No I did not watch the State of the Union Address, I simply could not be bothered and I do not like fools like Trump. Of course I heard what he said, snippets, here and there. What I am amaze as a Canadian, is how different the US government and the practices of Congress are different from our system in Canada. I also include here your Justice system and the Courts, completely baffled how it all works compared to Canada. I cannot see how our two systems could be reconciled in any way given our very different history despite the fact we are neighbour countries. This has been the myth of the longest undefended border or friends. Nations have NO friends only interests.

In US newspapers opinion pieces are appearing now criticizing the numerous trips between Washington DC and Florida by Trump to go play golf. The cost of the flights, the security and motorcade all following him whenever he travels is in the millions of dollars. In Canada if the Prime Minister or the Governor General who travel on old military planes with a fresh coat of paint, ordinary airline food is served and on arrival, the Canadian Ambassador picks them up at the airport in whatever country they landed, unless the host country government supply transport. We have constant questions in the House of Commons from the Opposition about travel expenses. At one point, there were questions about swizzle sticks and slices of lemon for drinks. The PM travelling is not cheap but everyone is very mindful of Official travel expenses which are in the public domain. Today PM Carney left for India on a trade mission of 9 days.

During the Olympics, J.D. Vance travelled to Italy to attend sporting events. It was reported that he took with him 44 SUVs and all manner of staffs and security for this trip, all of it flown overseas at a cost of $55 million dollars. When I look at Britain and the King travelling in London and around the country, his motorcade is usually 3 cars and 6 police motorcycles. In Canada, the Governor General and the Prime Minister have a 2 car motorcade. Yes there is police presence but never on the level you see in the USA. Same applies to Members of Parliament and Senators in Ottawa, they have little to no protection. It is unthinkable to have police guarding them. The approach is so different as is the mentality.

Well from Monday afternoon to Tuesday night the wind blew and the snow came down, it did shut the city down completely, the roads were impassable. I had to take Mr Teeter out nonetheless, he was not happy but… I went through our building garage exit and noticed at the end of the driveway a car abandoned stuck in snow. At that point there was about a foot of the white stuff. The building across the street lost their heat, the heat pumps shut down frozen by the storm. In our building we went to the emergency supply but it was anemic. The technicians came and it took 2 days to fix it all. I had done all my shopping for food just a few hours before the storm arrived like everyone else. In the meantime while the storm raged outside, I was texting with my brother and sister-in-law in Florida and telling them that we were drinking gin and tonic out of the bottle and some moonshine. I think she believed us.

Photo of Charlottetown 48 hours ago.

Today I had a luncheon date and for some reason, I thought we were Tuesday and in fact it’s Wednesday. Oh well the group is getting together again in March on by Birthday.

We started to made plans for our cruise in October, on Crystal Serenity. We start in Barcelona, we have been some 6 times and this time we will see the Church of the Sagrada Família with all its towers completed after 144 years of construction. The front facade is still not finished and probably it will take another 20 years to complete. It is a spectacular building.

Then we sail to Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Cartagena, Melilla on the coast of North Africa, Gibraltar been there so I will probably stay on board, Casablanca and Tangier in Morocco, back to Cadiz and finally Lisbon. Lots of excursions, many involve hiking and walking, tours of 8 hours, some travelling to see sights. There is lots to choose from, but I am reading with the eye of a guide who knows how those excursions descriptions are written, a case of reader beware.

Tomorrow Thursday we are having dinner with a friend at the Cork and Cast restaurant on Victoria Row, our friends Rachel and Doug are the owners and they have been in the business for years. Rachel is a great cook and they do have a very nice menu. The restaurant is in what was the financial district of Charlottetown back in the years before 1900. Inside the restaurant behind the bar is the old bank vault and above it all the safety deposit boxes, now a decor artifact. Lots of large plants and a cosy atmosphere.

DOUG behind the bar, they do some great cocktails, one with vodka, pink lemonade and a popsicle.

I am trying to finish my new notes for all the different tours I will be giving this summer. I also translate all the name of fish and seafood species in French and always have also a conversion table for Metric to Imperial. Everything in Canada is in Metric and this includes the speed limit on the roads, so if you see 50 sign it is not miles per hour but Kilometre per hour. Same for gasoline it is advertised in Litres not gallons, I get a lot of questions on that, seems to create endless confusion for my tourists. Currently the price of regular gas is $1.49 per litre multiply by 4 and you get in gallons $5.96 . But the price fluctuates a lot from week to week, so if you are friends with a police officer, he will know 24 hours in advance if the price goes up or down, that can be helpful.

Many Canadians have fled Puerto Vallarta in recent days and we had many friends who have returned home. Many Canadians also vacation in Cuba and our PM and government decided to send food aid as Mexico did. Trump is threatening more tariffs if we help, big deal. The situation in Cuba has angered many Canadians and is viewed as American Imperialism.