Hello readers,
After a 2 year hiatus in BloggingLand, I am back!
I have an opportunity to travel for work to Tel Aviv Israel in early June this year. Needless to say I am more than excited to take the opportunity and try to capture this incredible trip as much as I can. If you are reading this post then you already know how I feel about travelling. I love it!
There is roughly over a month left before I hit the road. I am trying to learn HRG the government travelling system to get my paperwork ready for the trip. Well, I learned that HRG is a terrible system to use but then again it's government after all. Nothing makes sense!
I spent 2 weeks on HRG and with lots of help from colleagues I think I finally got it ... this time. Because I will definitely need help if I have to use it again. Sadly! But I am happy to say that I have the itinerary for the trip! woohoo!! Now it feels more real. The itinerary is as follows:
OUTBOUND
Saturday June 4th
Ottawa YOW to Toronto YYZ
Toronto YYZ to Tel Aviv TLV
INBOUND
Saturday June 11th
Tel Aviv TLV to Frankfurt FRA
Frankfurt FRA to Ottawa YOW
I've been doing some research on what to expect in the Holyland. Israel is full of history and adversities. The people are nice and welcoming. I learned that Tel Aviv is the second biggest city in Israel behind Jerusalem. It's full of life and promises and I can't wait to experience that with my own eyes. There are a few things I'd like to takeaway from this trip. First and foremost the foods, coffee, local beers, may do some shopping in the HaCarmel St market and along Sheinkin St., art galleries on Ben Yehuda St., swim in the Mediterranean Sea, Rothschild Blvd, and ......
Unfortunately this is a work trip so I won't have time to explore outside of Tel Aviv. Maybe the next trip I'll go the Dead Sea to experience the salty waters! So my next post it will be from the actual trip.
Until then,
Phil
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Thursday, 31 July 2014
Cruise 2014
We did it. Cruise 2014 was in the book.
We started our vacation with a 22 hour drive from home to Cape Cavaneral FL. The weather was perfect and the traffic was even better for the long drive. We got as fast as Harrisburg Pennsylvania the first night. It was uneventful there as we got some sleep and looked forward to tackle another day of driving. Day 2, we left Harrisburg the next day heading south in search of the palm trees! We crossed Maryland, DC, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and finally Florida! We decided to go as far as we could to be closer to the port so we ended up in Titusville around midnight thanks to the road construction stopage before Jacksonville. We were pretty happy and excited with our progress on the drive so far and couldn't wait to board the ship. Day 3, we knew we only had 30 minute drive to port so we took our time to enjoy the Florida climate. It was hot and muggy even in the morning. We got to the port around 11am. And there she was, the giant cruise ship Carnival Liberty was at port waiting for us to arrive. The check in was quite easy and fast. Finally we set foot on board! It was an awesome feeling knowing that we made it to our destination. We quickly left reality behind us for a week of indulgence and relaxation. Let's the fun begin.....
As cruise veterants like we are we knew what to expect once on board ..... Right to the buffet! As expected the food was abundant and yummy. We filled our stomachs with lunch before setting out to find our room and explore the ship. It turned out the Liberty appeared to be similar to the Freedom that we took last spring. That made it easy for the kids to navigate and start enjoying their time on deck. Malcolm knew exactly where the ice cream stations were and that was his meal plan for the week. We also found Guy's burger joint and the buritto bar right in the center of the pool action area. The ship was ready to entertain 3600 guests for 8 days.
This was our first time at Port Canaveral. We saw Disney's Fantasy, and Carnival Sunshine also made this port their home port. All ships were scheduled to depart at 4pm on Saturday and our ship was the
2nd to leave port right after the Sunshine. As usual the safety drill was conducted as we heading out to sea. Let's the fun begin.
We sailed for one whole day to get to the first port of call Grand Turk. We arrived in GT at 7am. It was beautiful. The first thing we noticed was how clear and blue the water was. We couldn't wait to jump in! Finally we got off the ship and started venturing off. First stop was Margaritaville right off the pier. It was surrounded by white soft sandy beaches on both sides. We were pretty with the setup there and decided to stick around this area and soak in the sun and sand. The ocean water was warm and refreshing. Malcolm and I went snorkeling and enjoying the swim. Carol and Emily went off to look/shop at the local vendors. They eventually took turn to swim as Malcolm and I went exploring the ground. It was a long beach and we walked to the end of it. It was cool! We got enough sun and sand for the first day and headed back to the ship for lunch as the ship beginning to set sail agin at
2pm. Tomorrow is San Juan Puerto Rica.
We arrived in San Juan at noon. We got in a taxi to tour the island. Elliott the driver was super friendly as he took us around San Juan and explained to us the history of the land. He stopped by a few sites and allowed us time to get off the bus to view the sites. He even showed us how to find and crack almonds. Malcolm enjoyed this discovery the most. We visited the old fort and we decided to walk back to the ship from there. We could see the ship from top of the fort. We took our time walking though the shopping area heading to the ship. We stopped by this restaurant/bar across from the port for a quick bite of the local food. We ordered chicken mofongo (traditional PR dish with mashed fried plaintain) and it was tasty and yummy. I also tried their local beers Presidente, and Medalla. They were good but lighter than Canadian beers. We headed back to the ship and ready to indulge some more of the food on board. St Thomas was our next port tomorrow.
After the first couple of days on the ship I discovered that the ship does not want the passengers to know: the time and their weight. They want the passengers to forget what time it is while on vacation. And since the food is plentiful on board they don't want people to feel guilty while they enjoying
themselves. Good philosophy!
We arrived in St Thomas at 8am. Here we decided to make it a beach day again as we didn't get enough of the beautiful clear and blue waters of the Caribbean. We took a taxi right to the Megan's Bay Beach. It was a piece of paradise. Clean white sandy beach in a cove so the water was calm and warm. There must have been a few thousand cruise passengers from 3 ships at this beach. We swam and snorkeled for a while then Mal and I decided to walk to the end of the beach and we did. It was cool to explore the land. We spent the day here before heading back to the ship. The ride to and from the ship was interesting and nerve wracking as the roads in St Thomas are small and crowded with taxis plus they drive on the left side of the road. Yikes! We got thru that no problem. We got thru that no problem and even went to a local K Mart to shop for a few personal items. It was the funniest thing to see there were more than a dozen crew staff from the different ships at the front of the store trying to use their free wi-fi connection. Apparently this is the common way for the crew members to get in touch with their families. And that was St Thomas. Tomorrow is St Maarten.
We were looking forward to see St Maarten as we had heard and seen a few things about this little island. We arrived here at 8am and it didn't take us as long to get going once we docked. We took a taxi straight to the famous Maho Beach. This is where we experienced first hand how close we can get to see the jumbo jets land and take off. It was incredible how close we were to the jets at full blast. We got to see the Air France 747 landing but we didn't get to see it take off. It might have been a good idea to miss it at this close range. I did try to hang on to the fence during the 737 jet take off. It was crazy! Literally crazy to be standing behind a jet taking off. What a blast!
As we went this far on the trip the ship will take 2 days to get back to Port Canaveral. We were happy to take a easy coming back.
That ended our 1st week of our vacation. Stay tuned for the 2nd half.
Phil
We started our vacation with a 22 hour drive from home to Cape Cavaneral FL. The weather was perfect and the traffic was even better for the long drive. We got as fast as Harrisburg Pennsylvania the first night. It was uneventful there as we got some sleep and looked forward to tackle another day of driving. Day 2, we left Harrisburg the next day heading south in search of the palm trees! We crossed Maryland, DC, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and finally Florida! We decided to go as far as we could to be closer to the port so we ended up in Titusville around midnight thanks to the road construction stopage before Jacksonville. We were pretty happy and excited with our progress on the drive so far and couldn't wait to board the ship. Day 3, we knew we only had 30 minute drive to port so we took our time to enjoy the Florida climate. It was hot and muggy even in the morning. We got to the port around 11am. And there she was, the giant cruise ship Carnival Liberty was at port waiting for us to arrive. The check in was quite easy and fast. Finally we set foot on board! It was an awesome feeling knowing that we made it to our destination. We quickly left reality behind us for a week of indulgence and relaxation. Let's the fun begin.....
As cruise veterants like we are we knew what to expect once on board ..... Right to the buffet! As expected the food was abundant and yummy. We filled our stomachs with lunch before setting out to find our room and explore the ship. It turned out the Liberty appeared to be similar to the Freedom that we took last spring. That made it easy for the kids to navigate and start enjoying their time on deck. Malcolm knew exactly where the ice cream stations were and that was his meal plan for the week. We also found Guy's burger joint and the buritto bar right in the center of the pool action area. The ship was ready to entertain 3600 guests for 8 days.
This was our first time at Port Canaveral. We saw Disney's Fantasy, and Carnival Sunshine also made this port their home port. All ships were scheduled to depart at 4pm on Saturday and our ship was the
2nd to leave port right after the Sunshine. As usual the safety drill was conducted as we heading out to sea. Let's the fun begin.
We sailed for one whole day to get to the first port of call Grand Turk. We arrived in GT at 7am. It was beautiful. The first thing we noticed was how clear and blue the water was. We couldn't wait to jump in! Finally we got off the ship and started venturing off. First stop was Margaritaville right off the pier. It was surrounded by white soft sandy beaches on both sides. We were pretty with the setup there and decided to stick around this area and soak in the sun and sand. The ocean water was warm and refreshing. Malcolm and I went snorkeling and enjoying the swim. Carol and Emily went off to look/shop at the local vendors. They eventually took turn to swim as Malcolm and I went exploring the ground. It was a long beach and we walked to the end of it. It was cool! We got enough sun and sand for the first day and headed back to the ship for lunch as the ship beginning to set sail agin at
2pm. Tomorrow is San Juan Puerto Rica.
We arrived in San Juan at noon. We got in a taxi to tour the island. Elliott the driver was super friendly as he took us around San Juan and explained to us the history of the land. He stopped by a few sites and allowed us time to get off the bus to view the sites. He even showed us how to find and crack almonds. Malcolm enjoyed this discovery the most. We visited the old fort and we decided to walk back to the ship from there. We could see the ship from top of the fort. We took our time walking though the shopping area heading to the ship. We stopped by this restaurant/bar across from the port for a quick bite of the local food. We ordered chicken mofongo (traditional PR dish with mashed fried plaintain) and it was tasty and yummy. I also tried their local beers Presidente, and Medalla. They were good but lighter than Canadian beers. We headed back to the ship and ready to indulge some more of the food on board. St Thomas was our next port tomorrow.
After the first couple of days on the ship I discovered that the ship does not want the passengers to know: the time and their weight. They want the passengers to forget what time it is while on vacation. And since the food is plentiful on board they don't want people to feel guilty while they enjoying
themselves. Good philosophy!
We arrived in St Thomas at 8am. Here we decided to make it a beach day again as we didn't get enough of the beautiful clear and blue waters of the Caribbean. We took a taxi right to the Megan's Bay Beach. It was a piece of paradise. Clean white sandy beach in a cove so the water was calm and warm. There must have been a few thousand cruise passengers from 3 ships at this beach. We swam and snorkeled for a while then Mal and I decided to walk to the end of the beach and we did. It was cool to explore the land. We spent the day here before heading back to the ship. The ride to and from the ship was interesting and nerve wracking as the roads in St Thomas are small and crowded with taxis plus they drive on the left side of the road. Yikes! We got thru that no problem. We got thru that no problem and even went to a local K Mart to shop for a few personal items. It was the funniest thing to see there were more than a dozen crew staff from the different ships at the front of the store trying to use their free wi-fi connection. Apparently this is the common way for the crew members to get in touch with their families. And that was St Thomas. Tomorrow is St Maarten.
We were looking forward to see St Maarten as we had heard and seen a few things about this little island. We arrived here at 8am and it didn't take us as long to get going once we docked. We took a taxi straight to the famous Maho Beach. This is where we experienced first hand how close we can get to see the jumbo jets land and take off. It was incredible how close we were to the jets at full blast. We got to see the Air France 747 landing but we didn't get to see it take off. It might have been a good idea to miss it at this close range. I did try to hang on to the fence during the 737 jet take off. It was crazy! Literally crazy to be standing behind a jet taking off. What a blast!
As we went this far on the trip the ship will take 2 days to get back to Port Canaveral. We were happy to take a easy coming back.
That ended our 1st week of our vacation. Stay tuned for the 2nd half.
Phil
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Stranded again!
We thought Monday was going to be pretty uneventful, get to the bus station before 10am, hop on the bus to Syracuse, jump in the truck and be home by 7pm so Em would have time to finish her project due the next day. Unfortunately though, it didn't quite work out that way. When we got to the station there was a huge line-up. They filled a few busses and at the couple just before us, they said they were all full and we would have to wait until 11:45. Crap. Being second in line now we didn't want to risk losing our place so we stood there for another hour and forty-five minutes. At one point Phil wandered off in search of food and guy came along and told us we'd have to move to another gate! So much for being second in line. Crap. The people at the back of the line were closer to the other gate so we became last in line. It didn't help that I had to keep an eye 
out for Phil so he would no where we were. It was a wee bit chaotic but in the end we made it on the bus. We didn't get very far though before we were stopped in snail paced traffic. The bus driver tried to make up time by taking an alternate route but it turned out to be worse. That put us behind close to an hour. We were glad we were on the bus comfortably relaxed and not in our own vehicle feeling the frustration of the roads. Traffic is so much less stressful when you can close your eyes and sleep through it! Anyway, we finally got moving and with only 2 miles to the station in Syracuse the engine blew and the bus pulled to a stop at the side of the highway. While many of the other passengers expressed their frustration and concern (with being stranded safely inside the cozy bus on the side of the highway) and frantically made calls to friends and family to come and rescue them from this horrible nightmare, the four of us were laughing! Emily said "What is the problem? It's not like we're on the side of a cliff on a mountain 2 hours from civilization with a cockroach infested bus and rain pouring down!" hahahaha I have a feeling we learned a lot more than we realized on our trip to Vietnam!
out for Phil so he would no where we were. It was a wee bit chaotic but in the end we made it on the bus. We didn't get very far though before we were stopped in snail paced traffic. The bus driver tried to make up time by taking an alternate route but it turned out to be worse. That put us behind close to an hour. We were glad we were on the bus comfortably relaxed and not in our own vehicle feeling the frustration of the roads. Traffic is so much less stressful when you can close your eyes and sleep through it! Anyway, we finally got moving and with only 2 miles to the station in Syracuse the engine blew and the bus pulled to a stop at the side of the highway. While many of the other passengers expressed their frustration and concern (with being stranded safely inside the cozy bus on the side of the highway) and frantically made calls to friends and family to come and rescue them from this horrible nightmare, the four of us were laughing! Emily said "What is the problem? It's not like we're on the side of a cliff on a mountain 2 hours from civilization with a cockroach infested bus and rain pouring down!" hahahaha I have a feeling we learned a lot more than we realized on our trip to Vietnam!We got back home shortly after 10pm and Emily finished her project by midnight. I know this because I stayed up to keep her company......by up I mean slumped over on the sofa snoring until she tapped me on the head and told me she was done. Hey, I do want I can.......sometimes it isn't much!
Can't wait for the next adventure!
Carol
Sunday, 8 April 2012
Well this was our last full day in New York so we made the best of it. First thing on our list was to find Valerie Goneau's special spot in Central Park. For those who don't know, Valerie is the very special niece of my friends, Anne and Jacques, and founder of Valerie's Flutter Foundation. She suffered from a very rare cancer and passed away last year. She loved to travel so her ashes were placed in a few places and one of them was in central park, New York. We were given some directions on where to find the exact spot and were told there was a purple ribbon attached to a tree near by so we pretended it was our easter hunt. We think we found the spot but could not find the purple ribbon to confirm it. Maybe the birds took it. I wished I would have brought a new ribbon to place there but unfortunatly I didn't think of that until I was there. Timing is everything isn't it and my best ideas rarely come at the best time.
After Central Park we checked out the Plaza Hotel and wandered over to the Apple store. C.r.a.z.y.!
Next door was the FAO Schwarz toy store. Definition of cruelty: let's go in to the biggest toy store you've ever seen kids, but just to look around. Not buy anything! And since karma is a b*{%£ I got the bleep scared out of me when I thought I lost Malcolm. In the end everything worked out fine. The kids got to try out the giant floor piano and my heart beat went back to normal eventually. From there we went to Madisson Park to have lunch at the Shake Shack. The burgers were worth the very, very long wait. With full bellies we hopped a yellow cab to take us to the Staten Island Ferry so we could enjoy the free ride past the Statue of Liberty. She was thrilled to see us, I could tell! After that it was back to Canal street because Em and I NEEDED new sunglasses and Malcolm apparently NEEDED a New York themed snow globe! Back to the hotel for a swim and it's onward home in the morning. And for anyone who is wondering, Mal's foot started to feel much better tonight, now that the trip is over. I must say though that considering all the walking we did, he was great!
Saturday, 7 April 2012
The Tieu's Take Manhattan
Happy Easter weekend everyone! (assuming anyone is reading this) I'm not sure which I am more excited about; travelling or blogging. Without the travel I have nothing to blog about and without the blog well, I could still travel ...........I guess it's like a peanut butter and banana sandwich; each are good alone but together they are just so much mor enjoyable! In my opinion anyway.
So, as Phil already mentioned, we are in New York City! We thought we left Vietnam without catching any illnesses but it would appear we cought the travel bug. Phil spent many hours on his computer in the basement working his side job and decided to reward us all with a little getaway. I didn't expect to take another vacation so soon but hey, it's not like I'm going to say no! Today was lots of fun. We are doing this trip on a tight budget so Phil booked a very comfortable hotel in Queens instead of Manhattan. It's way cheaper! And instead of taking an expensive cab ride we bought passes for the city bus and subway. These little details are what turn a holiday into an adventure! After all the modes of transportation we took in Vietnam we figured we could do anything! Turns out it's a lot of fun and Phil is a pro at finding his way around. So you are probably wondering what we did today........well once we got off the subway at Grand Central Station it took about five minutes for Malcolm to get a sore foot. Not to worry though, we've got him all figured out. Phil offered to make our first stop be the Lego Store if he could find the strength to go on. Miraculously he did! He had to hop on one foot occasionaly but he didn't complain.....much. We used the M&M store and Hershy Factory as future bribes. So after making a little purchase we wandered by the Rockerfeller Centre, checked out the skating rink and headed toward Time Square. We went right away to the Broadway ticket booth to take advantage of the same day ticket sales of 40% off. After what seemed like forever, Emily finaly decided on How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying starring Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers. We bought our tickets then Em spotted the Forever 21 store. I know, we just got one in Ottawa but as Em put it, this one is 4 massive floors!! How could she resist! At 2pm she and I went to see the Broadway show while Phil and Mal went to see the USS Intrepid. It''s a retired air craft carrier that was used in the Vietnam war and is now stationed in New York as a museum. They loved it and get this, as they lined up to pay for their tickets some guy comes up to them and gives Phil a pass he wasn't going to use. Not only did they get in for free but they were told to enter ahead of the line-up. Even Phil couldn't have planned that sweet of a deal! We met up again in Time Square at 5:00 then took the subway to Canal St (China Town) for supper and a little purse shopping. So many purses, so little time and money. For those of you who don't know this about me, I have a thing for purses! I showed great restraint though. Just 1 and a half purses for me. The half is because I bought one very practical one and the other is a cute clutch type which Emily discovered goes very well with the dress she bought at Forever 21. I now have to share it. It's a mom sacrifice! (Em loves when I use that line. lol) We finaly returned to the hotel around 8pm and all went to the pool. Emily had offered to stay with Mal at the hotel so Phil and I could go out on a date but we were pretty tired so we didn't take her up on it. Tomorrow Central Park! Good night!
So, as Phil already mentioned, we are in New York City! We thought we left Vietnam without catching any illnesses but it would appear we cought the travel bug. Phil spent many hours on his computer in the basement working his side job and decided to reward us all with a little getaway. I didn't expect to take another vacation so soon but hey, it's not like I'm going to say no! Today was lots of fun. We are doing this trip on a tight budget so Phil booked a very comfortable hotel in Queens instead of Manhattan. It's way cheaper! And instead of taking an expensive cab ride we bought passes for the city bus and subway. These little details are what turn a holiday into an adventure! After all the modes of transportation we took in Vietnam we figured we could do anything! Turns out it's a lot of fun and Phil is a pro at finding his way around. So you are probably wondering what we did today........well once we got off the subway at Grand Central Station it took about five minutes for Malcolm to get a sore foot. Not to worry though, we've got him all figured out. Phil offered to make our first stop be the Lego Store if he could find the strength to go on. Miraculously he did! He had to hop on one foot occasionaly but he didn't complain.....much. We used the M&M store and Hershy Factory as future bribes. So after making a little purchase we wandered by the Rockerfeller Centre, checked out the skating rink and headed toward Time Square. We went right away to the Broadway ticket booth to take advantage of the same day ticket sales of 40% off. After what seemed like forever, Emily finaly decided on How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying starring Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers. We bought our tickets then Em spotted the Forever 21 store. I know, we just got one in Ottawa but as Em put it, this one is 4 massive floors!! How could she resist! At 2pm she and I went to see the Broadway show while Phil and Mal went to see the USS Intrepid. It''s a retired air craft carrier that was used in the Vietnam war and is now stationed in New York as a museum. They loved it and get this, as they lined up to pay for their tickets some guy comes up to them and gives Phil a pass he wasn't going to use. Not only did they get in for free but they were told to enter ahead of the line-up. Even Phil couldn't have planned that sweet of a deal! We met up again in Time Square at 5:00 then took the subway to Canal St (China Town) for supper and a little purse shopping. So many purses, so little time and money. For those of you who don't know this about me, I have a thing for purses! I showed great restraint though. Just 1 and a half purses for me. The half is because I bought one very practical one and the other is a cute clutch type which Emily discovered goes very well with the dress she bought at Forever 21. I now have to share it. It's a mom sacrifice! (Em loves when I use that line. lol) We finaly returned to the hotel around 8pm and all went to the pool. Emily had offered to stay with Mal at the hotel so Phil and I could go out on a date but we were pretty tired so we didn't take her up on it. Tomorrow Central Park! Good night!
Friday, 6 April 2012
Big Apple
Hi again.
I am happy to blog this one from the Big Apple aka Manhattan or NYC or City Never Sleeps or Times Square .....
We arrived this afternoon at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It's busy as I thought it would be, maybe it's busier today because of the Easter Long Weekend. Took Emily to downtown in search for One Direction as she learned the group happens to be in NY and will appear on SNL. We got down to the NBC Studio but OD was no where to be found. Oh well we'll have to catch them on SNL show. What a city ... Pitbull was in the house at RCMH, J Z was at 4040. Just to name a few. Em & I picked up supper at the famous The Halal Guys on 6th & 53rd - chicken platter. Em liked their BBQ sauce on the rice. We also found 2 Timmys just around SQ area. Sat on the Red Stairs and watched the action and lights. It was fun. Mal and Carol stayed back at the hotel and went for a swim. The weather was perfect today. We have a full day planned for tomorrow. Later.
:P
I am happy to blog this one from the Big Apple aka Manhattan or NYC or City Never Sleeps or Times Square .....
We arrived this afternoon at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. It's busy as I thought it would be, maybe it's busier today because of the Easter Long Weekend. Took Emily to downtown in search for One Direction as she learned the group happens to be in NY and will appear on SNL. We got down to the NBC Studio but OD was no where to be found. Oh well we'll have to catch them on SNL show. What a city ... Pitbull was in the house at RCMH, J Z was at 4040. Just to name a few. Em & I picked up supper at the famous The Halal Guys on 6th & 53rd - chicken platter. Em liked their BBQ sauce on the rice. We also found 2 Timmys just around SQ area. Sat on the Red Stairs and watched the action and lights. It was fun. Mal and Carol stayed back at the hotel and went for a swim. The weather was perfect today. We have a full day planned for tomorrow. Later.
:P
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Lost and found
Yahoooo! Phil got a call from Continental and guess what? They found Malcolm's bag!!!!
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Friday, 6 January 2012
Home at last!
Well we're back!!! Home feels like a palace right now, a warm (thanks Jean), bug free, clean (it's all relative) palace. Phil drove straight through from Toronto because as soon as I sat in the truck I fell asleep. I dreamed that I took a turn to drive so that he could have a sleep but that didn't help him very much. He didn't complain though so I assume he was happy to be reunited with his MDX. There was no snow when I dozed off in Toronto so it seemed very strange when I opened my eyes in our driveway and saw snow all around! Aside from the 3 hour flight delay at Newark the only mishap was that Mal left his bag on the plane. Every other flight I checked and rechecked and counted all the carry-ons and personal belongings to be sure we had everything and on the last flight we were so tired (it was night time in Vietnam) and relieved to be on the ground that I did a quick scan and got out of there. It wasn't until we were through the security checks that Malcolm asked where his bag that was usually over his shoulder was. WHAT?! You don'thave it? It was just a few cheap toys right? Ah....and the whole stack of movies we bought on our last day for .50 each that were packed in a carry-on but when the bag was searched at the check point in Newark Malcolm saw it and put it in his bag (crap) .......and his iPod that was usually kept in our bag that was put in his during the 15 hour flight and not returned to us (double crap).....and Phil's nephew's wedding video that was in with the other DVD's, we were supposed to deliver to Phil's parents so they could see the smiling faces of their friends and relatives (crap, crap, crap, crap) Anyway, my fault, I should have looked more closely. We did try everything to get it back but with no luck. Phil tried to be like a salmon swimming up river to get back to the plane but one you are through those security check-points they seal up tighter than Fort Knox. There was no going back! We ran around everywhere at the recommendation of the staff but couldn't get any useful help from anyone. We went back this morning before leaving Toronto and after a thorough check (hmmm) it is definitly not in Toronto so we hhave to try Newark since that is where the plane flew back to last night. I'm thinking we won't be getting it back. Unless.....anyone know anyone coming back from holiday via the Newark airport? If so let me know and I'll get you the info to check lost and found.
Anyway, time to start the laundry marathon.........it's good to be back!
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