Canada is Wonderful...in the Summer

I love Canada. We typically visit it every six weeks, just to make sure it is still there. Beautiful country. Cold, but beautiful. My favorite trips to Canada are when I don't have to wear five layers of clothing to feel warm enough to avoid frostbite. Mid-July, you say? Perfect!

We started the week early Monday morning. For a 5:00 AM departure, I had to be up and at 'em at 3:00 AM. I don't mind getting up early and rather enjoy it, but this was a little too early! We flew to Springfield, Missouri for our fuel stop before continuing on to Hamilton, Ontario just south of Toronto. During each visit to Canada, we always spend at least one day in Hamilton. It is a cute "town" of 350,000 people. The best thing? They still sell my favorite candy in the world, Reeses Bites. I always keep my fingers crossed as I walk into Wal-Mart. "Please don't be gone, please don't be gone." They stopped making them in the States years ago, and I am dreading the day the Hershey vaults will finally run dry of Reeses Bites. I check for an expiration date but can never find one. As if I would let that stop me from eating them! For now, they continue to sell them in Canada, and I continue to buy a few bags every time I am there. Bliss in an orange bag? These things are insane. I ate them before I could take a picture. If you have tried them, I am sure you understand where I am coming from!

Tuesday was my trip to Canada's Wonderful (see post below). Wednesday meant a very early morning to have wheels-up by 7:00 AM Eastern time. Unfortunately, Halifax was fogged in and we couldn't get in until that evening. We decided to go to Montreal instead. A very French city, but I enjoy my short visits there. The people who work at Starlink Aviation are very good to us, and we can use the crew car to grab a bite to eat. I also tried to nap in the snooze room, but I don't think I was very successful. At about 5:30 PM, Ron and the rest of the gang showed up for our flight to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Such a gorgeous city! I love visiting Halifax, as long as the temperatures read in the positive!

Halifax is on Atlantic time (Phoenix time plus four hours), but I luckily got to sleep until 5:00 AM my time. We rode in the company suburban to Subway (Ron's favorite....we eat there at least once a day on the road when we are with him), then to the airport half an hour away. We flew over two hours to our next stop in St. John's, Newfoundland. Check a map...it is almost in Europe! It also has its own time zone, called Newfoundland Time, which is Atlantic plus thirty minutes! It's Canada...and they can do whatever the stink they want with their time zones. After we dropped the passengers off at the U-Haul site, we got to take the van for an hour of sight-seeing and picture-taking. Except for Ron, none of the passengers had been to Canada before. So I took it upon myself to take pictures for them as a memento. And I will always use any excuse to take more pictures! We rushed back to the U-Haul to pick them up, then flew to Quebec City in Quebec. Also very French. Considering how most of this town's economy relies on tourism, you would think they would be more friendly to tourists. In most of the restaurants, I have to point to pictures on the menu so they understand what I want. And sometimes when the food shows up, I am still surprised! And they aren't nice about it!

Friday afternoon we left Quebec for home. Because of all the passengers, we had to stop twice on the way home (an airplane can only carry so much weight...either fuel or passengers, but not lots of both). Our first stop was in Peoria, Illinois so we could clear Customs. After a mad dash to Subway for lunch (you thought I was kidding!), we continued to Garden City, Kansas for fuel. They only had one guy working, so I fueled the wings while he fueled the fuselage tank. Anything to help me get home more quickly to my sweetie! We landed in Phoenix at 5:30 PM after a long, fun, not-cold week. It really is a beautiful country!

Phoenix - Springfield - Hamilton - Montreal - Halifax - St. John's - Quebec - Peoria - Garden City - Phoenix