After not seeing her for a couple of years, plans were made to fly my about-to-enter-high-school great-niece Aaliyah to Chatham for a weeklong visit.

Once her flight from Winnipeg had been booked and was expected to land in Toronto at 7:30 p.m., I immediately suggested that we make plans to stay in the big city overnight, just in case.

Well, not surprisingly, the Flair flight was delayed, delayed and delayed again, and the kid didn’t end up arriving our end until almost 5 a.m.

Luckily, my sister Roseanne (aka Nana), decided she could make the drive to the airport at that time of day (I normally do any big city driving), and Auntie was free to stay in bed for a few more hours.

We also had the rest of the greatlings, who were in an adjoining room (nobody asked for this!), with their mum.

The next morning, which was Monday, we decided to head to the nearby Vaughn Mills mall, where all hopes of having some decent shopping time evaporated as three kids between the ages of four and seven managed to head off in four different directions, which I hadn’t even thought possible.

Ultimately, we legged it to Legoland, which managed to keep us busy for a couple of hours or so and was a first-time experience for all of us. Aimed more at the younger set, there were enough things to keep a teenager and a couple of old ladies occupied, including two rides and allegedly a 3D movie that I never managed to get a chance to see.

Pro tip: If you plan on visiting a Legoland, you should pick up some of the small packets of Lego you can often find at a........

© Sarnia Observer