My wife and I are planning a week long foray into Canada in October. We’ll cross over on the newly opened Gordie Howe bridge, saving considerable time from having to drive up to the Blue Water Bridge above Port Huron.

From there- a drive over to Niagara on the Lake for 3 days, then back via Stratford where we’ll catch a couple of plays.

I haven’t flown since 2013 when I took a quick flight to St.Louis and drove to Columbia to watch my granddaughter play softball. Then- back the same evening to Michigan via Southwest. I loved that airline. Cheap flights that usually got you where you wanted to go. On time.

My wife and I love road trips now. A good thing ‘cause flying seems to be turning into an ordeal.

WE WERE THINKING of flying to Europe in the fall and taking a Viking cruise on the Danube. But now the rivers in Europe have dropped to historic lows and old Nazi shipwrecks are being exposed in the muck- as well as mammoth bones, I read a few days ago. Viking has cancelled many of its river cruises. The disappointment is lessened by the relief we feel at not having to fly in cattle cars through skies controlled by ex-gamers who earned their chops by playing Grand Theft Auto.