We were exhausted by the time we boarded our Air Canada flight AC842 from Toronto to Dublin. It was a larger plane with two seats on each side and four in the middle for a total of 291 passengers. I didn’t see any empty seats at all. I put my headphones in and turned on some music, hoping to go to sleep as soon as we took off at 11:15 p.m. especially since each seat had a pillow and blanket. Unfortunately, the crew decided to leave the lights on in the cabin for another two hours and served dinner at midnight. Drinks (including alcohol) were free, but we just wanted to go to sleep. Continue reading “Air Canada Flight 842: Dublin, Here We Come!”
Air Canada Flight 7408: From Cleveland to Toronto and Beyond
Saturday was my birthday and the day we would be flying from Cleveland to Toronto and then onto Dublin. We were up early (4:00 a.m. for me)–I never sleep well before a big trip. We packed the last-minute items for our flight to Ireland and dropped the dogs off at the kennel at 8:00. It was too early to go to Mom and Dad’s, so after stopping at the bank, we decided to go to Brookfield Diner for breakfast. Before breakfast, we ran into a Dollar General for new reading glasses for Dennis. After breakfast, we went back in for a Tide To Go stick for me. You guessed it–I spilled dried beef gravy on myself at breakfast. Continue reading “Air Canada Flight 7408: From Cleveland to Toronto and Beyond”
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday has always been my favorite Sunday of the entire year. When I was young, my family attended the Kinsman Presbyterian Church. The deacons always handed out entire palm branches as we entered the sanctuary the Sunday before Easter. I loved fanning myself with the fronds as we sang “Hosanna to the King of Kings.”
Kinsman Presbyterian Church, photo by Rebecca Nieminen, Storyteller Photography (used with permission). Continue reading “Palm Sunday”
Pack Like a Pro: Just the Essentials
It’s that time of year, and my urge to travel has made its presence known once again. Like many people, I used to pack too many outfits. Over the years, I’ve pared down my packing list to a few essentials. For a one week trip, this is what I usually take, in addition to what I wear on the plane. These tips will help you pack like a pro!
Staying on Walt Disney World Property with a “Large” Family
Back in June 1998 I was disappointed (and rather upset) that you couldn’t book more than four people in a Walt Disney World value hotel room. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t put my three children (all ages eight and under at the time) in the same bed. After all, every other hotel we’d stayed in had let us have five people in a room.
Did you know that the average number of people per family in the U.S. is only 3.14? That helps explain why Disney’s least expensive hotel rooms only accommodate four people. However, as a parent, I was frustrated thinking that my children wouldn’t be able to visit the most magical place on Earth because we couldn’t afford to book two rooms or stay at one of the more expensive hotels.
Continue reading “Staying on Walt Disney World Property with a “Large” Family”