lunch in Queen Elizabeth Park (in Vancouver) with its incredible views of the city and mountains beyond.

The only glitch: I knew I would get into Pearson from Vancouver too late to make my way downtown to pick up the last Via Rail train home, so I had booked the bus instead (one of the two companies in town that goes back and forth between here and there). I was expecting the double-decker bus I typically see, but we got the little bus instead, one that seats about 18.

It departed on the dot of 7 PM, which was great. In fact, all was well until the bus suddenly "died" near Napanee. We ended up stranded on the side of highway #401 (one of the busiest highways in North America), in the pitch dark, pouring rain, and high wind. It wasn't a good spot, unfortunately, as there was no real shoulder, and the transport trucks were zooming by all too close. I've seen plenty of news reports where things like this take a tragic turn.

I'll gloss over the driver trying to get through to get help (we were the last bus of the day), and it turned out that the only other driver on the road had been called to Ottawa because one of the Via trains was stuck (or somehow delayed) and those passengers needed to be bused. There was no guarantee that he would be willing to come and assist us, and in any case, it would have been at least a two hour wait. There were 14 of us on the bus at that point, plus the driver, none of us happy. I doubt I was the only one who was scared to bits of becoming a highway fatality.

Anyway, by some miracle, the bus started up again after half an hour or so (?...I lost track of time and had been up and travelling for many long hours by this point). We limped into Napanee to drop off one customer, then it was decided to keep going as long as we could.

That (sort of) worked. The bus would run for a kilometer or two, then die; the driver would have to coast to a stop and restart. This went on until he got us to another exit, where we took the old highway the rest of the way (it turns into one of main thoroughfares here). Once we were actually in the city I was fine, I knew if the bus gave up completely I could get a taxi. We made it to the bus depot, though, and after thanking him profusely for getting us back safely, I called a cab. I think it was about 11:30 PM before I got home, and it was after 1 AM before I finally was able to crawl into bed.

So that's that! I don't want to travel anywhere any time soon, though!

I don't yet have really interesting pics to share, these are just a few quick snapshots from the start of the trip. I'll post pics of the sightseeing once I get the snapshots done.

I think this fellow's name was Alfred, if I remember correctly. He and his human weren't on my flight.

I zoomed in on the cockpit on the flight out, before departure obviously. I cried during take-off on both flights, but on the plus side, I didn't spill food or drink on me. A win!

Pretty floral display at Crescent Beach. We stopped there for a snack after visiting Stewart Farm.

I hope everyone is well; take care!