Sunday, 17 January 2016

Sault Ste. Marie (SSM), Ontario (2015) -- Part E -- by Anne Shier (a.k.a. "Annie")

Day Five – Thursday Sept. 24, 2015:

I got up for breakfast at 8:30 am.  After my breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast and jam and orange juice, I went back to my room and had a nap.

At about 11:30 am, I got up and watched two DVD movies:  “Gracie’s Choice” and “Sex and the Single Mom” (first of a 2-part DVD movie series).

I then continued working on my audio book (for only one hour today) and managed to finish up to Chapter 33.  I would love to finish the work on my audio book tomorrow, but I only have one day left in my vacation here this year, so I’ll probably just take it easy and relax instead of working.

I am getting to the point where I really want to finish my audio book SOON.  If I could do that TODAY, I would, but I really need to make a very good quality product more than I need to finish the work right now.  So, I will concentrate on quality, as I’ve been doing.  If this audio book is successful, I might very well consider making a second audio book based on my first book called “My Short Stories (Book One)” next year.

This is my last day for a swim and hot tub and I’ve enjoyed these activities very much this week.  So, around 2:30 pm, I went for a short swim and hot tub (for about half an hour).  Then I returned to my room, showered, dried off and dressed.

By around 4:30 pm, I was getting hungry, so I went over to the Station Mall (KFC) and got a takeout dinner to bring back to my room to eat.  During and after dinner, I watched two more DVD movies:  “More Sex and the Single Mom” (second of the 2-part DVD series) and “Private Practice (Season Four, Disk Five)”.

Tomorrow evening, Friday Sept. 25th (by 7:10 pm), I have to leave SSM for home on the Greyhound Bus.  There used to be a bus leaving at about 7:00 am, but this run no longer exists.  That is tough because I’m supposed to check out of my hotel room by 11:00 am, normally.  So, I asked permission to stay in my hotel room till 2:00 pm, after which I would have to remove my luggage and let the maids clean my room for incoming guests who cannot check in until 3:00 pm.  That still left me with five long hours to kill so I decided to sit in the lobby and read my book for a while, then take a walk over to the bank and then to the boardwalk (one last time) before departing in my taxi for the Greyhound Bus Terminal at the Howard Johnson’s motel.

As of next year, I am considering making VIA Rail my mode of transportation, or breaking up my “Soo” vacation travel time into two days:  one day to get to Sudbury and spend the night, and one day to get to the “Soo”.  It all depends on when the trains run. Now that I’m a retired teacher, I can take advantage of the Edvantage discount program for teachers. 

I’m getting really fed up with Greyhound Bus travel up north.  It seems that all this bus company wants to do is reduce the number of daily runs up north and to fill up their one daily run to the maximum.  But, it’s a really long trip and can get very uncomfortable unless you have enough space to relax and have good seatmates nearby.  It’s the luck of the draw as to whether you enjoy your trip or not.  As it would later turn out, I did not enjoy my bus trip home this time (on the “red eye”) and sixteen hours later, I was so exhausted that I became sick shortly after reaching home in Ajax.  I went to the Ajax Hospital in an ambulance and got checked over from head to toe.  It turned out that after suffering some flu-like symptoms at home, I got dehydrated and my blood pressure took a dive.  However, the doctors couldn’t find anything else wrong with me and they advised me to go home, hydrate, and rest for the rest of the week, so I did.

I’ve been reading “Master of the Game” by Sidney Sheldon this summer.  Although I haven’t done much reading this week (or even this summer), it’s always a good idea for me to have a book with me in case I get the urge or opportunity to read.  I’ve also been writing this week in free hand, “My Travel Journal – Part II” about this particular trip to SSM. 

I am really hoping to visit SSM again next September, due to the fact that it’s less busy and I can have the pool more to myself.  Call me selfish if you want, but my holidays up in the “Soo” (SSM) have always been very important to me every year.  Travel is what keeps me young, motivated to write, and it expands my horizons.  Eventually, I plan to travel more outside of Canada (to the UK probably), and later, out west to British Columbia, in the future.  After all, I am now officially a retired teacher and I don’t have any reason to pick particular times to travel just because of my work schedule, or to rush home from any particular trip.  So, believe me, being a retiree is a terrific advantage when it comes to planning vacations anywhere in the world.


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