Getting me out of the house for a trip is kind of like bathing an 8-year-old: it's as hard to get me in the groove to get packed and ready to go as it is to get a 8-year-old kid into the tub.

We got up at 3am (though actually I had only gone to bed at 2:15, and then couldn't sleep, so basically, my day started at 7am Wednesday). The shuttle came at 4:02; we were at the airport by 4:20, though it didn't even open until 4:30am. No real problems getting on board our flights or anything, even though we were flying standby. There was a 2 or 3 hour layover in Cincinnati, though.

Arrived in Toronto about noon, and only a small hiccup at customs, due to the fact I was traveling on an expired passport and hadn't been able to find either my birth certificate or my voter's registration card, even though I'd searched for 2 or more hours (hence, the lack of sleep).

The first real issue came when we went to get the shuttle to Washago -- they were all booked for the next 4 hours. I tried to lay down and catch a few winks on a bench near the shuttle desk, and was almost there when a voice said "You lucked in." Another plane had been delayed, so we could get its passengers' spots on the 2pm shuttle.

Washago was the last stop, so with all the other passengers being dropping off along the way, we didn't arrive there until 5pm. Arleigh showed up about 15 minutes later, and we bought some beer and headed to her dome home.

The home is so cool! They built it beginning with a foundation pour in about 1971, I think, and the original structure was completed in 1975. The main building (the dome) consists of a living area complete with wood-burning stove, a dining area, a kitchen, and a bathroom, plus a loft upstairs for offices and guests. They later added a octagonal tower with a couple of bedrooms and a workshop, plus a hallway and another upstairs room (up a circular staircase) in the middle, and a screened-in porch with hot tub.

The feel of the house is so warm -- with no actual corners for bad vibes to get caught in. I really loved the organic quality of it. I've been trying to figure out how I can manage to build my studio as a dome or get some land and build in the country somewhere...

Space being what it was, our sleeping accomodations turned out to be a tent in the yard. I wasn't really prepared for camping, but was grateful for a cozy little place of our own.

We had a pleasant evening visiting with Arleigh and Larry over a good dinner and several beers, and we prepared ourselves for a cold night sleeping outside with silk longjohns, Cutters (for the mosquitoes), warm socks, pj's and a robe, several blankets, plus some good earplugs to drown out the sound of bugs....and whatever else there may be. I remembered before going to sleep that Arleigh had talked about the racoons and otters and the bears that occasionally wandered in from the woods...