Heat, sweltering heat, consumed Macon, Georgia barely a few days after I arrived. For eleven cloudless days the sun burned and sweat ran off us in rivers. Each night I would retreat back to my castle, undress, and recover for an hour, exhaustedly drinking diet coke and eating animal crackers.
Something had to give.
And on Memorial Day, the change finally came. Soon, I would be away from the sweltering heat on one of my biggest adventures to date: Ottawa, Canada.
Passport! International flight! International phone minutes! Customs and immigration! So many little chores to do before departure time! I scurried around taking care of details, time ticking by quickly.
My snail advisor and ambassador Rodger came out of his shell long enough to approve of the trip. He remarked that the experience might improve my dreadful French pronunciation. I told him he was probably right but not to rub it in. He began his usual speech about warranted criticism and I quickly fed him some soft bark to distract him.
And, before I knew it, I was on my United flight to Ottawa, stewarded by a short, stout, sassy Asian-American man who danced through the safety speech and fed me two cups of coffee. I didn’t plan to talk to anyone on the small plane, not wanting to make people feel uncomfortable in an enclosed space. But after awhile, the lady across from me struck up a conversation. Her name was Isabela; she had beautiful dark almond eyes, elegant close-cropped dark hair, and a soothing, melodic voice. She was bubbling with excitement, on her way home to see a tiny, beloved nephew. When she found I’d never been to Ottawa and would have a few weeks to explore, she tore a page out of her journal and pored over it for a few minutes, writing down the best things to do in the city. Markets and art galleries, canals and castles… it was all there.
So, thanks to kind Isabela, I’m arriving in Canada list in hand, not even having to scout for interesting places to explore! Ottawa is going to be amazing. I’m so excited! Stay tuned, because I feel there’s special adventures to come.
(Above: Atlanta off the wing.)
~The Dauntless Princess~