I had never driven west beyond London, Ontario till that trip.
After amending my Google Map basic suggestion to take the back roads (95% accurate), I soon realized that I was in the middle of vegetable farm country all around - as far as the eyes could see but with a unique twist - a very humid and marshy environment.
Swarms of local swallows swooping up and down in a mesmerizing dance - never quite knowing what direction the flock would take at any moment.
I finally arrived at one of the usual big chain motels around late supper time - merely 5 minutes from the entrance of the park - how wonderfully convenient !
And wonderfully quiet too. Just the sounds of the birds and of the breeze on a hot muggy day. And so, after a decent meal, I settled in my room looking to prepare my itinerary for next day's long and arduous trek in the park.
That is till a pair of ultra light helicopters (situated on the landscaped grounds of the motel) refueled from atop a mobile refueling point (a small van) and took off merely 100 feet from my room in early evening. Just as I was ready to turn in for an early evening's sleep.
I managed to get a parting photo while a gaggle of hotel clients stood out on our respective balconies with gaping jaws of astonishment. Let's just say you don't see that happening every day.
To be perfectly honest, I was a bit put off by the event since I really needed my sleep. I said something to the front desk lady who replied with a "I can't help you sir" shrug. "...Oh, they are one of our corporate clients..." and she indicated that there were no single rooms on the other side of the hotel unless I paid to upgrade to a double which wasn't going to happen according to my budget.
My parting and somewhat sarcastic reply pointed out the fact that none of the information on the motel's web site I had consulted said anything about helicopters taking off 100 feet from my motel room !
When it comes the basic necessities, sleep is in my top 3 and if I don't get quality sleep, I can get very grumpy as you can tell :)
Oh well. It's too late for me to hunt for another motel. Time to turn in a bit after. The helos were gone and I didn't think they would come back.
