Ottawa

Yes, I'm here. The 3 hour 33 minute flight goes much faster with seat-back television broadcasting the olympics (how do bodies move so fast and agile?) and a bag of healthy snacks. Poor A was stuck in 10B as B insists on having the window seat and I with partial claustrophobia insist on having the aisle. I blame the claustrophobia on growing up as one of four siblings on jumpseats (early stow-and-go, Cadillac limousine style) and being the youngest, I was always the squashedest.

WestJet is becoming less entertaining and more stereotypical but at least the flight attendants smiled once in a while.

We arrived at Lord Elgin where I used my first "50plus" discount to get an amazing rate at this historic hotel (thank you AMA). However, we arrived at 1:14 a.m. Ottawa time, arrived at our room and found it smoking and upon return to the front desk, discover there are no non-smoking rooms available. Apparently a guaranteed reservation doesn't guarantee a non-smoking reservation. The trainee at the desk kept asking his supervisor how to rectify the situation and promised us instead an upgrade to an executive room with bathrobes, slippers, amenities and refrigerator. "We'll bring a cot up. It's almost as large as a queen bed."

Arriving at room #2, we find it hard to navigate between the furniture and the wall. Wondering how this qualifies as "executive", we pose our naive question to the front desk as to how another "queen size cot" would magically fit.

Final compromise (all with very polite verbal exchanges and none of us frowning at all) was an additional room (keep #2, add #3) - twice as large as the executive, but with no bed, only a pull out sofa. Apparently it already had a cot which was reportedly more comfy than the pull out sofa. So the boys are sharing the queen bed in room #2 and I, since I have to work on work, am in the big room #3 with all the lights on.

Only problem: we have to move to a non-smoking 2-queen bed room #4 tomorrow. One night in a big suite is really not enough for all that inconvenience, don't you think? :-)

I'm just glad I have a place to lay my head and high speed internet to publish my words. Tomorrow, the seat of our government and typical tourist traipsing. Got my walking shoes all laid out and ready.