Vashti's Visit

It isn’t often that someone from my family in PNG shows up for a visit. In mid-february, my sister visited us for a week. While the primary purpose of her trip was to attend her friend’s wedding in Orlando it was also an opportune time to bring her to Canada to spend the week with us and give her the royal Canadian winter treatment. It was also very special for us as no one from my side of the family has met our son.

Vashti and Mike Selfie
The last time I saw my sister was two years ago in PNG! It was good to be reunited even though it was only for a week – way too short!!

She traveled for 36 hours before arriving in Orlando then a few days later she flew to see us. She had mentioned to me how she thought LA was cold for her. I told her bundle up as the winters here make LA feel like the tropics.
Because of the short time  she was here we wanted to hit all the landmarks in Calgary and Area but also be mindful for her weary travels. More important than sight though was spending quality time – which there was way too little of.

We spent a whole day out in Lake Louise and Banff . . . and she got to experience snow and a mild Canadian winter.

We took her downtown to our favourite breakfast place: Holy Grill, then we walked around downtown and explored the iconic places as it started snowing.
We visited family and friends here as well as toured Lake Louise and Banff.
Later during the week she went to the zoo. The visit was short but she made most of it and spent quality time with our son.
The week went by way too quickly and then she had to leave. Javen didn’t fully understand that she was gone and made a few visits to the guest room looking for his aunty.
See you again Aunty Vashti and all the best with a new chapter in life.

map of vashti's travel
Lae-POM (45 mins)->POM-Brisbane (3 hrs)->Brisbane-LA (13 hrs)->LA-Orlando (4hrs)->Orlando-Minnesota (4 hrs)->Minnesota-Calgary (2 1/2 hrs)->Calgary-Newark (3 hrs)->Newark-Orlando (4 hrs)->Orlando-LA (4 hrs)-> LA-Brisbane (13 hrs)-> Brisbane-POM (3 hrs)-> POM-Lae (45 mins) about 42,871km in distance and 55hrs of travel