Canada - Day 9

Here it is - finally - the concluding installment of our trip to Canada. I don't know who will be most pleased about this proclamation - you or me!??

We awoke to another beautiful day. We packed up our belongings one last time. Joshua discovered that he had left the hanging bag with all his white shirts at the Thompson's. Sigh.....wouldn't have cared, most of the shirts needed to be retired, but some were brand new!

We ate breakfast and visited a little with the Kearleys, then it was time to head off again. Joshua wanted to go and say good-bye to a few more families before we left for the airport.

We stopped at the Halifax temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so we could take some photos. We stopped by the night before, but the pictures didn't turn out so well. We had been looking forward to attending some sessions in the temple, but it was closed for renovations. Joshua did get to go with the other missionaries who were going home, they opened the temple for a special session just for the missionaries.

We stopped at McDonalds for a quick bite and then headed off to the airport.

The above picture is not McDonalds. It is the Halifax Temple.

This ended up being more of an adventure than I cared to experience at the end of our trip!
Jim dropped us off and then went to return the rental car. Where he dropped us off was a very, very, very long walk to where we needed to go to check in. There was a lot of construction going on, so things weren't terribly well marked inside the airport or outside the airport. After hauling bags, perpetual motion Sam, "could I possibly walk any slower" Jessica and "I need to walk 100 yard in front" Joshua to the check-in counter, I discovered..........
I HAD LEFT MY PURSE IN THE RENTAL CAR!!!!!
ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!
Jim found us and then ran back, through all the construction, to the other side of the universe to retrieve my purse.

Samuel checked in and had a ticket
Jessica checked in and had a ticket
Sally-Ann checked in and had a ticket
Jim checked in and had a ticket
Joshua checked in and they wouldn't give him a ticket

They had changed our flights a week or so before we left for our trip. They notified us of the changes, but not the travel office in Salt Lake City that handles the travel arrangements for the missionaries. As a consequence, the funds to pay for Joshua's ticket had not been released. Joshua had a seat on the plane, but because it had not been paid for, they would not release it to him.
The people for Delta were very, very nice and helpful. The people at the travel office in SLC were very, very nice, but not very helpful. After several loooooong calls, nothing was resolved. After Jim had a conversation on the phone with the very, very nice people in the travel office, things were still not resolved.

Sally-Ann announced that she was not leaving Canada without Joshua.

We still had not gone through customs.

Jessica kept asking when we were going to eat.

Samuel kept spinning, spinning, spinning and going up and down, up and down the escalator.

Jim said he would just pay for the ticket.

Sally-Ann had to get Samuel, Jessica and herself through customs and to the departure gate - quickly!
The ticket agent promised Sally-Ann that she would rush husband and oldest son through customs etc., and safely deliver them to the departing airplane.
Samuel chose this exact moment to have a complete meltdown in front of the customs window.
Customs agent was a stern fellow, but thawed out a little when I told him my sad tale of woe.
Dragging Samuel down the corridor by one leg and a arm, we made it to our gate.
Jim and Joshua made it to the gate - just!

We got on the plane, flew a few hours, had a layover, lost the 2 older kids, found them just in time to catch the next flight, flew a few more hours, changed planes, arrived in Tampa..........
THE END!

Excuse me while I lift my hands from the keyboard so I can happy dance around the study a little!
I have finally finished telling you about our trip. I hope that you have enjoyed our adventures! Nova Scotia was absolutely beautiful and I wouldn't hesitate to visit there again.
We love to travel, meet wonderful people and see parts of the world that we haven't seen before....but, we also enjoy being here in our home.

Sally-Ann