We arrived last night, around 20:00 local time. A quick run through the airport, and we were tracking through the back country out to Janice’s place in Kintore.
The house was cool (old farm houses tend to lack a lot of insulation or it mostly needs to be replaced) so Alex was a little chilly most of the time. We watched Bon Cop Bad Cop until around midnight or so (22:00 our time) before we were tired enough to go to sleep. I’d picked it up during what will be my last bout of Boxing Day sales. They’re hardly sales, since most of the prices (for the things I wanted) were still steep.
The cool house required several layers of blankets for warmth. I slept reasonably well. Alex didn’t, though more due to an inability to breathe. Janice’s house, in addition to being older, is much more humid (Ontario weather), dusty (due to age and size), and has two cats Alex’s immune system is unfamiliar with. End result: up much of the night.
After giving up on trying to start Janice’s car, we got a lift from her neighbour back to the airport to pick up a rental car: a Dodge Calibur. We hadn’t asked for the Calibur — that’s what we were given. That’s what Enterprise defines as a “small car”. It’s certainly not the smallest thing on the roads, but it made for a comfortable ride out to Oakville. We figured it was a good chance to visit with family.
Our first stop was at Burlington Mall to get Alex’s cousin Tara’s new baby a present. Then it was a 20 minute stop at Tara’s house before proceeding to Craig and Cathy’s. Tori was not in a mood to see us at all, and regularly ran away from both Alex and I. Turmoil is wreaking havoc with her, due to Craig working for the last several weeks in Windsor and Tori starting in day care so Cathy can go back to work.
Our visit was too short, as always. We came in, chatted with Cathy and Craig, headed over to Mom’s for dinner for almost three hours, then were back on the road by 19:30 heading to London. Alex seems far more comfortable with driving in Southern Ontario than I am. Maybe I’ve become less tolerant of long-distance drives?
Stopping briefly at Janice’s house again, we dropped off cat food and a new electric heating pad before heading off to the Quality Suites hotel in south London for the night. Alex needs her rest, and a room free of airborne irritants is important. Tomorrow, we join the rest of Alex’s family in St. Thomas for visitation. At some point, I’ve got to get back to Oakville for my flight home. Not sure yet how I’m going to do that…
