Home Again!

Well, that was a very full weekend but I as I think of all the photos I need transfer to this desktop computer and to work through before I choose some for photors... I realize that I need more time for that. So I will try to give you a quick review - or the Short Story version today, and then the longer Photo Story next week.

I'm sort of expecting my neice Beth and her family to stop by here this morning. They were going to drive as far as Saskatoon yesterday, and then today on to their home in Edmonton, however they were interested in my offer of an aloe vera plant, so I gave them directions for finding my address. So far no sign of them, and as the clock keeps ticking on, I wonder if they gave up on that and decided to head for home.

I also have a chiropractor appointment at 2:30 this afternoon, so if the don't show up before I leave for that, we may just miss each other.

Back to last week. I spent most of the day on Friday packing and preparing for my flight to Winnipeg. I managed to download and print out my ticket confirmation, which turned out to be a blessing at the airport as I was waved through as soon as I met the first WestJet agent when I arrived at 5 pm. (My flight was to depart at 10 min. before 7 pm.)

Their website advised to arrive at least 120 minutes (1.5 hrs) ahead of time. So I got to the waiting area at Gate 3 in plenty of time, but I watched passengers coming off at least 3 other flights before we could board ours well after 7 pm. We took off at 8 pm.

In fact, I had plenty of time to chat with the woman beside me and found out that she grew up in Rosthern, and I said we had lived in Rostern for the year before I started school, but Hague was my hometown. We also discovered that we were both born the same year.

From what the pilot said over the PA system, all their flights had delays all day, but they were hoping to do a bit of catchup, so we would arrive in Winnipeg at 8:15 instead of 1.5 hrs after take-off. (At least we didn't hear of any flights cancelled at the last minute!)

My first big surprise was upon arrival in Winnipeg. We did not pull up to one of those tunnel entraces to the Arrivals area on the second floor (as in Saskatoon), but we had to lug our luggage down a flight of steps, walk across the tarmac and enter the building - which seemed deserted - and then walk what felt to me like 3 blocks of long, empty hallways. (I became somewhat jealous of those travellers who has their carryon lugggage with wheels an could pull them easily.)

I had weighed my bags at home in case anyone would ask about that. My purse weighed 5 lbs., my grey soft-sider briefcase weighed 7.5 lbs, and my brown bookbag, weighed 5 lbs. A day or two later I added those up one morning, and realized that I was lugging 17 extra lbs from my shoulders and hands. By the time I rounded a curve in the hallways and saw my brother Ernie at the carrousal for extra luggage (not carryon), I was exhausted and desperately looking for a bathroom door.

Poor Ernie. He had arrived according to the arrival information I had given him by phone from my ticket, with no clue until he got there that he had a long-long wait until I arrived.

They were planning to leave extra early in the morning to drive to Steinbach to set up for their anniversary event at the Mennonite Heritage Centre where they had rented a small banquet room. So we didn't do much visiting at what was past 10 pm their time.

I did learn though that my neice Beth had not come alone, but with her whole family, and they were put up for the night(s) in Ernie & Dori's new extra-long camper unit in the driveway. This was a thrill for me as I had been disappointed when I learned that none of my nieces and nephew's kids would be there. I had only met Micah about 17 years ago, when they brought him to Hague to take 4 generation photos with Dad. (He turns 18 tomorrow and has just graduated from high school, and already had a job to help pay for his college years. So he was not present; but I got to know Aiden, Zachariah, and Ehlana over the weekend!)

My instructions were to wait for Beth to get up in the morning, (we could scrounge in the full fridge for our breakfast), and come along with her on their car. (Corey and the 3 kids were to go along with Ernie & Dori to help with the decorating of the banquet room).

Oh-oh. I see this is going to be quite a long saga. I may have to do this installments. :)

I didn't start taking photos until we got to the Mennonite Heritage Centre. So there is definitely more to come!

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