dreaming over the ocean

Boy, there is a lot to talk about these days.  I finally have time to be able to do something about that, as it is smack dab in the middle of "off season." I have a few weeks to catch up on things, and im excited to do nothing for a bit.  I have scheduled a few social items, but, in reality... I am really trying to not do much on the weekends, in particular. Last week, I was in Quebec, for the first time since I was at McGill.  It was a bit nostalgic, because in many ways, there are so many good memories about Quebec.  And, lets be honest: if there is a place that does "quaint" the best in Canada, it is rural Quebec.  Quaint towns and delicious food.  Perfect. I was there to race the Ironman 70.3 World Championships.  This is the second year that I have gotten a roll down slot for the race & the first time that it was outside of the USA (previously, it has been held in Clearwater, FL, and Las Vegas, NV... where I participated, last year). ...

Its quite amazing... No matter how often you travel, you still are at risk for "rookie mistakes."  In this trip's case, I think it means one of two things:  a) it has been far to long since I have done international travel, or b) I have been so busy at home, that I haven't been paying attention to details.  This trip has so far had three mistakes: 1) when initially booking my trip, I was still debating if I would bring my niece with me.  Eventually i decided 'yes,' but I watched the flight prices go up and up at up.  At the end of the day, I had to cancel and rebook.  2) after that rebooking, I re looked at my rental van situation.  I discovered the company only had poor reviews on travel sites, and also discovered that with the new flight times, I wouldn't be able to drop the van at the depot, as it would be open to close to my return flight time, they are closed the day prior to my departure (it's a public holiday), and they don't allow after hou...