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In the Footsteps of FranklinIn the Footsteps of Franklin
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In the Footsteps of Franklin

July - August 2022
After eight years of being away from the polar regions, we will be scratching our "Ice Itch" with a Quark Expeditions voyage that will take us into the Canadian High Arctic. Read more
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  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    Another AC Change

    April 24, 2022 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    Our European Crossing on Oceania's Insignia is over. We flew from our disembarkation port in Greece to Turkey on 18 April to spend a couple of weeks visiting family. But that's another trip. The only reason I mention it here is to explain why our Canadian High Arctic trip has a footprint in Turkey.

    We got notified by Air Canada — the AC reference in the title — about another schedule change. The second one I believe. And again, it's not a biggie.

    We'll be flying out of DEN 20 minutes early and arriving at YYZ 20 minutes later. Fingers crossed, of course, that no actual delays pop up on our travel day.    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    Toronto Condo Redux

    May 14, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    We survived our European Crossing and Turkey trip hale and hearty. Only to get caught in the COVID-19 trap after we returned home earlier this week. Sigh! The good news is that our symptoms are little more than that of a head cold. In fact, when I catch a cold I usually feel much worse. Thank goodness for being vaccinated and boosted.

    At the moment, we're quarantining as per the CDC guidelines, which means that we have time on our hands to take care of a logistics matter that cropped up a few days ago.

    You can bet that the email from VRBO advising us that our condo in Toronto was canceled didn't go down well when it popped up in Mui's inbox. A family matter ... that was the reason given. The refund is already posted to the credit card.

    So, back to the drawing board we went today.

    Nothing available through VRBO for our dates. The Monday after we arrive on 29 July is apparently a provincial holiday in Ontario ... and other places in Canada as well. Luckily, Airbnb had a property available in the same vicinity.

    We once again have a place to sleep ... and eat ... and do laundry ... and relax between all the fun stuff we hope to do while we're in Toronto.

    Perhaps the best part of the new condo is that the terms and conditions of use stress that this is a "quiet property." That's an especially good thing after our miserable experience in Miami this past March.    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    AC Schedule Change #4(?)

    June 18, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Since booking our Air Canada flight to Toronto in January, we've had a couple of minor schedule changes. Three I believe. None of the emails worried me when they showed up in my inbox.

    Not so this email. Why?

    With all the flight and airport security woes travelers are experiencing this summer, the first thing that popped into my mind was that our flight might have had a major change ... or worse, was canceled.

    Luckily, that wasn't the case at all. Instead, it looks like we're supposed to still fly out as planned ... but arrive at YYZ five minutes earlier at 4:30p. Barring any unforeseen delays, of course.

    You can bet that I will be keeping my fingers crossed in the interim for a smooth travel day on 29 July.    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    DoubleTree Rez in Our Hip Pocket

    June 23, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F

    A lovely morning ... finally the stiff wind that had been blowing for a few days was no more. We had breakfast on our back deck. And then I sat down to read and sip a cup of tea … or two. It was too early for the construction machinery across the arroyo to have begun working. It was nice and quiet. The only sounds were those of the birds chirping. Until, that is, I heard Mui call out my name.

    Turns out that he’d gotten an email from Airbnb advising him that the condo we had booked in Toronto was canceled. Whaaat? Not again! Two cancelations in the span of a month? Ridiculous!

    I'll skip ahead to shorten the story. The cancelation was a technical glitch per the host for the condo. He had not canceled our reservation. He asked that we give him until the end of the day to clear up the issue. And he did. Airbnb had already refunded the booking, however, so we had to rebook using a link the host provided. All's well now.

    Before we got the email from the host, however, we had already spent time looking at alternatives. In fact, we had a room booked at the DoubleTree in downtown Toronto. This reservation can be canceled at no charge before midnight on 24 July. So, we're going to keep it in our hip pocket for now ... just in case.

    Now that today’s travel blooper is resolved, I am going to go sit on the back deck and try to do some reading!    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    PCR Testing Scheduled

    June 28, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    Back in March, we received an email from Quark outlining their COVID-19 precautions to embark Ultramarine. Those prerequisites for embarking the ship remain in place nearly three months later.

    The requirements are fairly stringent ... especially considering that Canada has loosened its requirements considerably. We need to have proof of vaccination with some small print around getting a booster. Plus we need to get a PCR test ... not once, but twice in the span of three days.

    I understand why Quark has these requirements. After all, we will be off in the High Arctic. Medical services won't be readily available in those waters.

    We have no problems complying.

    We are vaxxed and boosted ... and scheduled to get our second boosters mid-July.

    The embarkation PCR will be done by Quark's medical team when we join our group at the pre-expedition hotel on 1 August. Thus, we needeed to only figure out the PCR test required to be taken within three days prior to joining the group.

    29 July ... our travel day to Toronto ... the earliest date on which we can do the first PCR test. Time to research options.

    We were hoping to test at our local lab and then continue onto DEN for our flight to Toronto. With the current travel woes, however, the schedule was going to be a tad too tight. Scratch that off the list.

    Air Canada has a PCR home kit. Unfortunately, it requires coordinating with a courier to get the sample to a lab in Toronto. Scratch that off the list.

    DEN has a testing clinic. Alas, regular PCR test results take 3-5 days ... ridiculous. The Rapid PCR test costs $250pp ... ridiculous ... especially since less expensive options are available. Scratch that off the list.

    So what did we decide to do? Fly to Toronto and visit a SwitchHealth Clinic for their PCR test ... results same day or the next day ... CAD$158 (less expensive when converted to USD). The clinic at Union Station is within 15-minute walking distance to the condo ... convenient.

    Our appointments are scheduled for 9a on 30 July. The ASMO account we need to receive our results is already set up online. Now, we just need to show up to get our "nasal cavities" stirred.

    Ahhh! The trials and tribulations of travel during COVID-19 times.    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    Condo Booking Goes Bye Bye

    July 3, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    It must have been a premonition that urged me to keep the Toronto DoubleTree booking I mentioned when I wrote about our condo woes 10 days ago.
    (Footprint Link:https://findpenguins.com/8pccjefaitoru/footprin…)

    At the time of the condo cancelation on 23 June, Adrian (the host), apologized and said that it was an AirBNB system glitch. He provided a link. We rebooked the condo. The cost had gone up by $1+ ... CAD/USD exchange rate differential. Acceptable.

    Then, on 1 July, we got another cancelation notice. Adrian apologized again and said it was another AirBNB system glitch. He provided a link. We sat down to rebook the condo. The link didn't work. Adrian provided a second link. Whoa! Wait just a darn minute. The property was listed under a different host. The price was $130+ more than the original booking. Definitely not a CAD/USD exchange rate differential. Not acceptable.

    We sent a message to Adrian asking about the discrepancies. Gave him until today to respond. Not a peep. So, we're moving on. Not rebooking the condo this time.

    It would have been nice to have a condo for our stay in Toronto. With all the woes being reported for the summer travel season, however, we don't need to be worrying about a condo booking that could flake out on us at the last minute. We'll do just fine with a hotel room instead … especially one that comes with 🍪 🍪 when we check in 😊

    P.S. By the way, I checked and the hotel is about as far from Union Station where we will be getting our PCR tests as the condo was. Still walking distance. That's a positive in this saga.    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    Final Docs Rec'd

    July 15, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    The final docs for our long-anticipated expedition into the Canadian High Arctic showed up in my inbox today. And just like that, our adventure became very real!

    The documents spell out the immediate details we need to be aware of in order to join our expedition group at the Sheraton at YYZ on 1 August. As for the details for our time on the ship ... they will unfold day by day ... in true expedition style.

    Also included in today's info packet is the schedule for 2 August, the "real" first day of our voyage ... the day we fly from Toronto, Canada to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to embark the ship. "Ugh" on the early meet-up time of 5:30a that morning! But hey, we're going on an expedition ... early morning calls are part of that experience. Good thing we're early birds as a general rule 😊.

    As well, we now have a list of the expedition team members who will be on the ship with us. Most of the names are unfamiliar, but there are several with whom we’ve gone “expeditioning” before. We are looking forward to seeing them all again … and making new friends, too.    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    Boosted x2

    July 17, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    We were due for our second COVID-19 booster back in May. We put it on the calendar for a few days after we were scheduled to return home from our European Crossing and Turkey trip.

    We made it home hale and hearty. Alas, we got caught in the COVID-19 trap before we could go to the clinic for our booster. Our primary care doc recommended we wait at least two months before we supplemented our natural immunity from getting sick. So, with another trip on the horizon, we scheduled our appointment for mid-July.

    This time, with BA-5, the latest Omicron variant, rearing its ugly head, we made it to the clinic before we got trapped by the virus again.

    Got our fourth COVID-19 vax jabs Friday morning! Easy peasy … just as it was for the original two-shot vax way back when.

    As was the case with the second shot and the first booster, Mui was down for the count about 12 hours after getting the jab. He pretty much slept through Saturday. When he woke up this morning, he was back to his normal self ... full of vim & vigor.

    As for me. No problems whatsoever. Just a slight ache at the injection point ... tender to the touch ... all gone by the time I woke up yesterday morning.

    One more check mark has now been placed on our travel prep list!    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    YYZ-DEN Flight ✔︎

    July 20, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F

    On Monday, we made some changes to our summer travel plans. While those details belong in a different trip journal, there was a small impact on this trip as well.

    Namely, we needed a way to get home from Toronto once Quark flies us back from the High Arctic on the 16th. This turned out to be a lot easier than I anticipated as United immediately popped up a non-stop flight from YYZ to DEN … very reasonable mileage award tickets.

    The 9:00a departure on 17 August is a bit early considering we will likely not get to bed until 1:00a or so due to the charter flight schedule from Resolute back to Toronto. I could have chosen a later flight but decided that it would be smarter to just grit our teeth and take the early flight ... primarily due to all the delays plaguing air travel this summer. A non-stop morning flight stands a better chance of running smoothly … 🤞🏻.    Read more

  • Two to TravelIn the Footsteps of Franklin

    Ways & Means to/from DEN

    July 21, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Of course, flying into/out of our hometown airport is always our first choice. But it's rarely possible to do so since we prefer to fly non-stop ... especially these days. DEN, therefore, is often the airport we end up using.

    How to get to or from DEN — which is about 1.5 hrs away from our house — is a question we have to answer for each trip.

    In the past, we've relied on car ride services to do so. In these times of high fuel prices, however, drivers don't want to accept long rides. We found that out in March ... an unnecessarily stressful start to our trip on that occasion.

    Taking a taxi is a possibility. As is renting a car or booking a private driver. A shared shuttle? Nope, that's not something Mui likes to do ... especially in these COVID-19 times ... and it doesn't save us money anyway.

    There is, of course, the option of driving ourselves and parking at the airport. Most of the time, however, our trips are too long to make this a viable consideration. Not this time, though!

    When we canceled the second half of our overseas travel for this summer, parking at the airport for our expedition adventure suddenly became the most sensible option. We can manage our own schedule and cost-wise it will have the least impact on the wallet.

    I've already canceled the rental car reservation — the original mode of transportation we had settled on for this trip to DEN — and Mui has the address for the off-airport parking lot so he can program the GPS.

    Now we just have to wait for our departure date to come around.    Read more

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