The Journey Begins (again)
Like all good stories, this one starts a long time ago but not too far away. I grew up through the 60's and 70's in a typical Canadian middle class suburban environment. A few twists and turns along the way, and voila, I graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an Electrical Engineering degree and a Computer Science degree. OK, I was 30 when I finished for reasons I won't go into just now. Suffice it to say, I went back to school with the goal to work in the telecommunications industry. I will share that one of the driving forces that helped me on my way was meeting my best friend then falling on love with her. Cathy inspired and encouraged me to got back to university. so roll forward 34 years, and countless adventures in work and life, I decided to retire on September 30, 2025, again. This is the third time I've retired, and I'm pretty sure that this is the one that will count. The other two, I look back on as retirement light and retirement training respectively.
Today marks the start of another small adventure. Cathy and I spent some time living and working in New Zealand that resulted in us becoming New Zealand citizens. We love the country, have many wonderful friends there. We try and get back as often as we can. So today is the start of our next trip, and this time we're taking our time. We're off to Sydney Australia for a few weeks to visit a friend then on to NZ to spend 5 months traveling around, catching up with friends and exploring new places.
Had a great drive in the Mustang to get to the airport. We booked into the airport hotel in Halifax on the 11th to make getting to our 05:30 departure on the 12th a bit easier. Turned out to be a great choice. Highly recommend the Alt Hotel at the airport, great service and nice rooms. The long travel day on the 12th. worked out OK. Halifax to Montreal, then on to Vancouver. Layover for a few hours in Vancouver so we booked a day room at the Fairmount at the airport. A bit extravagant but worth it to get some rest. The last 2 flights were Vancouver to Auckland then on to Sydney. No travel drama, just 36 hours of travel.
Need to get some sleep….
