May 2006:
In May 2006 we had a very busy last two weeks. We left Kingston on the 11th of May to Victoria for a long anticipated visit with both sets of relatives and to celebrate my sister’s wedding. For son number two, this was his first opportunity to be introduced to the family and he performed with flying colours. First Born is a ‘seasoned’ traveler with this trip being his third back west and he played nicely and quietly on the outbound flight. A bit early to tell how son number two will travel, but based on flights so far he has impressed Herself and I with how well he adapted to air travel.
We spent the next 10 days on Vancouver Island in a whirlwind of visits, social engagements and sightseeing.
Ruth’s wedding was lovely, with Herself as Bridesmaid and Kevin’s daughters as flower girls. The Bride looked beautiful, as expected, although a titch nervous at the outset. Many relatives from far and wide attended making the wedding a secondary ‘reunion’ event – which when you think about it is a nice feature of weddings generally.
Fortuitously, Ruth and Kevin had chosen a daytime wedding which allowed us time to pack and get some sleep prior to our early morning departure from Victoria.
At 04:30am we left my parents house to check in at the Victoria Airport by 5:00am. Thus began the longest flight/travel day our family has ever experienced. Our itinerary was complicated by the fact that while I was traveling on a paid ticket, Heidi and the kids were traveling on points – which means that we were forced to accept travel when the seats were available – rarely the best flights. Fortunately we were able to take advantage of quiet spaces in the Air Canada lounges in both Vancouver and Toronto. Surprisingly, First Born slept for nearly two hours in the lounge, while Herself and son number two obtained about an hour and a half. Following two back to back lengthy flights from Vancouver to Toronto and then Toronto to Frankfurt, we arrived in Germany to drive two hours to Greding.
Fortunately, Mrs Junior loves Greding and has been exploring the area with the kids while I am in meetings during the day. In the evenings we walk or drive the area. Mrs Junior is rapidly became comfortable here and more confident in her German.
By late morning Friday May 26th, we were on the road towards Salzburg to enjoy the weekend there. The weather unfortunately was a bit cool and rained, but not enough to prevent us from enjoying Salzburg. I only wish we had had more time to explore around Salzburg – one really needs much more than a weekend.
On Sunday May 28th we meandered our way along the Alpenstrasse west towards the Bodensee (Lake Constance) and then north to Ulm. First Born was quite excited, anticipating a day at LEGOLAND near Ulm. We were not very impressed with Ulm, but then much of that had to do with the average hotel we stayed in.
Our visit to legoland was again rainy and cool, but allowed us to access more rides with shorter lineups. First Born was a bit disappointed that he was too short for the Bionicle Ride.
We flew home on the 31st having been away for three weeks, not knowing what state or garden was in – turned out to be overgrown and needing immediate attention.
Juniorannex 