Dear Summer, 

I realize that, technically speaking, you're sticking around until Sept. 21. But we both know Labour Day marks the unofficial end of your stay, in Canada at least, so while you're still here I'd like to say thanks for a job well done in 2012.

To be fair, "well done" hardly suffices. You kicked things off in style, barging past Spring months ahead of schedule. Across Eastern Canada, the second half of March felt like June. Nearly 250 temperature records were "annihilated" in Ontario, according to Environment Canada, with my home base of Toronto hitting 26 degrees on March 22. In Petawawa, meanwhile, the March 21 maximum of 28.8 degrees was the highest temperature ever recorded in Ontario in March, shattering the northerly town's previous record for that date by 17 degrees. Petawawa was warmer on that day than Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Do you know where Petawawa is? Crazy.

Toronto's Sugar Beach on March 20. That's March 20, people... (Photo credit: Deborah Baic/The Globe and Mail)

There's no long weekend on the calendar that calls for a getaway more loudly that Labour Day. After all, 1) the summer's nearly over, so a last hurrah may be in order; 2) the kids are heading back to school (after two months off!!!) and that alone may be reason to reward yourself; and 3) any celebration of "labour" logically deserves a break. Of course, the long weekend is less than three days away, so this week's podium features three travel bargains that can be booked ASAP:

GOLD: Most Fairmont hotels and resorts across Canada offer some kind of discounted family package, and for Labour Day purposes the best of these is the Fairmont Chateau Montebello's mostly-inclusive "Summer Family Fun Package," available until Sept. 10. Book a minimum of two nights at the world's largest (and ritziest) log structure (pictured below) -- located between Ottawa and Montreal on the Ottawa River -- and a family of four gets one action-packed weekend, including daily buffet breakfast and dinner, a children's activity program, three hours of bike rentals per day, unlimited mini-golf, a pontoon boat cruise, unlimited canoeing or kayaking at the nearby Fairmont Kenauk cottage resort, family admission to the nearby Omega Park zoo, and access to tennis courts and various indoor and outdoor pools. (Pause to catch breath.) Divided four ways, the $440-a-night price tag equals very good value.

To Whom It May Concern:

If you're reading this letter, chances are high that I have plummeted to my death. This letter is for crime scene investigators to identify my blob of red goo on the sidewalk.

I am not one of the confident adventurers in this publicity photo

What’s the EdgeWalk and why am I doing it?

Billed as "Toronto’s newest, tallest extreme urban adventure,” CN Tower’s EdgeWalk opened last year and quickly became a huge draw for Toronto tourism. They say it’s incredibly breathtaking, life-changing, and impeccably safe. But so is my favourite sport: Couch Napping with my dog as a pillow.

An old friend dared me to try the EdgeWalk. Basically you pay $175 for the opportunity to walk on a steel grate catwalk that circles the tower, 356 meters (1,168 feet) up in the sky. If you live, you get a souvenir video, photos, and a ‘certificate of achievement’ you can staple to your résumé.

So here's a crazy flight for you:

Earlier this month, an Air France flight heading from Paris to Beirut was running low on gas. So it was forced to land at an airport in Damascus.

Worse yet: the pilot came on the P.A. system and asked the 174 passengers if they could chip in money for gas. That's right: he started the day as a pilot and ended it as a panhandler.

"Passengers on Air France Flight 562 were asked to open their wallets to check if they had enough cash to pay for more fuel," The Associated Press writes.

Where can you find (or avoid) the world's most expensive hotels?

Surprisingly, lovely downtown Lagos, Nigeria has the world's 2nd-most expensive hotel rooms. On average, they'll cost you an average of $342.03/night (CDN), or 54,155 Nigerian nairas, the local currency.

Lagos is followed closely by Geneva ($340.25/night), Zurich ($332.64/night), and Rio de Janeiro at $322.49/night.

And the city with the Most Expensive Hotels on the planet? Read on!

The best ideas are often the simplest ones -- Frisbees, Craigslist, poutine, you get the idea -- and the Canadian Tourism Commission's new "35 Million Directors" marketing campaign is yet another stroke of trenchant brilliance.

 The social-media friendly contest calls on all Canadians (hence its title) to upload their own videos and photos that "showcase the best travel experiences Canada has to offer" to its website. And that's pretty much it. The contest, which runs through Sept. 16, is offering up one randomly-selected Grand Prize and one Viewer's Choice prize (voted on by participants and the public), each consisting of vouchers for Canadian travel and an electronics retailer totalling around $10,000. There could also be as many as 120 "Final Cut" prizes -- chosen by a panel of CTC judges -- where winners get a $500 GoPro Camera (detailed rules and regulations are available on the website).

The artistic endeavours of all the winners will be assembled in a video advertisement designed "to inspire travellers from around the world to visit Canada," the CTC says. 

One of the campaign's biggest coups is the list of eight Canadians putting the ad together. Filmmakers such as Matt Wiebe, Guillaume Blanchet and Michal Ericsson may not yet be household names, but multidisiplinary artist Douglas Coupland -- the writer of such iconic novels as Generation X and Microserfs -- is also lending a hand, and has even submitted his own video (watch it below).

Ever slept on a grubby airport floor?

I have -- in Rio, London, and Amsterdam -- and sleeping on linoleum completely sucks.

Stranded passengers in Spain. AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza

I've long believed that airports need nap rooms.

Thankfully a Moscow company has designed a sleeping pod for airports, railway stations, hostels, and even offices.

Basically it's a box you sleep in, so those clever Russians have named it the SLEEPBOX  

(Note: you have to spell it with ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, as if you're yelling at someone inside their SLEEPBOX to wake up because they're missing their flight).

Personally, I think all back-to-school advertising and media coverage should be banned by law until the middle of August at the earliest -- and that would include the "Silver" deal that follows. The other two bargains on this week's podium are also Sept. 4-related, as they may appeal to parents who feel they've earned some pampering.

GOLD: The island nation of the Maldives is one of those exotic spots that catches our eyes on office screensavers in February. But through October, Islands Escapes by Goway is knocking 50 per cent off accommodation -- or more than $5,300 per couple over seven nights -- in a Beach Villa at the sumptuous Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort (pictured below). Starting at $4,999 a person (based on double occupancy), the honeymoon- or big-ticket anniversary-friendly trip includes flights with Emirates Airlines out of Toronto, seaplane transfers, breakfast daily and all airfare taxes (use trip code 137304 to book). In short, see the screensaver in person for less...

Tony Scott was my favourite Hollywood director.

On Sunday he took his own life. Jumped off a bridge. His fans -- including actors and crews who loved working with Tony -- are stunned at the loss of such a talented man.

Director Tony Scott while filming Revenge. Photo: Snap/Rex Features

Sure, his older brother, Ridley Scott, received far more acclaim and directed two absolute masterpieces (Blade Runner and Alien). But as a whole, I vastly preferred the younger Scott's films.

Here's some strange and foreboding travel news:

If you’re trying to sneak into America, beware. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is now using a virtual border guard to keep Mexicans from illegally migrating to America. He has wicked hair.

And unlike fallible human customs agents, this robot knows when you are lying.