‘Lying Low’ 15th January 2026 BLOG
The last Blog ended in mid December before the Christmas break , and shortly after I returned home to Canada from a family cruise in the Caribbean .
With snow and extreme cold arriving earlier than normal this year , I decided to fly down to North Carolina to be with the family for Christmas , in favor of driving.
I booked flights with Breeze Airlines who operate out of nearby Ogdensburg NY , with direct flights to Raleigh N.C . It was a route and airline , I’ve never used before.
Following a dental appointment on Monday 22nd December , I was scheduled to fly out around 5-00 pm the following night.
I left home early , as snow was forecast all day . I wanted to make sure I was there in good time. Leading up to all this , I hadn’t been feeling very well, but figured that. once down south , I’d soon be relaxing in the sunshine.
To cut along story short, the plane was running late due to the weather , and eventually, when it was ready to depart , (and the baggage was loaded ) , it developed mechanical problems.
Me and the rest of the passengers, waited in the departure lounge, while attempts were made to fix the problem. After a while , the flight had to be cancelled.
The baggage was off loaded and passengers were given the choice of a ticket refund or to return early the next day for an alternative flight.
It was now past 9-00 pm at night. I returned to my snow covered car in the parking lot then began the slow drive home. I was still feeling under the weather, when I got back to my place, just before mid night.
After thinking things over, I chose to take the refund , in favor of returning to Ogdensburg Airport , the next day (Christmas Eve).
So, my Christmas plans quickly changed , and I was all set to spend the holiday at home.
My ‘flu like’ symptoms got worse, and Christmas Day (Thursday) was spent taking meds and trying to get myself better.
By Friday the symptoms were so bad , I ended up in the Cornwall Hospital.
I was diagnosed with severe pneumonia which resulted in a five night stay over.
My daughter Carla jumped in to action, and traded the warmth and family in North Carolina , to fly from Raleigh NC to Ottawa, just beating the ice storm on its way for Sunday night.
She stayed at my place in Cornwall (five minutes from the hospital) until I was discharged on New Years Eve.
I can’t thank her enough. I really appreciate having such a caring daughter.
So as the snow continued to fall, I spent the first half of January in ‘recovery mode’ , laying low, and trying to get myself fit for my planned racing trip to Florida in February.