Wish you were here!

Have you recently had a day that started out like any regular day but just got better and better as the day wore on? Yesterday was that day for me. It started fine if slightly harried when my next door neighbor needed his truck's battery jumped (which didn't work). Big A ended up driving me to work and we made it only about 3 minutes late. Later in the morning, I confirmed with a friend that she would be able to stay over a couple of nights so Big A and I could take a mini vacation should his extended unemployment actually be confirmed by the arrival of a check. She's available.

I then decided to live dangerously and call and reserve tickets for our upcoming excursion which is to head "up the road a piece" to Sault Ste Marie, Ontario and partake in the Agawa Canyon Tour which is a train ride that takes you 114 miles north into the, you guessed it, Agawa Canyon (more info can be found if you click the link). We came across this tour while browsing our monthly AAA Michigan magazine. Big A's mother was always talking about this train ride in northern Ontario but we didn't pay it much mind until we saw the ad. Once we went online and read more about it, it sounded like a lot of fun so while she can't make it this year (which isn't a bad thing...I was really weirded out about not only sleeping in the same hotel room with her but also in the same bed as her son with her in the next bed) and while Big A has a month off between semesters, we decided we would do it. I'm especially excited because I'm a virgin train rider. While I always thought I would be 'deflowered' by taking the train to Chicago or Toronto, this isn't a bad way to go.

Shortly after Big A made the reservations, the mail came and with it, the climax of an already great day. In amongst the catalogs and August election stuff was the first of his 6 or 7 unemployment checks. I guess you can say this trip to Canada is sponsored by the state of Michigan which is par for the course. Our May trip to Ontario was sponsored by the federal government and the stimulus check we received. Oddly enough, I don't feel bad about not reinvesting it in the economy (although I do very much want a La-Z-Boy) but I do feel bad that I haven't sent them postcards from these trips.