Happy day before Labor Day Weekend.
Actually I'm kind of sad to see the official summer come to an end even though in my job I don't really have an official summer. I'm not sure if I actually envy people who get to have the entire summer off. That's when everyone else travels and the roads are thick with ropes of cars, the airports are crowded with people who only fly maybe once every few years.

After travelling through Dulles not once, not twice, but three times this summer I officially don't care that they have cool mobile lounges and a great original terminal building. The place needs moving sidewalks. Seriously. However the best airport experience I had this summer was being delayed in Halifax. No kidding. (Even though this pleasurable delay came mere hours before sleeping in Dulles on a bench, it was still great). The Halifax airport has pre-clearance US customs. This means once we clear customs we can't go to the rest ofthe airport. The flight was delayed but the resturant/bar in the clearance area stayed open until our flight left two hours later than scheduled. How's that for service?

So it's been a nice summer. I've left the country three times. That's a pretty good score card for flying stand-by in a year the media has hailed as a bad one for travel. What do they know?

My plants have been growing like crazy, I learned how to sun-dry tomatoes in the oven. I got one okra pod off of my okra plant. I just don't think it's hot enough. Maybe next year I will get the gumption to dig up a spot in the backyard for my veggies and get some really tall sunflowers growing to hide the hideousness that is the neighbors backyard behind us.

I'm looking forward to finding some fun fall activities and then of course, more trips. We are actually planning on going to homecoming at Embry-Riddle this year in November. I'm excited so if you'll be around, let us know!

We are having a helluva storm in the Chicago area today. I'm at work watching the lightening. Hope everyone is safe and dry. I want to go home soon! Or least to go to Ulta to buy this:



I feel like I'm reverting to my Middle School self. Yay me!
On another rain note, the crustaceans on the Black Pearl have probably been washed away. Here is what she looks like on a clean day:


This is a stock photo. She is prettier by far!

After weeks of wiggling cords and taking my dashboard apart, it seems that Martin has finally gotten my mp3 player to play through my stereo in the Black Pearl! I'm thrilled because now I don't have to change CDs if I want to listen to Architecture in Helsinki, the Beegees and the Killers all in a row. It plays awesome and now I just need to wash the outside of the Black Pearl b/c she looks like she's covered with crustaceans...

How I define irony: People with a camel toe making fun of others with a camel toe.

Saturday in Quebec City was a little cooler, almost perfect weather. Again, we did not see the changing of the guard with a goat. We wandered around the Old city in the morning, catching the show at the Musee de Fort and a tour of the Chateau Frontenac and then decided to get a sandwich and go for a mini-picnic. We got sandwiches from Paillard ( a fave of ours by now) and wandered up the hill into the newer part of the city. We walked through several cute little neighborhoods and had out sandwiches in a shady spot new the Grande Theatre. From there we continued to Cartier Avenue, a mix of shops and restaurants and then to the Joann D'Arc Parc near the Plains of Abraham. We sat for a little while in the shade and then moved on the Promenade des Gouverneurs, a few small hills away. This walkway hugs the cliffs below the citadel with panoramic views of the St. Lawrence. There were more street performances when we got to the Chateau, even a guy in gold lame singing Elvis!

We bought a nice print from a little artist's booth and then wandered around looking for some place that might have a table for dinner. We ate at a pub-style place where M. had a buffalo burger and I had a small steak. We also both enjoyed a Kilkenny beer. One of the best beers there is. Unfortunately they are not sold in the U.S.

After dark, we wandered into a few little shops; I bought a ring that matches my cute bubble print dress that my Granny made me. Matches it exactly. After that we had gelato and walked back to the hotel.

Our second day IN Quebec City started out raining and our attempt to see the changing of the guards at the citadel ( with a goat!) ended in disappointment. However, we did take a lovely tour of the citadel and then walked to the Plains of Abraham for a bus tour around the park where the 15 minute battle between English and French troops happened back in 176-something.
We had lunch at a cute Japanese place called Ginko and then we walked back to the old city. We stopped for yummy pastry at a local place called Paillard and waited for a small rainstorm to pass by. We then headed to the hotel and relaxed from the heat in our room for a while. In the late afternoon we wandered into the Festival de Nouvelle France for ahile and listened to music we couldn't understand. It was very nice with people dressed in costumes and singing and all.
For dinner we stopped in at a place called the Cafe du Monde (nothing like the one in New Orleans). I had steak tartare, which was...odd. We then took the ferry across the St. Lawrence River to Levis to see the city lit up. It was very cooling to be on the boat with a breeze.

The entire historic district of Quebec City is filled with little restaurants, shops and for the most part really off-key street performers. The ones that didn't sing or talk as part of their act were more enjoyable.

We arrived in the late afternoon, checked in to the hotel, and decided to wander down the Dufferin Terrasse for a bit. WE stopped when we reached the stairway that winds around the cliffs. We had a lovely dinner near the hotel at a place called the Cafe de Paris. Despite the fact that it is probably a tourist trap (indicated by the tour bus of people that unloaded in front of the building and subsequently dined in a private room at the back) the food was actually pretty yummy. I had escargot for an appetizer. It wasn't served the way I usually eat them, but they were pretty yummy. The place had an accordian player and was filled with big groups of tourists. It was hot outside so the air conditioning was most welcome.

OUr adventure to Canada began last Wednesday night. We flew from Chicago to Toronto. (Martin had a meeting on Thursday morning). We had a lovely room near the airport at the Hilton and I decided that three hours wasn't really worth trying to go and do something nearby or in downtwon Toronto so I just hung around the hotel, read the paper and tried to make my sciatic nerve stop hurting.

We made it on to the 1Pm-ish flight to Quebec City. We were using paper tickets, which are somewhat of a dying breed, but the Air Canada check-in machines had no problem with that. I noticed a breach of security at the airport, which was interesting but ultimately didn't make a difference. We also didn't have to take our shoes off while flying within Canada. I often wonder about the necessity of this anywhere. Especially since we didn't have to take our shoes off in Israel and if you don't take it off in Israel you shouldn't have to take it off anywhere else! That sounded a bit naughty. Small place to Quebec City to the very small airport. They are building a new one but that won't be finished until next year. Air Canada serves rice crackers, very Asian and no peanuts they claimed. They were yummy but I was half expecting to get a little salted fish in the bag.

Taxi into the heart of the old city was fast and the French language goes from second on street signs in the rest of Canada to first in Quebec. The old city is a sight. It is like an older Canadian version of the French Quarter without the homeless people and the smell of pee. That doesn't quite do it justice. A lot of times when cities make big deals about historic districts they aren't very large, maybe two or three streets. The Old City of Quebec is huge! It surrounds the Chateau Frontenac in the Upper Town and then continues down the Escalier Casse Cou (Breakneck stairs)to the Lower Town along the St. Lawrence River.

The Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These sites seem to be growing more prolific as th days go by and I often wonder if the list is growing too big. This somehow relates to my disappointment over the new Seven Wonders of the World and the huge commerical weirdness that that was. I have visited several UNESCO World Heritage sites and have found them interesting and full of history. However, the list is awfully long. There is some guy on the internet that is trying to see every site on the list. I wish him luck.

Tonight we are leaving on a jet plane for Canada. We will be back on Sunday. Yay!