The beginning of our trip

We left Ottawa at 5 pm for 7 pm flight to Washington, DC; it was minus 20 Celsius and snowing lightly following a warm spell where all of the Christmas and post New Years snow had melted.

Jeffy coming to say goodbye

All our family members came to say goodbye and wish us well, which meant: "Do you have room for a chaperon?" (all expenses paid)...When we touched down in Washington, we could see snow there also. Little did we know that we were leaving a city that would experience non-stop snow for almost every day we were gone, including one blizzard and ice rain. We learned too late NOT to change currency in the 21st Century in the airport currency kiosks. Yes, for small change to pay a taxi and tip the doormen but even then, get it from home first if possible. OR, ask the cab driver to direct you to an ATM before arriving at the hotel, OR look for an ATM at the airport. The exchange rate differential is huge. By the time we finished the trip we found that using debit or credit cards were equally beneficial. There was a $5.00 charge for every withdrawal, so we withdrew maximum when we could. We did take travelers cheques, but only for emergencies and did not end up using them.

Parliament Bldgs Ottawa

The lay over in DC is one hour and then we re-board for a 13 hour flight to Argentina. Fortunately for youthful planning and decadent spending, I still have a United Red Carpet Room private members life membership. We plan on taking full advantage of it and except for Santiago, which has neither Air Canada or United Lounges - we are fortunate as the rooms are in close proximity. But, I am getting ahead of myself already. Once on board, we settle in and of course always wonder if we will have a seat mate or be sitting only next to each other (depending upon plane configuration. Well, we were next to each other but Ingrid was next to an old geezer. The kind that one rolls their eyes upwards and goes 'oh no, will this guy ever stop talking - and more importantly will he ever stop talking about himself.' It didn't take him long to provide his name, credentials (Ph.D. Biology) and why he was traveling to Argentina. The only question he posed to Ingrid was: "What academic reason do you have for going there?"

Our home street sign as we leave

From then on, it gets decidedly better. It turns out that he might be a wee bit nervous, he is 72, alone, and going to the Antarctic. It is an expedition rather than a vacation and we can clearly see that this is a trip of life time for him on one hand; however, he is also riddled with significant doubt about stuff he doesn't dwell on too much. He does mention that he is recently widowed, and that must be playing on him also. He turned out to be, not only a very entertaining passenger for us, but also the first of three people we met all going to the Antarctic.

He and I have an interesting exchange due to the fact that I am reading the Globe & Mail about a newly found plant in Madagascar that eats itself after blooming in order to survive. I had also read about it on Face Book 'Deadline' few days ago. As a botanist and biologist he is surprised that he has not read about it in his news feeds. So we have a good segue into some common ground.