When asked how she’d like to celebrate her 80th birthday, Cleone announced her fav would be to see polar bears in their natural habitat. Polar bears it is then.

These gorgeous bears are found in five regions of the Arctic: Russia, Greenland, the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway (where there are more bears than people), Canada, and the United States. The obvious first decision was where to travel for this adventure. Cleone chose Canada, home to the largest concentration of polar bears in the world.

Polar bears that have spent a hungry summer on the tundra migrate toward Hudson Bay this time of year. Being a freshwater bay, it’s one of the first areas to freeze over. This is not lost on the bears who pre-position themselves near Churchill, our destination, anticipating its freeze. Once the ice is strong enough to bear (pun intended) their weight, the ice will be home until the spring thaw. The population of polar bears in and around Churchill is estimated to be around 900, so here’s hoping we see a zillion of them. A bunch of frisky cubs would be a treat too.

Speaking of treats, Churchill lies underneath what’s called the auroral oval, resulting in over 300 nights of northern lights activity. As long as we’re here. let’s see what the birthday girl can do to make that happen.

The weather was ideal for air travel today with both flights departing and arriving on time. Our layover in Toronto was a breeze with efficient, no-waiting-in-line electronic immigration and a nice lunch in the Air Canada lounge.

Dan and I met up with Walter and Cleone in Winnipeg, Manitoba this evening. We decided to arrive a couple days ahead of schedule, so we’d have time to poke around town before we head north to bear country on our escorted trip with Natural Habitat Adventures (NHA). It’s our first time traveling with this eco-aware company. An NHA rep met us at the airport and drove us and another couple to the hotel where he turned us over to another rep responsible for luggage delivery, key and breakfast coupon distribution, and a couple other administrative details. It was all quite efficient.

The 10-story, 110 year old Fort Garry Hotel, one of Canada’s most iconic historic hotels, was built for elite travelers arriving by train. It was built in what is called the chateau style just like Hotel Frontenac in Quebec City. It is lovely! It will be our home until we head north. We four decided on a light dinner in the gorgeous Oval Room Brasserie and were totally pleased with the food and service. A great way to cap off our travel day.

… Landmark Birthdays …

This is the fourth-ish landmark birthday I’ve spent with Cleone.
Walter kicked off the first one, Cleone’s 40th, by sending me a ticket to surprise her.
The gift was super special for me, because I had never been to Europe
and they were living outside London at the time.
I was invited to come for two weeks and stayed three.

Cleone turned 50 when we lived in Panama.
Although not in November, they visited that year, so we’ve decided that’s close enough.

Pat planned a surprise long weekend in Texas for her 60th.
Hettie, Barb, Cyd, and I were part of the party.

Dan, Cyd, Walter, Pat, and I explored Ireland for her 70th.

How is she going to top this for her 90th?