Monday 9th July - Homeward Bound

Well, sadness all the way! Today was the day to return home.

Up at 8.0a.m. to complete the packing and after breakfast and showering, upstairs to have morning coffee and scones with our wonderful host, Bette.  We are indebted to Bette for letting us have the use of her basement appartment and carry fond memories of our time with her.

Bette's garden

Soon it was time to go to Winnipeg Airport for our internal flight to Toronto.  Gill dropped us at the terminal and as we checked in, the lady who assisted us moved the seats that had been booked forward for ease.                                                             

We had quite a while to wait and we passed the time away by watching the baggage handlers on the tarmac and workmen red-lining the tarmac to indicate "plane parking"! Once on board the stewardess welcomed us - all except for an ex-boyfriend who it would appear was also on the flight. Once again we had to put our watches on 1hr.
We flew over Thunder Bay and Lakes Superior & Huron on a very clear day. On our approach to Toronto we could see the CN Tower, its construction began in February 1973 and it was opened to the public nearly 3 years later. (Picture above)
Toronto Airport was extremely busy, the busiest I've known an airport, the Security and other airport workers were travelling around on Segway scooters.I found it all rather overwhelming to say the least. We had pre-booked assistance, but that seemed rather disorganised to us. We had 5 hours to wait for our next flight: Toronto/Manchester.
After check-in we were taken to the area of our departure by a "white knuckle" ride on a golf buggy. It certainly was not for the feint of heart and the driver seemed to delight in his skills! We ate a light supper of crackers, cheese, fruit & walnut bread, before boarding the plane in readiness for take off at 23.45.
We had pre-booked the same seats as our outbound journey, which were specifically chosen to give extra leg room. The crew were attentive throughout as they had been on the outbound and the two internal flights.
We arrived in a very wet Manchester on time  at 11.30a.m Tuesday 10th July. Once we finally arrived home our son and family were waiting for us - seeing our granddaughter was the tonic we needed after such a brilliant experience.
Hopefully, we will be able to realize something similar again, in the not too distant future.
Thank you everyone who assisted us and in particular to my husband for his unswerving support in the preparations and during our time away on our holiday of a lifetime.