Getting There: Canadian Children's Book Week 2013

This is the first installment about my week long tour for TD Canadian Children's Book Week 2013. I toured in northern Saskatchewan. 

I arrived in Saskatoon!

Sunday May 5, 2013

Planes at Pearson International

I don’t love flying, but with an early morning Timmies coffee in hand I was super excited to be sitting at Pearson International waiting to leave for a part of Canada I’d never been to before. Why were all these other people travelling? Of course I eavesdropped on the conversations around me. Some ladies were travelling because of a conference. Other passengers were part of a boys and a girls’s hockey team: Team Sask. I gather they did fairly well at the tournament they were in.

The flight went well. Once in Saskatoon I wheeled my carry-on to the carousel to wait with the rest of the passengers for my week’s worth of clothes. And we all waited. And waited.

Dogs in a pickup at a Saskatoon mall

Finally the belt started moving, and hockey bag after hockey bag came out. Then some luggage. Then hockey bag after hockey bag after hockey bag... and then the carousel stopped. We waited and shuffled around. The belt started up again to audible relief. More luggage came off: not mine, not mine, not mine...and then hockey bag after hockey bag after hockey bag...and then the belt stopped. An announcement said to come to the WestJet desk if you hadn’t received your luggage. Groan.

So along with about 20 others I headed for said desk. Turns out because of all those hockey bags they had to balance the plane. Those of us unlucky travellers without our baggage were told it had been left behind in Toronto. Oh, it would be put on a later flight. Trying not to think the worst, I filled out the necessary paperwork and picked up the rental car. At least my itinerary for the tour, and all my presentation materials were with me. But I sure hoped I didn't have to survive for a week in the clothes I was wearing.

I found the hotel, yay (I'm a small town and country driver so urban traffic is a challenge), then found a mall in case I needed to buy a change of clothes. It was really hot out, and I was feeling somewhat frustrated sitting in the mall parking lot. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw some dogs in a pickup truck. That sight cheered me up. And my clothes did arrive...at midnight (which to me was 2:00am)!! But at least I got them so it was all good.

Random Memorable Moments

• The solo pigeon perched on the airplane gate at the Toronto airport surveying his domain.
• The lady in the security line ahead of me laughing, because thanks to having her shoes scanned by themselves, she discovered that her wooden heels had metal rods in them.
• My first taste of borscht! I really liked it. But then again, I brew and drink my own beet kvass.
• The constant banging of the door to the hotel parking lot which, unfortunately, happened to be across from my room. Who knew people went out to the parking lot so often.

Yummy borscht!