Heather & Grant leave Canada

After a long and drawn out process our departure day has finally arrived and the beautiful sunny 21°C day that Toronto has put on is the best weather that has been seen here since October last year - maybe we should stay?  No - we are well beyond the point of no return at this stage to be changing our minds now!

Bernard update:
He departed Vancouver on-time just before midnight on Tuesday and as the eastern time zone folks were getting into their work days and the early risers on the West Coast grabbed their first coffee on Wednesday morning, he was passing overtop of the Hawaiian Islands.  All has gone smoothly so far and with 5 ½ hours in the air behind him, there is only another 10 hours to go.

As for Heather & myself, we leave Toronto this evening 'wheels-up' at 8pm.  We wish it was earlier in the day as we are all packed and ready to go.  The time spent just waiting seems to pass so slowly - at least it is a nice day for a walk outside.

Fast forward ➡➡ to 6pm Wed 29 April 2015, and WTF? - Where are The Farrows? at the moment?

We are checked in all the way through to Adelaide.

• Air Canada will take us from Toronto to Vancouver (5 hours);

• After a 1½ hour stop in Vancouver we continue with Air Canada through to Sydney (15 ½ hours of flying time);
• A 6 hour connection time in Sydney awaits us but that was our choice so that we can comfortably clear immigration and customs.  You never know how long things can take when you tick the 'citizen returning to resume residency' box on the entry form.  We also need to get from the international terminal across to the domestic terminal in Sydney (a 5 minute walk then a further 5 minute bus ride away);
• A refreshing shower, a change of clothes and a strong coffee or two in the QANTAS lounge will help make us feel a bit more human again before our final flight;
• QANTAS (stands for Queensland And Northern Territory Air Services), also known as 'The Flying Kangaroo' (see logo below), will take us on the last leg from Sydney to Adelaide (1½ hours)

With 22 hours of flight time and about 8 hours of processing and waiting in various airports along the way we will have been en route for around 30 hours by the time we collect our bags (hopefully) in Adelaide.  Needless to say (but I will say it anyway), we will be shattered by the time we get to my sister's house in Adelaide late on Friday afternoon.

So, to answer the question posed earlier, WTF? - Where are The Farrows? at the moment?  - we have just settled into the comfy chairs in the Air Canada lounge at YYZ (Toronto) for a pre-flight cocktail or two.  If we were smart we would have our drinks standing up because we have nothing but being seated for hours ahead of us.  Not so sure how smart we are but we ARE ready to go!

 

Heather sending final Facebook goodbyes from the Maple Leaf Lounge in Toronto

That is it for now.  There will be at least 30 hours of 'radio silence' from us while we move ourselves from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere, and do a bit of 'time travelling' as we cross the international date line (we leave Vancouver on Wednesday, fly for 15 ½ hours but when we land in Sydney it will be Friday) - Thursday never happens!

Stay tuned for our next blog posting which will be our first from Down Under...

PS: Have been tracking Bernard's flight - he has just landed in Sydney.  That first pee on Aussie soil after 20 hours in his crate is going to be some sweet sweet relief !!!

Parting thoughts

For Heather, born and raised in Canada, she is leaving home and that is a tough thing to do but the silver lining is that our move to Australia is also a return to her adopted country.

For me, the move means I am leaving my adopted country to return to my birthplace.  While I am 'going home' I am also 'leaving home'.  I have taken some time to reflect upon what Canada means to me - it took me longer than I thought it would and got deeper than I thought it would too.  As the process went on it became all the more important to me so I started to write a few things down.  Below is a summary of my thoughts and feelings...

New adventures are exciting but in order to start the next phase in our life together means the end of a special and very significant part of my life.  It is with more than a little sadness that I have to accept that fact that tomorrow we will be leaving the Great White North.

For the last 21 years of my life since I first arrived on January 3rd 1994, I have lived and worked in Canada for all but 3 years and 8 months of that time.

During that time I have experienced several life changing moments:

• Most significantly, when in Vancouver I met, fell in love with and married Heather, a Canadian girl that grew up on the prairies but calls Vancouver home - best thing that ever happened to me;
• Learned to love the Canadian way of life.  Long summer days camping amongst the abundant green forests and fields, blue skies backing snow capped mountains, clear crisp rivers, all of the wildlife - beautiful stuff.  Even the winters, some colder and longer than others, were fun:
• A couple of Vancouver winters were a gentle introduction to Canada as the winters there don't really count at all;
• 11 winters spent in or north of Yellowknife, NWT and 3 prairie winters in Saskatoon were a true taste of the 'real deal' as far as winter living is concerned - if that sort of time served doesn't qualify you for at least 'honorary Canadian' status then I don't know what you have to do;
• The last 3 or 4 Toronto winters, while not exactly 'hard' (but don't tell that to Torontonians), were a nice way to enjoy the snow and other winter activities without being in the deep freeze for months on end.
• Spent 3 1/2  great years in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where we learned some unique things about the place:
• Roughrider Green is the dominant colour in the province:
• A CFL football team can still lose a game after the time clock has run out;
• Perogies and an 'Old Pilsner' makes for a decent breakfast after a morning spent curling;
• Daylight saving time doesn't have to happen in a progressive society
• Also during our time in Saskatchewan, we were adopted by our dog Bernard when he was but a fluffy 9 week old, 13lb puppy living on a sheep farm near Kindersley, Saskatchewan.  He has since grown into the 150lb master of the household that exerts WAY more influence over what we do in our daily lives than a dog ever should.  We have enjoyed every day of the time we have had him and hope that the fur coat that worked so well for him in Canada does not become too much of a burden for him in the heat of Australia;
• I finally became a Canadian citizen in May 2013.  For the record, this remains a proud day in my life and I don't understand why I didn't lock this in sooner.

Below are some images of Canada that are immediately recognizable to all that have spent any time here and will be part of my memories for ever.

It is sad to go but that time has come.  A fond farewell to all of the friends we have made and colleagues we have lived, worked and played with from the West Coast to the Arctic to The Prairies and Ontario and to all the other places across the country we have visited and enjoyed while here.

An open invitation exists for anyone that makes it to Adelaide in Australia to visit us and stay a while and catch up on old times and make some new ones.

Bye for now.

Bernard's Journey Begins...

We were all up bright and early today (4:30am wake up) to get Bernard off to the airport for his 9am flight to Vancouver.

He got into his crate without any issues at all and was very calm which made Heather and I feel a whole lot better about how he will cope with the journey.  It is not the greatest photo with the flash reflection off of the crate door but this will be our last look at him until we meet again in Sydney when he is released from Australian quarantine in 13 days time.

Jason (Bernard's handler in Toronto) gave us a call once he had completed the check-in process with Air Canada.  He said everyone was 'oohing and aahing' over him (as usual) with the Air Canada crew saying he was the biggest unit his pet handling team had dealt with.  Dog + crate weighed in at 93kg (or 205lbs in the old money).

The flight left the gate in Toronto a few minutes late but he got into the air and he landed around 11am Vancouver time. 

Below is a photo of him at the Air Canada lounge for dogs in Vancouver.  He looks happy enough but is probably wondering to himself, WTF? - Where are Those Farrows?  Usually we are right there with him but not today!

What happens next?

He will stay in Vancouver for the rest of today and tonight in his 8' x 6' cell - at least it is roomier than the crate! (see photo below).

Tomorrow morning he will receive his final flea and tick treatment and the last of his internal parasite pills.  The last hurdle to clear is a physical examination by the official government vet to ensure he is fit to travel then sign-off on the export/import paperwork.  All going well he will leave Canada tomorrow night at 11:40pm on AC033.

After a 15+ hour flight across the Pacific Ocean he will land in Sydney and start a 10 day quarantine period - let's hope that all goes smoothly!

Keep an eye on your inboxes for your next blog update notification.  In that posting to be titled 'Heather and Grant leave Canada' we can bore you all with details of our departure from these shores.

Port Credit Farmers Market

Every Saturday morning during the summer months a small Farmers Market sprung up in the parking lot of the local LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) outlet.

Fresh produce, breads and some arts and craft vendor stalls provide some colour and nice smells to walk amongst on a sunny morning.  Attached is a link to a 1 minute video 'trailer' that I have uploaded to YouTube showing some of the action.

Even though we no longer live in Port Credit we still recall how we used to enjoy our walks to and through the Farmers Market.

Transportation Day Approaches

Check out the photo of Bernard in half of his air transportation crate.  At least he walked into it voluntarily.  Truth be told, some liver treats were used as bait but he didn't baulk once he had been suitably motivated!

When fully assembled the crate is HUGE – we can’t even get it through the door.  For some perspective take a look at the photo of Heather inside the crate.

 

We will have to put it together in the lobby of the building before the World Care Pet people come to collect him and take him to the airport for his flight.  On pick-up day they are going to be here at 5:30am so it will be an early start for everyone.

Members of the Farrows Pack - Bernard

Bernard is our 6 year old Maremma Sheepdog.

He is a big dog weighing in at 60kg but is a gentle soul and handsome to boot!

We have had him since he was a pup when we bought him from a sheep farmer in Saskatchewan, Canada in 2009.  We took the picture below on the first day we brought him home - he was 9 weeks old.

Next week he will be making the journey of a lifetime from Toronto, Canada to Adelaide, Australia.  All up he will be in the air for more than 20 hours before landing in Sydney. We will leave a day later once it has been confirmed that he is safely on his way. 

Immediately upon arrival in Sydney the Australian Quarantine Services take him into their facility at Eastern Creek for 10 days in the lock-up - his first days in Australia will be as a convict!  No visits from anyone except the quarantine people who will poke and probe him each day to make sure he is free of external and internal parasites before releasing him back into the world.  It is going to be tough on us all - truth be told it will probably be worse for us (mentally) than for Bernard!  At least the reunion on Sunday the 10th of May will be a happy occasion.

Once we are back together we will make the 1500km road trip from Sydney to Adelaide where the next chapter of our lives will commence.