After 6 weeks in Amsterdam and Italy in the spring of this year, summer and early fall travelling has been minimal.

In July, we spent a night at the Post Hotel in Lake Louise, Alberta. We have been quite a number of times, for the past decade, almost annually, but we had not stayed in one of the little cabins. It was very cute and very peaceful.

The weather wasn’t too hot so was perfect for sitting outside eating, drinking, reading or sketching.

While sitting in the Adirondack chairs outside the cabin, we were visited by Columbia ground squirrels, who seemed interest in the peanuts we had with our glasses of wine. I tossed them a grape, thinking that was healthier, but they ignored them

One of the reasons we keep returning to the Post is the excellent dining room and wine cellar.

In September we went to Ottawa. Used the shuttle at the airport to get from gate D, where we booked a security time (and avoided waiting in a long queue), to go to gate C where our plane was departing. It worked smoothly and conveniently.

In Ottawa we stayed four nights at LIV Extended Stay Apartments in the Centretown West area. It’s close to our daughter and her partner who we were visiting.

But honestly, we mainly wanted to visit their new puppy.

The apartment building is very dog friendly with a dog run on the rooftop and a grooming/dog bath area on the ground floor. We were able to use the rooftop grilling area and have the puppy join us.

We visited the Byward and Landsdowne markets and went to some restaurants with dog friendly patios but did not do any touristy kind of things.

In October we made a 4 night trip to Etobicoke, a suburb of Toronto where the Pearson Airport is located. Scott went for surgery. I went as support. We stayed minutes from the airport because that is where the clinic is located. It is not a tourist friendly area. There’s lots of big roads for accessing the airport, no shopping and chain restaurants associated with the various hotels in the area. It’s not walking friendly, either.

Above is the view you don’t see on the hotel webpages. Below is the swimming pool which was empty every time I went past. There’s a big golf course close by but no green spaces to visit that are accessible on foot.

A lot of conventions were happening in the associated conference centre but there also seemed to be a few tourists. I don’t know why a tourist would stay in the area instead of downtown Toronto. I don’t think it’s that much cheaper.

I tried to amuse myself on a Monday, a day when places like the Art Gallery of Ontario is closed. I took a taxi to Dundas Street West, about half way to downtown Toronto, to look in some shops. It was nothing special but the weather was nice enough for walking around and killing time.

Tuesday the GO train had some problem and wasn’t running which resulted in traffic jams and no taxis available. I went for a run in the area but going elsewhere was practically impossible.

The clinic transferred us to the hotel by car. Once Scott was out of the clinic, he was limited to walking 50 metres or about 60 yards. So we did not go anywhere other than around the hotel. I read a lot, watched a webinar, did a bit of sketching and Italian course homework. Leaving, we had medical assistance from Air Canada. They provided a wheelchair, got us through security, to the lounge and then onto pre-boarding for the plane and a wheelchair when we landed. With Scott in a walker, I don’t think we could have managed without assistance. The trip was definitely not a vacation.