Peter Moore Photos
My HomeMy Home My Photos My Diary My Map Message Board
Random Photo

Dodgy duck



My Latest 8 diary entries:

Pete's Churchill Odyssey 2005

28th Sep 2005
Life is just a bowl of Nachos

Wednesday, 28th September, 2005
Given that this was the early hours of the morning and that this was the day after our nineteenth wedding anniversary (which I did remember!) and apart from on minor detour along the way and the fact that they closed the route described in the rental car directions for getting back to the pound, it was a remarkably slick re-entry into Boston. We dropped the car off at the back of 4, shuttled in to the airport and signed in immediately for the flight up to Montreal.
Checked in with a particularly sour attendant, (but I suppose it was five in the morning) and then went along to the first security check where a young attendant announced with a hint of humour (and this it has to be said has been the only sign of humour anywhere near an American in a uniform that I ever saw … having a uniform in America is a VERY serious business), anyway, he said that we had been specially selected by the airline for extra security checks … in the sort of tone which he might also have added and it comes with a $1m bonus!
With that, the whole vicinity seemed to burst into life, the area was cleared, people ordered to stand aside and about three people started barking orders, don’t touch this, don’t touch that, take off your shoes, walk this way, don’t do that, move over there MOVE OVER THERE SIR, when you hesitate for a moment. Everyone gets really excited about the whole thing … so excited in fact you can’t help wondering whether you’re about to be wrestled to the ground at any moment and given seven bullets to the head and one in the shoulder … but then you remember this is America, Home of the Free and you know that everything’s alright (!!)
To cap it all, who do they get to frisk you? A gentleman of an oriental persuasion who can’t pronounce English and so you haven’t a crue whether he wants you to srit down, stand-up, rift your reg, take a step folwards, back, or do a caltwheer … anyway with time to kill before the flight, once you relax into the inevitability of it all … its actually rather entertaining and I feel a whole lot better for having done my bit for the security of the US of A.
The sun was just peeping over the horizon as we took off and we had a grandstand view of Boston as we went … Air Canada stretched to tea and pretzels in flight which I was remembering for several hours afterwards.
Montreal was a breeze and the transfer remarkably easy and we were able to settle into a relatively comfy snooze for most of the next few hours.
I ended up sitting next to a rather jumpy Quebecker who jabbered away in French and to whom I faltingly replied in Froglish, the upshot being that he wanted me to swop seats so his girlfriend could sit next to him. I haven’t quite mastered @£$% off in French yet, but we understood each other after a while.
Great views over the flat Prairies of Sascatchewan, a slick arrival at Calgary and a free upgrade to a larger car.
We toured through downtown Calgary in search of an italk – a microphone for an ipod and got one from a real Mac enthusiast who knew all there was to know about apple computers – a good job I’ve got limited baggage or he may have made a sale.
We drove three hours south to Waterton Lakes across flat lands with huge open skies and across to the right the snow capped peaks of the Rockies glistened. At one stage we passed a saloon car with a deer rack strapped to the boot and Anne dangled out of the window to record the event.
Arrived Waterton and booked in to the International Hostel and then down to the local bar for a bowl of nachos and a few beers (errr quite a few beers actually) and consequently slept really well. Anne got up early to get some laundry out of the machine and said she could here me snoring through there … anyway that didn’t last as I got a good jab when she got back!

Next: Going-To-The-Sun
Previous: A brush with the Webb Vanderbilts


Diary Photos
28th Sep 2005
Boston
A look back at Boston at first light
 



28th Sep 2005
Saloon rack
Amazing ... just strapped to the back and cruisin' down the highway!
 



791 Words | This page has been read 51 timesView Printable Version