Regular readers, all three of you, will remember that a year ago I went back to Toronto for Sailpast and to help with packing up The Farm. Since that visit my father also sold the home where I grew up. One year after The Farm trip I had a business trip back to Silicon Valley. Since I was on the same continent I decided to cash in some points and conduct what I call a "hit and run" visit to Toronto. I arranged through Cathay for a one-way points trip from Toronto to Hong Kong, splurging a bit by using the extra several thousand points to fly Business Class. I was committed and all I had to do was figure out how to fly from Silicon Valley to Toronto. Tantalising Tess was very kind and supportive with letting me dash off on this trip, too.
A week before the trip I began watching the flights and had a pretty good sense how I could get to Toronto dirt cheap – there are always last minute deals, especially on WestJet. The added incentive was seeing Tess' family if I flew through Calgary. Finally at the 11th hour a special WestJet deal popped up. I left Sunnyvale in the afternoon, catching a 5:30 PM flight from San Francisco to Calgary. Often airlines shares departure gates. As I approached the Calgary flight to Canada, I was struck by the irony that the gate was shared by a Cathay flight leaving for Hong Kong. What are the odds of that happening in a gigantic airport like SFO?
A few hours later, Graeme, Edd, Pam and Baby Alex greeted me at the Calgary Airport. (Pictured above at the end of our trip – poses for the benefit of Mandy.) They treated me to dinner at A&W – I love A&W not only because of the tasty burgers but it's also where Tess and I had dinner after our wedding festivities on July 31, 1999… wedding dress, dinner jacket and all. After A&W we went to a famous place for milkshakes in Calgary. My hosts then dropped me off at the airport where I caught a red-eye to Toronto. (At left, Baby Alex wonders who the weird guy is that's caused this long road trip from Edmonton!)
In Toronto I rented a car after arriving around 6 AM. I called my family to let them know I had arrived, also asking if there was anything I could buy. I did a quick shop at Loblaws, then headed to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club where I greeted my dad who'd stayed the night on his boat. I showered, cleaned myself up, and had a wonderful day celebrating Sailpast with family and friends – a long family tradition. In total I have probably missed only 15 Sailpasts during my life. It's like Christmas for our family except we don't exchange presents. At left, on the boat with my sisters and dad. Below, the Toronto skyline as we were leaving the RCYC in the early evening.
After dinner my sister, Carolyn, took me to my dad's new condo. The unit has been beautifully decorated thanks to the combined efforts of my dad, and sisters Penny and Carolyn. Carolyn was the heroic project manager. After seeing paintings on the wall of my childhood home for 45+ years, it was surreal to see the same paintings and decorations on the wall of this new home. Carolyn and I had a lovely chance to catch-up. Finally it was time to go. I dropped off Carolyn at her home, packed the various items I'd purchased earlier in the day (including Tim Bits from Tim Horton's), and headed to the airport. On the way to the airport I tuned into an old radio station from days gone by, Q107, to discover Alice Cooper's show. I was a huge Alice Cooper fan in my early teen years, not knowing that later in his career Alice Cooper would turn to Christ, even occasionally conducting altar calls at the end of some concerts. His show didn't have any Christian overtones but the message was about youth making the right choices in life. "Amazing," I thought to myself.
I was in Toronto a total of 18 hours. On the plane I was tempted to fall into my usual introspective state by writing, watching movies etc but I knew my body physically couldn't tolerate such activity after this "hit and run" visit. My flight arrived into Toronto at 7 AM and I had to be at work within a few hours. The visit was well worth the marathon flights. I have no regrets. But Tess and I re-visit the discussion, how long should we stay in Hong Kong?
