We got up yesterday morning at 4 am to leave for Kiev. Garry loaded the semen tank- which he was hoping that Victor could get filled with liquid nitrogen and a new supply of straws of frozen Canadian bull semen while we were gone to Kiev. The boys got the luggage in the car and we were off in a sudden downpour that soaked Garry's shirt before we left (it hadn't rained until he was moving the tank (its like a giant very cold thermos.) Of course as we got to the corner to leave the village, it wasn't raining- the ground was even dry! So we dropped the tank off in Dnepro at Victor's house and got the paperwork to pick up a roll of plastic (for covering silage piles) in Borispol (the Kiev airport is actually 40 kms from Kiev on the outskirts of the small city of Borispol.) Garry was going to save 300 grivna picking it up himself- like half the gas bill for the trip to the airport.
Here's a nice picture of the Dniper River as we followed it for a while early in the morning. We planned to stop along the way at Mc Donald's for breakfast. We had an unscheduled stop before then, however, when Garry got pulled over for speeding- he was going 90 kph and was very upset. We had recently left a town - if you see a white sign with the name of the town or village then you drive 60 klicks until you see the second white sign with a red slash through the name of the village. Sometimes one town starts as soon as another ends, but normally you go back to driving the regular speed limit.
The first thing Garry tells the policeman that came to the window as he handed him his documents to him was that he did not speak Russian (in Russian.) Then he proceeded to argue as he followed the policeman to the car that (in mostly Russian) he could not have been speeding because he had seen no sign for a village (there was one house where the cops had set up. The Jaguar that had passed us a ways back was just getting ready to drive away, after being caught in the same trap.) The policeman and his partner offered to drive Garry back and show him the sign (the boys and I were slightly concerned as we sat in the car watching them drive off- I asked Jonah the time- he replied "6:05" and I said "Good we have 6 hours before we should be at the airport, and 8 before your flight anyway."
Soon they returned and pulled up behind us. They had driven him back to show him the sign, which was hidden in the bushes, shortly after the the last leaving the village sign. Garry told them if they didn't want people to speed they should cut the trees back. Garry says that they thought it was funny when I got out and took the photo of them. They kept asking for 200 grivna and patting the dashboard, and he replied that they should write a ticket because no one in Canada pays the policemen and he wasn't going to here in Ukraine. Finally a van flew past and one cop looked at the other and decided to cut their losses and chase after someone who would follow the local custom.
An hour later we had Mc Muffins in McDonalds - where they are doing reno - the parking lot and drivethru are closed- we parked nearby and walked past the yellow tape. You can see they are sponsors of the Eurocup 2012, the promos are beginning.
We were almost to Borispol when Victor called to say we needed to pick up the plastic before noon. Luckily it we would be in the city before 11, and he arranged for someone from the company to meet us by the big Orthodox church and follow him back to the warehouse to pick up the plastic. He had some tape so it was attached to the roof before he led us back to the mainroad and we headed for the new terminal F (it opened last November.)
It was too early for the boys to check in so we sat down and they got out the toys (Seth checked facebook with his DS and Jonah was reading the new book he downloaded) until they could get into line. The line had formed (more a bunch as they tend to be) but they eventually got into the little rows and to the front with Garry. Just after I took this photo- Garry waved me down to come as the Luftansa lady was telling him that we only had one ticket for the flight. I told her to look again, as both boys names were listed on the itinerary- and she found it and blamed Air Canada for the mix-up. Then we walked the boys over to security, I convinced them to give me hugs and they shook hands with Garry. They did make it onto all three planes and loaded safely with their luggage in Winnipeg, where they were met by their big sister.
Garry and I then went to find more tape for the plastic on the top of the car since it seemed a little loose. We found a Nova Lena (like Home Depot)and got some, along with some paint for the new precept that Max wants to paint. It was raining again, so we had a little lunch at the attached cafe before heading to the nearby AeroMall, where we planned to kill some time as we were meeting Stacy (she came early for teaching at the English Institute) at 5 at the airport. We ended up bowling for a hour- and were one frame shy of finishing a fourth game. I was very proud- I bowled 130 the first game and beat Garry. He did take the rest however (beating Garry was a first). It seemed that the pins were a little funny and he could have gotten more strikes. I had never been to a bowling alley that told you the kilometers per hour that you threw the bowling bowl- it even kept the average- mine was 22 and Garry's 34.
The rain had stopped so Garry wrapped another roll of tape around the roll of plastic on the roof rack, and we sat in the car enjoying the cool breeze (it was 18 C) and read the Kyiv Post (its in English) until our son Josh phoned. Garry was getting a few smiles and stares as people walked past the car in the parking lot while he was hearing all about the haylage they harvested in Manitoba. Another trip inside the mall to pick up some water and Pepsi to take home and use the free (amazing- most mall charge a grivna or two) bathroom.
Then we went back to the airport where you can see the progress on Terminal C - for VIPs coming to the Eurocup futball matches I believe- the logo is everywhere- the two tulips shapes on the sides of the ball are in red and white (Poland) and yellow and blue (Ukraine). Stacy came through the doors from customs shortly after landing and we were in the car and headed back to the village- with a stop at McDonalds around dusk (Garry won a Eurocup puffy futball-soccer sticker with his meal purchase.) We arrived home around 1 am, with the plastic still firmly taped to the car roof, and everyone headed to bed.
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