Adjusting the Signal.

I like to stand out; I'll use beige.

St. John’s, NL – The sun shines brightly over colourful row houses, stacked into the hills like Rubik's Cubes.

Turquoise doors framed in purple stand sentry against canary yellow siding, offering a visual cue that the area's weather is typically grey. A neighbour, made up in mint with orange frames seems to wink knowingly.

Following a fantastic Thai-inspired dinner at Bannerman Brewing Co., we hike to the top of the Signal Hill National Historic Site for views across St. John's and the Atlantic Ocean. Home to the city's defences since the 17th century, Signal Hill is so named for its place in history as the site where, in 1901, the first trans-Atlantic wireless signal was received.

It's a landmark that quite literally rises above others in the area.

Ironically, no Wi-Fi.

As a dark fog curls and unfurls over the hills, we see how quickly even the brightest of colours can be muted. In a whisper of a moment, the heat is similarly subdued.

Following a two-and-a-half-year pandemic-induced grounding, travel's rhythm has come rushing back with the force of takeoff. It's a tentative fist step back.

And yet, so much is the same: Air Canada cancelled our London-Toronto flight, leaving us to draw a new piece to re-complete the puzzle we have laid out for the next couple weeks. Some things never change.

If nothing else, travel requires flexibility, creativity and patience. And sometimes a Dad who's willing to drive you two hours to the airport at 4:30 a.m.

It is Father's Day, after all.

(Thank you, thank you, thank you.)