Off on holiday

As I might have mentioned, I'm off on holiday again this week. In fact, I'm currently set in a Best Western in Tennessee, where the weather is warm enough that I'm already pining for Ottawa's mild 36 degrees.

It's been an odd journey. I came via Washington Ronald Reagan - it's the first time I've been there, and while I can't way it'll be the last, that's only because the return flights are also booked there. On the one hand, the views were pretty darned impressive - I'd no idea just how close to the famous bits of Washington the airport is, and I had a stunning view along the National Mall to the White House as we came in to land. On the other, the flight path seems a little - ah - convoluted. We were, it felt, manoeuvering to land when we were still about ten yards up, making it the second most terrifying landing I've been involved in. The first being a night landing at La Guardia, before which I was unaware that La Guardia is on the river. My reaction to the increasing proximity of the water is perhaps best left to your imagination.

I was also surprised that the plane from Ottawa was relegated to what was described as a plane parking lot - we had to stay on board until they'd wheeled up a set of stairs to take us to a minibus, which then took us to the gate. There were about a half dozen other planes also going through this process. I did wonder if Washington had taken against the Canadians for some reason, and then I realised that they probably didn't have the best memories of Canadians (See? I have been doing my research! Bonus points if you get that reference, though there'll be a penalty if you have to use Wikipedia)

So there may be more this week, as I actually have the laptop with me; though I may also be too lazy to add more. You'll have to wait and see.