Alternatively, we had talked about a trip in February to warmer
climates, but upon going to the travel agency in Calgary enquiring about
Los Cabos, Mexico, we found out some interesting facts and information
which I thought I would pass on to the readers of this blog who may also
be affected by this.
Upon checking those trips, the travel agent told us
"all vacations are up in price by 17% and the cost will continue to
rise as demand is high and increasing for overseas vacations". That was the first disappointment!
That having been said, I asked the agent "what happens when it's time
to return to Canada"? I explained that we had both had two shots of the
Pfizer vaccine so it should avoid us having to quarantine upon arrival
back home.
The manager of the Agency then dropped a bombshell on us saying that before you get on a plane to
return to Canada from any destination,
you must have the PCR test within 72 hours of your departure. We were somewhat aware of this but did not realize how much it would cost.
She went on to explain that the PCR test is performed at the hotel you
are staying at.
Furthermore, she explained to us that those PCR tests can and do vary
in price from $100 up to $500 per person. It's an arbitrary price charged
by the hotel you stay at but it IS required by the airlines before anyone boards an
aircraft for a return flight to Canada. In short - No test - no flight.
it's as simple as that.
Taking everything into consideration, the total price of the vacation,
accommodation added to the artificially inflated prices prevailing and
the extra outlay for a PCR test for both of us is an amount that we were
not prepared to pay so, we have shelved that idea until prices return to
normal. I am sure they will.... eventually.
So, Plan B is to rebook for Las Vegas but make the booking for the
beginning to mid part of October. It gives the US time to open the
borders again.......... hopefully!
Donna and I watched the opening ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic
Games (in 2021). We must say the Japanese people put on a really good show
for the TV audiences. But, we were saddened that all the revenue they
might have gained for the seating and attendance tickets was lost when the
whole stadium and the venues were almost empty during the ceremony and all
of the events due to COVID. And of course, we must not forget, the fact
that the games had already been delayed a year due to this virus issue.
How sad!
The most impressive item during the opening ceremonies for me, was when
the hundreds of drones the Japanese put up in the air above the stadium
with their lights on, forming a 3D complete map of the world. I was very
impressed with that. Every detail was so precise. My hat goes off to the
people who put that together.
We watched almost all of the Olympics and have been so impressed with how
many younger participants are entering the track and field events,
skateboarding, gymnastics, and lots of other events.
Considering our population, Canada has made a good showing in the events
which I am sure pleased us all.
Well, we finally had the bug to purchase a new vehicle. It had to be
spacious enough, comfortable, and fairly inexpensive to run. We ended up
buying a six-cylinder Toyota Highlander Hybrid. We have never had the
pleasure of owning a hybrid vehicle but with it being electric and gas, we
are pretty sure it will save the pennies on gas at 9L per
100km.
The Highlander is a pleasure to drive. We traded in our six-cylinder Kia
Sorento and picked up the Toyota on July 30. I am sure we will really enjoy
driving this SUV.
Although it's still reasonably hot here in Calgary (32°C), we can feel
the temperatures dropping during the night as fall slowly approaches.
Hopefully, we don't get an early winter but with 167 Forest fires currently
burning in Alberta and, over 300 in BC where people are still experiencing
temperatures into the mid to high 30's, we need that cool and some rain to
deal with the fires but, as we all know in this part of the world, we
could just as easily have an Indian summer. That would be
nice.
To stave off boredom, Donna and I decided to invest a very small amount in
an investment company and to try to trade in Crypto-currencies. Wow! What
an eye-opener. I would have to say it was a little daunting and
overwhelming when we went to the dashboard and signed in for the first
time.
Having done some homework on which Investment companies were highly
thought of, and good to join, we selected one and then went to view how
fast the currencies move in a second or two but we have kept our cool and
enjoy the experience just watching the graphs change.
Having never traded in either the stock market or in Crypto's before, we
are being very careful. We are learning our way around the market and have
certainly begun learning how to read the market and how to buy and sell
cryptocurrencies. The one thing we learned very quickly and before we
began trading was to only invest what you can afford to lose. That's a
paramount rule we would never breach as it then takes the fun out of
it.
I am pleased to say that we are about $1,000 Canadian up from when we first
came in and, we have taken some profits, cashed in, and returned the crypto
into cash. This is all scary at the beginning but once you get a hang of
it and build trust in the internet investment company you are using, it's
a quite fulfilling pastime.
We have been getting out and about some, we joined the gorgeous YMCA at
Seton, the largest Y in Canada. What a place, with three pools, a massive
gym, basketball courts, two ice arenas, you name it, they have it.
About two-thirds of the way through the month of August, we decided to have 12 of our family over for supper. It was going to be a mixed event inasmuch as we had a huge 17-pound brisket to cook, plus it was time to get the families who would come, together and also celebrate my (Ken's) 73rd birthday.
We laid up the table and were ready almost three days before and were pleasantly surprised as to how many people we could sit at our Amish-made table. We were lucky, it came with four extra leaves but, we didn't need all of them anyway.
We started up the Yoder BBQ the night before and at 8:45pm, we put the Brisket on to cook low and slow.
I arose at 6:00 am and went to check on the Brisket. Oh boy, it looked great and would cook for about 22 hours in total, before we took it off. The next one we would cook at a little higher temperature to start with, leaving more time for it to rest before carving.
Everyone who came had a great time. Those in attendance beside us two were Kath, Roddy, Amy, Jason, Lucia, Conrad, Diego, Caroline, Kent (Jason's long-time friend) and, Conrad's girlfriend Amiee. Unfortunately, young Adam was sick so he stayed away not wanting to pass anything on to others who attended.
It was a lot of work but, the girls helped clear up which was an enormous bonus. It was well worth the effort. Some shots are below.
Left to right, Kath, Caroline, Amy, Donna, Lucia, Diego and Kent
Kent (Always smiling)
Caroline, Amy and Donna
Lucy, Diego and Kent
Conrad, Kath and Roddy
Me and her royal highness
Donna giving me "the Look"
Roddy, my eldest son Jason and yours truly with hat
Jason showing me he's almost as white as me when I have my hat off
Donna, Jason and Kent
So, as we get ever closer to September 1, the day we said would be the "drop dead" date where the US would have to open up the border for our trip south to Las Vegas. It did not happen so we ended up canceling and now have to plan to maybe go a little later. Maybe late October rather than early to mid-October as previously mentioned to allow more time for the border to open.
Time is running short though, as we must book by Aug 31 to avail ourselves of the offer of three free nights at the Wynn Hotel and Casino in Vegas plus $250 in free slot play. We can always cancel if the border is still closed by the time we need to drive south. The American's say they will review the border issue Sept 21. We will have to wait and see.
We both sincerely hope that you are all keeping well and that you are all staying out of harm's way COVID-wise. It's certainly not easy. That's for sure. I have relatives who have a home or two in Spain, but they have been unable to visit there for a year or more which is not good. I hope they can get down there from their home in Norway soon.
Well, that's our update on our blog this time around. Have a wonderful remaining part of summer. Stay cool and be careful.
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