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We had a very early start the day we flew home from Canada. Our alarm went off at 4:30 am, and after a full evening of packing the night before, it felt as if we had hardly been to sleep. Fortunately we had no neighbours nearby to worry about disturbing. With everything loaded in the car, after a quick breakfast, we set off in the dark an hour later, along the island track . In fact it was dark most of the drive to the airport, the sun just rising as we drove into the car park to return our hire car. By this time it was around 8 o’clock and the wind was starting to pick up. We had been warned that there was a storm coming. Quite a few people had said they hoped that we would get out before it came. Returning the car was straightforward and the hire car rep kindly ignored the fact that we had scratched the boot by lifting Racheal’s wheelchair in and out. It was a short walk into the terminal building where we were able to check in straight away. Once we had got rid of our heavy luggage, we went straight through to security. Again, it was a smooth process, despite the amount of equipment and medicines, food and liquid we had for Racheal. We had time for another breakfast and a little more souvenir shopping in the airport while we waited to board the plane. The Air Canada staff were attentive and looked after Racheal and her wheelchair very well. We were taken to board the plane first. Racheal was transferred to an aisle chair and wheeled the length of a plane to our seats which for some reason had been allocated at the back. Air Canada have an app which allows passengers to track their luggage. A barcode on the luggage tag is scanned as items are loaded onto the plane, and this information is immediately visible on the app. This meant that we could see that Racheal‘s wheelchair had not been left behind, which is one of the concerns when flying. The other main concern is that the wheelchair might get damaged in transit, but we had no problem on either flight. I do put my own sign on Racheal‘s chair asking people to be careful with it, but I don’t know whether this really makes any difference. We had a little bit of time to settle before everybody else started to board the plane. Summer sat by the window, Racheal in the middle, and I sat by the aisle. The storm brewing outside made for an interesting takeoff but once we were in the air it was mostly a pleasant flight (except for the food). Summer enjoyed the view of the sunset and later fireworks from above. However, as we approached London we were again hit by some turbulence causing one of the flight attendants to fall over and passengers to grip their arm rests! We had to circle a few times before being cleared to land and it was something of a relief to be safely on the ground. We landed just before 9pm, but it was another two hours before we checked into the Premier Inn for the night. First, we had to wait for the assistance team to bring the aisle chair and transfer Racheal to her wheelchair. Then we had the long walk through Heathrow Airport stopping at one of the Changing Places Toilets to get Racheal changed, which meant going the opposite way to the way we needed to go to get passport control and to collect our luggage. Once we got out into the main terminal, we then had to queue for the lifts to get to the underground, to take the Elizabeth line to terminal four and again find the lift up to the arrivals area before walking for about 15 minutes to the hotel. We were very hot and sticky and tired by the time we finally got to our room. Of course it doesn’t end there, no falling straight into bed for us. Racheal needed feeding, medicines, a wash etc. And she was excited by the travelling and wasn’t in a hurry to go to sleep! There were medicines to prepare for the next day and packing to rearrange so that we were ready for our train journey home. It was well after midnight by the time we were all in bed. A mention for Premier Inn. On the whole we find their accessible rooms to be spacious enough for our needs, and for those who need an additional carer, they will provide an extra room for free. So they’re a good option, especially for an one night stop over. This one had the added advantage of an interconnecting door between the accessible room and the carers room. The next day we were up again ready for another day of travelling, but not until after a hearty breakfast. We set off for the underground once again, with a few people offering to help us with our luggage. Being independent souls, we turned down the offers and managed with our big backpacks on our backs, our small backpacks on our fronts, one pushing Racheal’s wheelchair and the other wheeling two suitcases. At least we had been able to cut down and get rid of one suitcase while we were in Canada. As ever, Racheal enjoyed the journey on the underground, the train and of course in the car when Summer’s dad collected us from the station. Nice to be home for a couple of weeks, but we will soon be off on our next adventure!!

Land of the silver birch Home of the beaver Where still the mighty moose Wanders at will Blue lake and rocky shore I will return once more Boom did-y-ah-dah Boom did-y-ah-dah Boom did-y-ah-dah, boom Nova Scotia certainly has a lot of silver birch trees, and when we woke up on our first morning in the Fisherman’s Cottage, we realised that we were totally surrounded by them. Beautiful. Our new ‘home’ was at the northernmost point of Big Tracadie Island, and sat high above the water with fantastic views. Again, the owner had built us a ramp so that Racheal could access the single story building. Once inside it was nice and spacious with a twin room for Racheal and me, a double room for Summer, a big sitting room and kitchen diner with a sunroom on the side overlooking the bay. Steps climbed up to a small deck which looked out to sea. Unfortunately, the weather on our first day here was not at all nice, we can’t really complain though as this was the first really bad weather we had had during our whole trip. We drove to Pictou hoping to find some indoor things to do, but everything was closed for the season. We found about three shops open and even the cafés were closed. We were about to give up when we spotted a restaurant overlooking the sea. When we went in to ask if we could just buy a coffee, the lady couldn’t have been kinder, she took our wet things and told us we were welcome to stay as long as we wanted we didn’t even need to buy anything. Of course we did have a coffee and there were some very appealing desserts on the menu - yes I gave in to temptation! The only picture we took was of a sculpture on the quay. On the second day we decided to explore Antigonish which was the nearest town, though still half an hour away. We started with lunch at a waffle restaurant that had been recommended to us, then we walked into the town and did some souvenir shopping in the main street. It was a pleasant town and the weather was at least dry, if not sunny. The third and fourth days the weather was much better. We even had some sunshine. We used both these days to explore a little of Cape Breton. Driving up the West Coast one day and enjoying a walk on the beach at Inverness. And the next day driving to Baddeck, which is on Bras d’Or Lake. At Inverness, I was pleased to see a changing places symbol on the outside of the public toilets. This is the first we had seen during our entire trip to Canada. The excitement was short-lived because it was locked, presumably because in Nova Scotia everything is shutting down for the winter. We were able to use the boardwalk and rather steep, rocky ‘ramp’ down to the beach and enjoy a walk on the sand. The route to Baddeck took us along the Trans Canada Highway, so there were a few more places open along the way . As this was our last day in Canada, we decided to have lunch out and we found a traditional Canadian diner in a farm shop on the way to Baddeck. We also did some thrift shopping and souvenir shopping to use up the last of our Canadian dollars before we flew home. By the time we drove home, the sun was setting and Summer got a very nice photograph of the sun through the bridge as we crossed over from Cape Breton Island to the mainland. We still had all our packing to do ready to fly home, so it was a busy evening! A few more photos of our island before we fly home.

We were a bit sad to leave the Boathouse with its beautiful views over the river, but it was time to move on. The main roads across Nova Scotia are not really very exciting. Miles and miles of highway or divided highway (dual carriageway), often with little traffic, doing 100 to 110km/hr. The autumn colours are beautiful, but after two hundred miles of the same scenery even they can get a bit boring! We broke our journey, roughly half way, at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park. This is a conservation centre where orphaned and injured animals are cared for, and endangered species are bred. The aim is to release them back to the wild wherever possible, but in some cases they will have to remain in the park. These are the animals on display to the public. Unfortunately we hadn’t realised the park closed at 3pm, so we took our time having a picnic and looking round the visitor centre, where Racheal enjoyed the tactile exhibits on offer. We only set off to look at the animals at 2.30, so we didn’t have long before an announcement came over the tannoy to say the park was closing and we should return to our car. We did manage to see raccoons, porcupine, white deer, elk, beavers, eagles and a bear, albeit very quickly. The second half of the journey was similar to the first. We did have the excitement of seeing the sea as we started to descend from central Nova Scotia, and could also make out Prince Edward Island in the distance. At Truro we joined the east bound carriageway of Trans Canada Highway, the road that would take us to our final stay on this leg of the gap year. The final two miles were on an unmade road, over a causeway onto Tracadie Big Island, and then along a track to the end of the island where we found a steep driveway up to the Fisherman’s Cottage, another delightful Airbnb. We made it just before dark!

Our first Nova Scotia was spent in a budget hotel near Halifax railway station. As we only slept, showered, ate breakfast and waited for our hire car to be delivered, I’ll skip straight on to Bridgewater, just over an hour south of Halifax. Our accommodation was an Airbnb in Upper Lahave, a small, riverside boathouse with open plan living downstairs and two ‘haylofts’ above, and our own jetty. Racheal had a double bed, while Summer and I each had a ladder to climb to our ‘bedrooms’. Sean, the owner, had made a ramp up to the decking so that Racheal could get into the tiny house. Once we had moved some furniture, it was perfectly adequate for our needs and a beautiful place to stay. I won’t describe it further as the photos do a better job. Our first day at the boathouse was spent stocking up on supplies at the local supermarket, spending some time at the launderette, visiting the local museum and exploring the town centre The DesBrisay Museum was small but had some interesting information about the local area, and the curator shared ideas for places to visit. The town centre was not particularly inspiring, but we were impressed with the lengths they had gone to to make small parks accessible. One park had a zigzag of ramps leading down to it from the main street. Having got the essentials sorted out, the second day we set off for Lunenberg, a town on the coast which has many original buildings and is a UNESCO world heritage site. After a picnic lunch we looked in the museum which was housed in an old fisheries building. The museum told the history of the fishing industry and the town, and had an area dedicated to the indigenous Mi’kmaw people. From the museum we climbed the steep hill into the town and enjoyed looking at the old buildings and inside some shops. Access wasn’t always easy due to the steepness of the streets and steps into buildings, but Racheal probably preferred sitting outside in the sunshine while we took it in turns to go in the shops anyway. Day three saw us return to Halifax to have a proper look around. I would like to have gone to the Immigration Museum, but we ran out of time. Again it was a lovely, sunny day. First we explored the waterfront, mainly because it was flat. Halifax is built on a steep hill, a common theme in this part of Canada. We managed to book onto a Harbour Hopper tour. This is a guided tour on an amphibious vehicle, part of the journey being through the roads of the city, and part seeing the sights from the harbour. They had a portable wheelchair lift which they wheeled to a door on the side of the vehicle and, having removed some seats, raised Racheal manually using a crank handle. Our guide, Riley, was fun and informative. It was a big improvement on the tour we did in Toronto earlier in the trip. The splash as we entered the water was impressive and Racheal loved it. On our final day around Bridgewater we didn’t want to go too far as we needed to pack. I visited the laundrette for the third time in four days, while Summer and Racheal went thrift shopping. This was the first big thrift shop we had found and great excitement for Summer! Then we drove along the south side of Lahave river (the Boathouse was on the north shore) to Lahave Bakery - a spot recommended for coffee and treats! There we also found a craft shop and bookshop. The building was an old ship’s outfitters and chandlery with the bakery still using the original tills. From there we found a road onto Lahave Islands, first driving along a spit of land before crossing a number of old wooden bridges between the small islands. It was great fun. We could even drive on the beach! I’ll finish with some photos taken from the Boathouse. The reflections were incredible and the mist made the place feel eerie. We took far too many sunsets and even a sunrise! We loved it here, but time to move on to another part of the province.

A short video showing the accessible room on the VIA Rail train from Montréal to Halifax

One of the big adventures on this trip was to take the overnight train over 800 miles from Montreal to Halifax. A scheduled journey of 23 hours, which actually took nearly 26, through three provinces, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and crossing a time zone taking us one hour closer to UK time. The train was due to leave at 6.30pm, so we arrived at the station in plenty of time. On this train we could check in some of our bags to make more space in the cabin. This was an easy process but just like an aircraft there’s a weight limit for each piece of luggage, which seems a little strange as it’s only going in a train carriage. Our luggage was within the weight limit so no problem there. Then we just had to cross the station concourse to the first class lounge. At the entrance to the lounge our tickets were checked and I reminded them that we would need assistance for Racheal to board the train. There was a little wait before we had to join a queue to check in for the journey and choose which meal sitting we preferred. In our case, meals would be served in our room as Racheal wouldn’t be able to get to the dining car. At this point two members of staff were called to help us down to the platform. One took our luggage and delivered it directly to our room while the other operated the stair lift to enable Racheal to get to the platform. At Montréal, the platform is at the right level to access the train and we were shown to the door directly adjacent to the accessible room. Summer had the room next door. As there was still half an hour or so before the train was due to leave, we took the opportunity to explore the room which had a bench seat which converted into a bed with a fold down bunk above, two fold down tables and some storage space. A curtain divided this area from the bathroom area which had a toilet with grab rails, a sink with space beneath for a wheelchair user and more storage space. There was another curtain which just screened the toilet so we chose to keep the centre curtain open as it made the room more spacious. Toiletries, bottles of drinking water and chocolates were also provided. Had we needed them, there were straps to secure Racheal‘s wheelchair, but we felt it would be more comfortable if her wheelchair was free to move around. It’s not possible for wheelchair users to move around the train due to the narrow corridors, so this was the only space Racheal could be in for the entire trip. Apparently there are plans to make more of the train accessible in the future. Summer‘s room was very small. Again there was a bench seat which folded down to make a bed with a bunk above. A very narrow space between this and a folding table and small cupboard, and in the corner a door which led to a tiny toilet area. For two, it really would’ve been a squeeze, but Summer had this room to herself and during the day we were mostly altogether in the larger room or exploring the rest of the train. The train left promptly at 6:30pm by which time it was dark, so after we watched the lights of Montreal through the window, we settled down to Racheal‘s usual evening routine until our meal arrived at about 8:30 pm. The portions were quite small, so we were glad of an extra meal as Racheal was also entitled to one but had had her tea before we boarded. The beds were narrow, and I wasn’t sure how safe Racheal would be on the bottom bunk, as it had no rail. Instead we took the mattress off the top bunk and put it on the floor for her. The night was interesting! Racheal slept well in her bed on the floor, I was not quite so comfortable on the bottom bunk as it was so narrow. I was disturbed frequently during the night by screeches on the brakes, stops at stations, our door rattling and sliding partly open, the suitcase rolling around the floor. Sometimes we seemed to be going incredibly fast, other times trundling along slowly or even going backwards! None of this disturbed Racheal at all! Sunrise was beautiful, with a pink sky reflected on the water, and made up for the lack of sleep. Each carriage has an attendant, which is an impressive ratio as we worked out the maximum number of passengers in a sleeper car is 18. Sam had introduced himself to us at the beginning of the journey and was always on hand to answer questions, fetch our meals from the dining car or help in practical ways. He would have put our beds down in the evening and folded them away in the morning, but it was easy to do so we saw to that ourselves. During the day, Summer and Racheal spent some time catching up with the Canada log book. This involved cutting out and sticking in leaflets, pictures from magazines, tickets and other goodies collected along the way. I tried to read my book, but the scenery was so beautiful I couldn’t stop looking out of the window! Meals were brought to our room by Sam, and I was able to blend Racheal’s using our portable blender. She had bison meatloaf for lunch and haddock chowder for tea. My lobster roll followed by carrot cake was delicious. Although the portions were small, the food was very good and we had taken plenty of snacks to keep us going. Somewhere along the way we were informed that the train was running two hours behind schedule. This was apparently due to leaves on the line which had to be cleared before we could continue, and explained the periods of time when we didn’t move or went backwards. We were actually nearly three hours late arriving in Halifax, but Racheal enjoyed watching stories on her iPad and we were able to continue with her usual evening medical routine so we wouldn’t be too behind when we got to the hotel. The platform was lower than the train, so Racheal had to use a manual lift which was brought to the door of the train. Then there was luggage to collect and a 10 minute walk to the hotel with all our luggage. (Last two photos taken the next day when I returned to the station to get our hire car.)

Montréal has the nickname of the City of Saints because of the numerous churches around the city. We certainly saw a few. Our accommodation in this interesting city was in an aparthotel near Central Station and right in the middle of the city. We had an accessible apartment, though the only difference to the other rooms was a few grab rails in the bathroom. We had a large main room with sofa, easy chair, writing desk, a double bed and open plan kitchen area, the second room was a double bedroom with a super king size bed. It had everything we needed for our three night stay. On the whole, we didn’t find Montréal very accessible (more about accessibility in another blog), but we did enjoy exploring the city and had some wonderful experiences. Day one we walked to the waterfront, then made our way through old Montréal to Chinatown. We discovered some very steep hills! There were some beautiful buildings in the old part of the city, but almost always seen with a backdrop of modern skyscrapers. The Marché Bonsecours is a particularly impressive building with its silver dome, but no longer a trading centre for goods brought by sea, it is now a small shopping mall selling expensive clothing and overpriced souvenirs. In the Palais des Congrès, there was an immersive light exhibition taking place. The building itself was colourful and the exhibition was incredible. There were three rooms, the first projecting films of wildlife and the natural world on to the walls. The second room, Racheal’s favourite, had patterns and different light effects, and the third was a short ‘documentary’ on the environment, climate and our impact on the world. Montréal is also the city of potholes! I encountered a large one and tripped, landing heavily on my knee, on the way back to the hotel. Fortunately no serious damage done, just a graze and bruise. The second day, Summer went to an art gallery in the morning, while Racheal caught up with some sleep and I prepared some meals for her. After lunch, we set off for a vintage clothing shop, Eva B, Summer had read about. When we arrived we found a large step preventing Racheal from entering, so she and I sat in the sunshine while Summer browsed the rails inside. As well as the city above ground, Montréal has an underground city which consists of 20 miles of walkways leading to shops, hotels, offices and entertainment venues. Unfortunately it proved very difficult to access, even the subway station only had a lift in one of the four entrances. We eventually found a way in, but after a few minutes found it changed levels and were again faced with only stairs or escalators. We soon gave up on the underground city and went in search of a cafe where we could give Racheal her tea. It was to be an afternoon of quirky eateries. Both the cafe where Racheal had her tea and the restaurant where we had a meal later we full of character as well as good coffee and nice food. We would definitely recommend Le Petit Depanneur near the Basilique Notre Dame and 5 Senses Restaurant on Rue St Catherine, though the former was a little tight for space. Our evening entertainment again involved lights. Summer had found another immersive light experience, this time in the Basilique Notre Dame. While I joined the queue, Summer and Racheal spent some time listening to a violinist playing in the square. We were taken into the darkened cathedral first as we had to use a different entrance, and spent 10 minutes or so exploring it, along with another wheelchair user and her companion, before finding a pew near the back when the rest of the audience began to file in. ‘AURA’ was divided into three ‘acts’ - The birth of light, The obstacles and The eternity of light. A variety of lighting and sound effects were used to create the story of creation, mankind’s separation from God and attempt to control light, and finally Christ’s return and the glorious light of eternity in heaven. It was a deeply moving experience. No photos or videos were allowed, so the pictures below are only of the pre-show lighting. The morning of our third and final day was spent packing our luggage in such a way that at least the large suitcase and my backpack could go in the ‘checked luggage’ on the train to Halifax. Once we had got everything sorted out, which took awhile, we were able to leave our luggage at the hotel and go off to explore another part of the city. We made a short detour to Central Station so that we could find out where we needed to go in the evening when we caught the train. Lunch was a picnic in the park next to another cathedral. It was a hot day and we decided to walk to the old port area, passing through the financial district on the way. Again the architecture was very interesting particularly the way that many banks had incorporated the old buildings into their modern skyscrapers. At the old port we saw the Montréal clocktower and wondered along pathways and over bridges enjoying the sunshine, and warm wind, along the side of the river. After a stop in a small supermarket to stock up on snacks for our journey, we returned to collect our luggage and made our way to the railway station to check in our luggage and wait to board the train to Halifax. Although it was only a 10 minute walk, it’s not all that easy when we’re both carrying a big backpack on our backs a small one on our front, one of us is managed ng two suitcases and the other pushing Racheal’s wheelchair while wheeling the third suitcase at the same time. We allowed plenty of time so we didn’t need to rush.

Our first experience of travelling by train in Canada was not without its challenges but it had a lot of plus points too. First, we were later getting to the station than planned because the person who should have met us at the subway for us to return the car was delayed. Then the station was frustratingly short of signage. Once we found the queue for boarding the train we were able to speak to a member of staff who took us to wait by the lift to the platform, but there was another issue! The seats we had been allocated were ordinary seats, not in the wheelchair accessible area as requested. Although the wheelchair space was available, the seats around it were not. We could either wait for a later train or transfer Racheal to an ordinary seat. The later train wasn’t really an option as it would mean arriving in Montreal at 10pm, an hour and a half later than our intended arrival time. We opted to transfer her to a seat on the basis that she can manage on an aircraft seat so a train for 5 hours should be ok. Catching a Via Rail train in Canada is quite an experience. Boarding is similar to flying. Passengers queue at a ’gate’ in the station and are only allowed on to the platform when boarding commences. Passengers with disabilities and small children board first. As you walk along the platform every carriage has member of staff holding a placard or the appropriate number of fingers to indicate the carriage number. We were in carriage 3, almost the furthest from the lift. The train was much higher than the platform so Racheal had to go on a portable lift up to the doorway while I climbed up into the next carriage and made my way to meet her. Summer followed with all the luggage assisted by more staff. Once we had transferred Racheal to her seat, the wheelchair was stowed in the wheelchair space in the next carriage and we settled down to enjoy the journey. We were in ‘economy’ class but our carriage was better than first class in the UK. Added to this, every carriage had an attendant for the duration of the journey. The train manager walked the length of the train making sure everyone was comfortable and being attended to, and there was a regular trolley service for drinks and snacks. Racheal was quite happy on her seat and in many ways it was better than the wheelchair space because Summer could sit right next to her making feeding and activities easier. One downside was the nice leather seats were slippery, but with the help of rolled up jumpers and coats we managed to keep her in a reasonable position. When we arrived at Montreal the platform was level with the train door, only needing a small ramp to bridge the gap between train and platform. However there was a platform stair lift to get up to the station lobby which was a bit tricky due to the length of Racheal’s chair. A porter kindly brought our luggage up on a large sack barrow and showed us the way to a lift which took us up to street level. It was dark, and difficult to find our bearings in a strange city, so the 5 minute walk to our hotel took nearly 20 minutes. We went 3 sides of a square instead of straight there! It’s also a little difficult to manage 3 suitcases, 2 large backpacks, 2 small backpacks, assorted other small bags and a wheelchair between two of us. On smooth surfaces it’s not too bad, but Montréal’s roads and pavements have a lot of potholes! We were very pleased to get to the hotel!!

On Saturday we were invited to share in Thanksgiving celebrations with a dear Guiding friend and her family. Having never been to a Thanksgiving meal before, we didn’t really know what to expect. The house was full of people and I can’t remember the names of everyone, but we were made very welcome. Margaret’s husband, Terry, had made a ramp to give Racheal easy access to their beautiful heritage home. First, there were pumpkins to carve. Summer and Racheal made a good attempt at our gap year logo, joining in the fun with the other young adults in the family. When it started to rain, and get chilly outside, folks gathered in the sitting room to chat by a roaring fire until we were called through for a delicious meal. There was chicken, ham and a lovely selection of vegetables, followed by various puddings including pumpkin pie of course! Lots of things for Racheal to try. And today (second Monday in October) is Thanksgiving in Canada so … HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! And thank you Margaret, Terry and family for a wonderful afternoon and evening.

Although Orangeville had been our home for 9 days we didn’t really explore it until the last couple of days. The town centre ran along one Main Street, ‘Broadway’, where we found a mixture of independent shops, thrift shops and cafes. On the edge of town, the Island Lake Conservation Area provided a pleasant place to walk, though we did have to dodge runners taking part in a school cross country competition. We were glad of Racheal’s Treki chair to cope with my uneven paths and the occasional tree root! (There’s a chipmunk to be found in the bottom right photo if you zoom in.) Our final experience of Orangeville was breakfast in Angels Diner before taking Ann to Margaret’s to be looked after until her flight home. Summer, Racheal and I then headed to Toronto to catch our train to Montreal.

Our trip to Toronto involved various forms of transport, all of which Racheal thoroughly enjoyed. First a ride in our wheelchair accessible hire car to Vaughan, a suburb of Toronto. From there we caught the subway into Union Station, in the centre of the city. All very accessible and with plenty of staff on hand to help. Very impressed that every carriage had two wheelchair spaces, one at each end. After checking where we need to go when we leave Ontario by train in a few days time, we set off to find a sightseeing tour bus. This was accessed by a rather rickety looking ramp for Racheal. It was a hop-on-hop-off, so we decided to get off at the Distillery Heritage District to find somewhere for lunch. There were lots of independent cafes and shops. Not all were wheelchair accessible due to the age of the buildings but it was a warm day and pleasant to wander around. When we caught the next bus the ramp was jammed so we had to lift Racheal, in her wheelchair, onto the bus. She thought it was hilarious, I wasn’t so impressed! The rest of the tour was mediocre at best and our guide spoke far too fast. We stayed on the bus until we had completed a circuit and got off outside the CN Tower which is 553m tall and for a long time was the tallest free standing structure in the world. After negotiating security and ticket sales, we were directed to a glass lift which shot us up 346m to the main observation deck in 60 seconds. Racheal wasn’t that bothered about having her tea at such an altitude, but the lift ride down again she found even more exciting than the ride up! For the rest of us, the views were incredible and we could even look directly down on a Blue Jays baseball game, though it was far too small to see what was going on! By the time we came out it was dark and the tower was lit with red and blue chasing lights. We were much later back than intended, by the time we had walked to the subway, travelled 50 minutes to the car park and then another 50 minutes drive to our accommodation, but it was a good day out. .

There’s nothing quite like Guiding friendships, they stretch across the years and miles. Ann and I met a group of eight Canadian Guide leaders in 2008 when we went to Our Cabana, the Girlguiding World Centre in Mexico. We’ve been friends ever since. We’ve met up with some of them on three occasions in the UK, but this was our first visit to see them on their home turf. Sadly, they lost Ruby a few years ago, but the other seven are still as full of fun as they were 17 years ago. After a ‘bring and share’ meal at June’s home, accompanied by much reminiscence and frivolity, we joined them for pumpkin crafts at their Trefoil Guild meeting. Summer and Racheal were welcomed with open arms, and much interest in their gap year adventures. We were pleased with our creations, but there wasn’t space to pack them in our luggage, so our Airbnb gained some additional Thanksgiving decorations.