h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm off again to Amerikay for nearly two weeks this time - as usual, heading to Chicago. I will also be going to Toronto to see my sister next weekend. This is the longest I will have been away since the twins were born, and now that the twins are nearly two, you need eyes in the back of your head. (They seem to think that the bin is a huge dinner hamper full of nice tasties, that bowls of cereal should be worn on the head and that the only purpose of cutlery is to hide it in obsure places). My mum is coming to help Mrs W out while I'm gone. It'll be a long two weeks for both of us...

Bring us back a Wendy's spicy chicken fillet burger willya?
I miss those buggers!

Have a nice trip, and enjoy a Chicago for me!

Hi, Woodpigeon,

I am glad your little ones are progressing as they should

Take care in the windy city, and if you go anywhere near Port Perry, Toronto say Hi! to the Operation Migration Team for me. They should be starting their long migration south to Florida with the young Whooping Cranes any day now, weather permitting.

Hope your Mum is well. I expect she will enjoy having more time with the little ones.

Say hi! to Mrs. for me and have a good trip,

Websailor

Thanks everyone - I'll keep an eye out for cranes in Toronto, while munching on a burger (I'll leave you a bit, SB).

Oh, I forgot to mention that one of our twins has nearly mastered the art of whisking away a table cloth while leaving the cutlery, plates and cups intact on the table. I say "nearly". He's able to do the whisking part perfectly. The second part (the bit about keeping all the stuff on the table) needs a bit more focus I think .

Anyone know how to get super-noodles unstuck from a timber floor?

The last bit's easy - buy a dog. Although that might have an adverse effect on the overall mess deficit.

I'm sure you'll all miss each other,but have a good time,and a safe journey.We just got back from florida last week,so i'm in the missing the sunshine mode,but lovely to be with the family again.We have said we should try another part of the U S A ,but florida has it's own special magic for us.

Wow - Google maps are brilliant. On my way to Chicago today I noticed what looked like a large airport below us as we passed over the Canadian mainland around Newfoundland. A large airport slap-bang in the middle of nowhere, so to speak.

It took me a few minutes to locate it when I eventually arrived at my hotel. All I had to go on were surface features and a very rough estimation of our location, but I found it. It's called Goose Bay Airport, in Labrador to be exact.

http://www.explorenewfoundlandandlabrador.com/communities/happy-valley-goose-bay.htm

I was also able to identify a strange looking lake, Lac Témiscamingue, which also caught my attention as I looked down from high above.

We flew quite close to this though, by the looks of it, but I missed it. Next time...

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001213.html

My trip to Toronto was a great experience. It's an incredibly multicultural city, with good public transport and lots of great restaurants and bars to choose from. We went up the CN Tower (well, you have to - it's just *there* every way you look), to the observatory with those freaky glass floors, and into a world photography exhibition in a magnificently designed building in Toronto's centre. We also spent a few hours on Sunday in the University district, watching the marathon runners pass by, including the last runner: a 75 year old man who passed the finish line in just under 6 hours. We ate at a Greek restaurant and drank Czech pilzen in "Smokeless Joes", a bar that claims to serve over 600 different types of beers. A very late night finish, and a very late morning start the following day.

I'm back now in Chicago with two days to go before I return to Ireland. I can't wait.

Good to hear from you.. take care, and we will look forward to you being home too..

I got into Shannon today at 10am and I had to face into a 70 mile car journey from Shannon back home. The journey down to Cork was slightly worse than usual. Two weeks in the US is quite enough to seriously upset my body clock, so there were repeated times when I had to force myself to stay awake.

Jazz festival time is coming up at the end of next week. Cork is going to start partying in a few days.

Welcome home!