Back in the Homeland.

Getting ourselves back across the continent and into Canada after X number of months in Washington, DC was kind of ridiculous.  I wish I had taken a picture of us at the airport, but admittedly, I am trying to forget what a mess we were.  However for posterity sake, I’ll recreate the picture.  Here’s what we checked on the plane:  Four behemoth suitcases all overweight, and one large 70 lb. dog in a kennel. As if that wasn’t enough, our carry-ons equaled in weight, because you see, when we travel, we pack as though we'll be stranded on a desert island for a week: one stroller, one bulky, awkward 30 lb. car-seat, one large heavy leather carry-on bag, a computer bag with three computers, a diaper bag stuffed to the brim and a little Panda bag for Gabriel.  But wait! None of that included food for our nine hours of travel.  So before getting on the plane, we loaded up with, yes, both breakfast and lunch, in addition to snacks, which totaled three plastic bags full of stuff.  And no, we didn't even have time and/or room to get a coffee.

So you can imagine us getting on the plane at 6:00am in the morning: I, with Gabriel, the stroller, the diaper bag, Gabriel’s bag and all of our food, while Jordan struggled to pull another 100 lbs. of stuff behind us, including the car-seat that couldn’t fit down the aisle.  When we finally arrived at our seats at the back of the plane (not sure if I was thankful for that or not), we were all sweating and cranky and tired and struggling to settle ourselves.  It took us the ENTIRE loading time.

But the flight was good.  Since we bit the bullet and bought Gabriel his own seat, he was able to sleep for several hours during the flight and with seven (count ‘em) electronics between us, and a heck of a lot of food, the flight was definitely manageable.  Thank you “Shaun the Sheep” for keeping us entertained, adult and kids alike!

We were relieved to finally hit the Canadian border and then get on the Sea to Sky and on our way home—all the familiar sights.  We had to hit up some of our local faves, including The Mountain woMan for some poutine (can you get more Canadian?), Galileo Coffee and enjoy the beautiful of the much filmed Britannia Beach.  And since I have zero decent pictures from our flight, here are a few of our first day home.  

We are still settling and unpacking, cleaning and trying to get some sleep so we are just thankful to be back in our own house and sleeping in our own bed!  Gabriel is so excited to have many more closets and cabinets to open and investigate, and a yard to play in.  And Abe.  I can't even begin.  More on how happy that dog is later.  

PS. Do you want tips on traveling with a toddler?  I think I may have a few "do/do nots" in my repertoire by now, flight #14.

You might also like:

• Ode to Squamish: Things we love about you. 
• Squamish Sunshine.