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Our visit was about over and we had to start thinking of getting Ellen to the plane in Toronto, Tuesday morning, early. We wanted to take enough time to see things on the way back, and also anticipated icy roads and heavy traffic. I was planning to drop in to see Barry Davies along the way as well.

We left around noon, and, although the traffic was heavy, we seldom encountered any slowdowns. We were buffeted by strong winds as we drove, but the Buick handled beautifully. It's a car I wouldn't mind owning.

Until we passed the New York City exit off the 90, there were long line-ups for fuel at the freeway gas stations. When we finally got past the crush, we pulled in to fuel up and found out how cold it really was. It was even windier than we suspected and the chill was severe.

The roads were clear until we got to Ithaca late in the day. Then we encountered some flurries and, as we turned north towards Watertown and Canada, the snow got worse. We had not decided how far to go, but the storm made up our minds. Traffic slowed to 40 MPH on the divided four lane and we turned off onto the older road that ran parallel. When we got to Watertown, we called it a day.

Today..A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of late afternoon showers. Wind west 20 km/h. High 12.
Tonight..Partly cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries or evening showers. Wind light. Low minus 5.
Normals for the period..Low minus 13. High minus 1.

When I awoke and went out, the lad ahead of me in the motel corridor said he had been in the ditch the previous night and had to be pulled out. Our car was buried in 10 inches of fluffy snow. I cleared it off, and we hit the road. Along the way we passed a semi on its side in the divider. Roads were clear and we made it over the bridges and into Canada by ten or so.

I called Barry and he was home, so we drove over to Seeley's Bay for a visit. We had a pleasant visit with him and Freda, then, at noon we drove onwards to Toronto and called Aunt Ev. She was glad to hear from us and we went by her home in the extended care unit to visit. We stayed an hour and then drove around a bit looking for a motel. We found the White Knight, just west of the airport and settled in.

Today..Cloudy with wet snow ending this morning. 60 percent chance of flurries later this afternoon. Wind north 20 km/h. High plus 2 this morning then temperature falling.
Tonight..Cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries this evening. Wind light. Low minus 12.
Normals for the period..Low minus 13. High minus 1.

Then I was on my own. Sometimes I like to just cut loose and be entirely without an agenda. I drove around town a bit and wound up at the lakeshore in New Toronto. I took a stroll in a park that juts out into the lake and thought the people were overdressed until I turned to walk back. The north wind had been at my back on the outbound trip, but returning was bitterly cold.

From there, I drove out Lakeshore towards Mississauga and Hamilton. I made a few calls, but did not find anybody home. Everyone was working or out. I hadn't called ahead, since Ellen was not inclined to visit friends or relations, and to tell the truth, I had deliberately not made any plans so that I would find myself in exactly this situation. I had absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go, cash in my jeans, and a nice car to go there in.

I drove around some more -- I find it really interesting to drive though neighbourhoods of different vintages and economic levels and to try to speculate what people do with their lives there and why, but I tired of that around noon and decided what I really wanted to do was go to Niagara Falls. I hit the QEW and was soon passing Niagara-on-the-Lake. I pulled off the freeway and prowled around N-O-T-L for a while and followed the old route along the river to Niagara Falls.

When I got into the hotel, I was immediately surrounded by familiar faces. CAPA, AAPA, ESHPA, OBA, AIA and CHC were meeting at various times during the week, but there was nothing on for me at the moment, and the displays were not yet up. I met up some others - Jerry, Brent and Gilles -- and we decide to take a drive around town. We wound up doing a winery tour and the guys bought some ice wine. I stayed out of the tasting though, since I was driving.

We got back around dark and learned there was a reception at seven. I had taken a room and decided to put it to use, seeing as I had not been up there yet. I soon leaned that the internet connection was poor. Phone lines in hotels vary a lot, and my notebook may connect at 48,000 in one hotel, but have problems even staying connected in another nearby. Although this hotel is brand new and local calls cost $1.50, my connection here is poor and I keep getting dropped.

I got to the reception and spent an hour or so, then suddenly thought I should go to the lobby and see if Aaron had come. He had said he would be along later, but might show tonight. We planned to share a room, and if he came along early, I figured he might have problems finding me. I got to the lobby and walked to the desk to enquire if he had been looking for me. There he was, just handing his VISA to the clerk. Talk about perfect timing.

We went back to the reception, but it ended and we all headed for the bar. When that closed at two, we sat in the foyer listening to Paul Monteaux talking about his Buckfast bees for a half hour and then turned in..

Today..Cloudy with a few flurries. Wind light. High minus 9.
Tonight..Clearing overnight. Wind light. Low minus 17.
Normals for the period..Low minus 13. High minus 1.

The program got started today, but there was nothing earth shattering -- yet. The day ended with a mead-tasting reception.

Today..Sunny. Wind light. High minus 5.
Tonight..Clear. Wind light. Low minus 9.
Normals for the period..Low minus 13. High minus 1.

We had a heavy schedule today. After a full day of presentations, the banquet was well attended. I estimate 400 people in attendance. More later...

Today..Sunny. Wind becoming west 20 km/h. High 4.
Tonight..Mainly clear. Wind west 20 km/h. Low minus 3.
Normals for the period..Low minus 13. High minus 1.

This is the last day of presentations. The program has been well run and interesting. Some of the talks I've heard before, but even those have new wrinkles each time. At noon, Paul and I decided to escape the high cost Sheraton and took a drive. I found myself retracing my recent trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake; we stopped at several wineries, then headed back.

I took in the rest of the talks, then had a rest. At seven-thirty there was a meeting for those interested in queen breeding in Canada. There was a much better than expected turnout from both Canada and the US. The room was jammed, with some sitting on the steps.

Today..Sunny. Wind becoming west 20 km/h. High 4.
Tonight..Clear. Wind light. Low minus 13.
Normals for the period..Low minus 14. High minus 2.

The CHC meeting began at nine. CHC business is mostly decided in advance and the delegates tend to just vote their provincial position. Although input from the floor is considered, results are a pretty much a foregone conclusion. All the real politicking and decision-making takes place during the year.

By noon, most of the important stuff was covered and I left to do a tour with Aaron, Marion, and his wife, Susan. We drove the parkway towards N-O-T-L (It is getting quite familiar) and spotted the butterfly museum. We spent an hour or so there and then went looking for wineries. The time was nearing five, and the wineries I had previously visited were closed, so we hunted a bit and found Inniskillin. They were still open, but we discovered they also were closing for the day.

At that point, we were tempted to give up, but we searched around a bit more, and found Peller Estates. There was a tour bus out front -- a good sign -- and it turned out that Peller was open until eight. Wine tasting was still underway, and we managed to get a cellar tour as well.

We spent an pleasant hour or two, then returned to Niagara Falls, took in the magnificent Festival of Lights near the falls, had supper at Outback, and called it a day.

Today..Mainly sunny. Wind light. High plus 1.
Tonight..Partly cloudy. Wind light. Low minus 5.

We said our farewells, checked out and all went our separate ways. I drove to Burlington to visit John and Jill, arriving around one. I always add an extra day or so to any trip like this to ensure that if something comes up that I have some time. If not, I visit friends or sight-see.

The weather along the way was very cold and windy, but when I arrived, it had settled down. After visiting a bit, John and I decided to take a hike in the woods. The Bruce Trail runs just behind their home, so we walked along it for a mile or two. The weather was brisk, but the sun was out and the exercise pleasant.

After supper, some of their boating friends, whom I had previously met at Lake Simcoe, came by for a visit.

My flight was at 8:50PM and I had time to kill. I had planned to do some writing in spare moments like this, but wound up struggling to stay connected to the 'net, in order to do some of my housekeeping activities. They have DSL on the line, and my dialup modem did not want to stay connected.

Jobs that should have taken minutes consumed the morning, then John returned from work. He'd had a meeting in the morning and was free for the afternoon. We went shopping for gas fireplaces and returned for supper. Then I was off to YYZ to fly home. I got into Calgary around 11:30. Ellen was waiting there for me, and I was home before one and in bed by two.

Monday..Sunny. Low minus 3. High plus 4.
Tuesday..A mix of sun and cloud. Low minus 2. High plus 4.
Wednesday..A mix of sun and cloud. Low minus 3. High plus 3.
Normals for the period..Low minus 14. High minus 2.

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