Off to a freezing start

It was going too well. The day started at -29°C, which is usual for the start of any winter trip we take south. Serge had even managed to check in without too much frustration.

So I was feeling confident, even a bit smug, because I was packed and ready to go. So obviously something was about to go wrong. Zipped up the suitcase and it wouldn't move. Further inspection revealed that the wheels are shot. No problem. I trotted downstairs to get Serge's old case. Hmm. Same problem.

A quick trip (well, ½ hour each way, this is Varennes after all) to buy a new suitcase, hopefully there would be something at Costco.

But, remember that -29? Yep. Car wouldn't start.

Dug out the battery charger, hooked up the car, set it to maximum, waited a bit, and nada. Really didn't want to start. Fortunately, Serge got home then, so I now have a shiny new suitcase that rolls, but by dinner time, the car was trying, but the motor still couldn't fire. Uh oh.  Jeremy was supposed to drive us to the airport in that car. It's smaller, so it fits in my in-laws' driveway. Not possible with the Niro.

Plan B, Serge went looking for an unoccupied EV charger, nothing close, so he ended up driving into work! Got back at 9, having skipped dinner, and wouldn't you know, the Jetta started! A hungry stressed Serge is a touchy thing, so Jeremy and I stayed very quiet and let him stomp upstairs to finish his packing! We went out to rig a drop sheet over the open car hood instead because falling snow on a car motor and plugged in charger did not seem like a good idea.

Anyway, Plan A was back in effect, and the car started without a hitch this morning. Of course it was only -18° which seemed quite reasonable after the last few days!

Changing planes in Panama was an adventure again, but we made the connection, just. Serge 'doesn't want to discuss it' but then keeps bringing it up. I think he wants me to take up long distance track or something.  Umm, nope! Hopefully, he'll have his sense of humour back tomorrow. We are now tucked up in a B&B with a fabulous view of central Quito, and Serge is already asleep. Me too.  Buenas noches!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Settling in

Image
Karen's travel tips If you arrive in Quito on a Sunday evening, better have snacks with you! The carpets roll up and the metal doors come down at 6. Well, at least they do in the neighborhood where we are spending the night. There are a lot of restaurants close by, but nothing open. Add to this that apart from a tuna wrap at Dorval airport the only thing I could eat on the plane was the fruit salad (the steward kindly gave me two), and the pineapple juice, by Monday morning we were both feeling somewhat light headed when we set off down the many, many, many steps down to the commercial district (visualise Mount Royal, only steeper, no hand rails, and a descent at least twice as far, with your head spinning). Needless to say, we were a bit early for breakfast in the commercial district, but a cafe kindly opened early for us, and I essentially inhaled eggs, avocado toast, fruit salad and an almond milk cappuccino. Serge, who had ordered a larger breakfast actually ran out...
Read more

Touristing at home

This year, new ways to get to Montreal were introduced to the South Shore, just in time to mitigate the chaos caused by the closing of the LaFontaine tunnel, 8 months after the fact. The planning abilities of governments and NGO's boggles sometimes. Essentially they told the thousands of people suddenly cut off from their place of employment to 'take a bus' without adding additional bus routes.  There is a reason we don't use the buses around here. Most of them don't go where you need them to go, don't go when you need them, and cost a fortune to take. Actually, after 25 years, they finally did do something about the last part. They forced all the disparate bus companies to use the same regional pricing and zones. So now I can get to work for $3.75 a trip, instead of $6.50 + $3.50. lousy scheduling between busses means that it takes an hour longer than it should. Really lousy planning means I have to go three towns over, and come back one because of jurisdiction...
Read more

I dunno, Post 1?

Oh dear, this seemed like a good idea until I saw this blank page staring at me... Why this blog? Well, like everyone I have a running commentary in my head, which occasionally I share with people, usually at Christmas, or when I am traveling. In the past, I could put pictures and stuff where I wanted  in my emails, but Gmail has changed, and now they all mob at the bottom. (Now how do I turn off the underline, and why did it turn on in the first place. This might be a steeper learning curve than I thought.)  Success! Now where was I, oh yes, pictures. Pictures all clumping at the bottom is not satisfactory when you want explanations to accompany the images, so maybe a blog might be a better option, since I want something that I can get to from both my laptop and my phone. And maybe sending it out might be easier than the painstaking typing in of the many many email addresses on the mailing list, which took longer this winter when I was in Ecuador, than writing the email in th...
Read more