On the road again...again!!!!

Canada

Hi Readers,

Well some of you must be wondering if I have fallen off the face of the earth as it has been so long since my last post.
I'm not even going back to see when I did my last one, so for that small band of loyal followers, my apologies!!
I think that because my big total of USA Readers have jumped off for some reason I became a bit disillusioned and less motivated about posting , but I'm hoping to change that.

On that point, if there is someone from the USA who was among that big group of regular readers who can give me some idea as to why there has been a big drop in following, I'd love to know why, and perhaps do something about it.

So, since my last post quite a few changes have happened which I won't bother boring you about, so I'll just bore you with what is happening now.

My wife and I have two of our sons working overseas, so we are now on a an exciting trip to go and visit them both.

A few days ago we boarded a flight to Auckland, then hopped on another flight to Vancouver. Just before we boarded this flight we heard an announcement that a Qantas flight to Melbourne had been cancelled at the last moment, and we both had a good talk about how inconvenient that would be, and how would the airline handle the irate customers.
When we landed in Vancouver we read a report that many flights to and from Auckland had been cancelled due to a shortage of airline fuel, so how lucky we were to have made it out if there before our flight was affected.

Upon getting to Vancouver it was just a few hours strolling around and trying to stay awake as we were leaving again early the next morning to go to Banff.

We found a bar/restaurant on the docks and just sat back for a few hours having a few drinks and a beautiful dinner. It was just bliss and the first time we have really just sat and relaxed together for weeks as work has been fairly hectic lately.




Sunday morning we were up and about early, but not before I squeezed in a short run around the Vancouver foreshore, it was just the perfect start to the day.







We had a hire car booked, and my biggest worry was being able to drive a left hand drive car on the opposite side of the road.
Let's just say there were some interesting moments and a few close calls, but we made it safely to Kamloops a few hours later.

A funny moment happened when we stopped for 'coffee and gas' at a small town called Hope. It turns out that they filmed the first Rambo movie here, and the town is still dining out on the experience! It seems that many still think he was a real person and that he is still on the loose!!!
I was wearing my Richmond shirt ( the team I follow in the AFL) and we went into a shop to order a coffee. As we were leaving I hear someone yell out "Go Tigers", and wave at me.
I went over to see them, and it turns out that they were Richmond supporters from Australia also!!
Small world ( maybe not so in Canada as hundreds of young Aussies are working there)


Could this be an omen for this weekend, and for the rest of the Finals? Let's hope so!!



And this could be another omen?????

Upon getting to Kamloops it was just a quick walk around the streets as a storm was brewing, so we crashed in our hotel (but not before I hit the park across the road as I needed exercise after sitting down for the best part of the last 48 hours!!)

This morning was a glorious day to wake up to, as the view from our room was just beautiful with the sun streaming in.

We were in the car pretty quickly and I was confident that I would not make Jen panic with my driving like some of the moments we had yesterday!!

Today was a day of roadworks. Twice we were stopped for nearly 20 minutes. At one stoppage, a bloke in a car behind us got his dogs out of the car and took them for a walk!!
To see the amount of traffic piling up behind us was mind blowing, and if we weren't stopped somewhere, we were travelling at anywhere between 30 and 50 kmh.
Something else that struck us was the amount of pick up trucks on the road. Not only are they the vehicle of choice, but the sheer size of some of them blew us away.
Then there were the trucks. The freeways were just loaded with them, more than anything we have seen in Australia.
But the most amazing thing of all on the roads is the patience and courtesy of the Canadian drivers. They always let people in and slow down so they can change lanes. None of the aggression of Australian drivers, so I have definitely learnt a lot from them.

When we left Kamloops I was in a t-shirt, but the closer we got to Banff we were in the snow.
The scenery is just something else to behold. I have been here before, but I know I'll never get tired of marvelling at the beautiful scenery everywhere.



As soon as we got here ( safely I must add as I was a much better driver today!!) we checked in and contacted our son Will who is working here.

Within 15 minutes he was at our digs and it was just so good to see him after 5 months away.
After checking out where he lives we also collected his great mate from home, Dyl, who is also here working with Will.
We have just had a great night out together, hearing about the last 5 months of their lives and planning what to do this week with them.

To their credit they have mapped out a busy week which will give us lots of time together as well as seeing lots of this area of Canada.

While I'm writing this post Readers, I am in the basement of our digs in the laundry room doing our washing while Jen hits the sack. It is nearly midnight but as we needed some clean gear I thought I'd just get it over and don with tonight. I hate doing it now, but by tomorrow will be glad I did!!

So, tomorrow?

We are picking the boys up early and going to one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited in our various overseas trips over the past 6 years.
Lake Louise is about 45 mins from here, as is another lake, Moraine. It will be great to show these to Jen.

Later in the week is a visit to a glacier, and a glacier skywalk that is bound to scare the living daylights out of me as I have a morbid fear of heights.k

Stay tuned for that one!!

Well Readers, it's good to be back, and I hope many of you will b back with me now as I try to be more consistent with my posting.

Until my next post...

Cheers!!