We finally made it to Edmonton, I (and so did Gabby) tried posting something earlier but I lost it because the internet connection from the hotel is quite spotty. This time I’ll be sure to backup often. Anyways, Saturday was a hectic day as we tried to get some last minute tasks done. I had to do some tune up’s on the truck before we left including changing oil/cleaning air filter, changing the oil in all 4 casings in the transmission. I had a few problems that day because I had 2 nails in two separate tires at 2 separate times, not to mention that the first time i waited 1hr at Kal Tire only to find out the wheel lock was put into a box by the car detailers a few days before and I had took the box out at home! As time was running out that day, I had to make a last minute decision on whether to change the front brakes on the truck as they were getting a little “squeaky”. 530pm and a phone call from Sam convincing me to do it, I rushed to Lordco to pick up a pair of rotors and pads for the front and Sam and my brother-in-law Andy helped out that evening to get the job done.
We left Sunday at 9am from our house to meet up with the Goh’s who had thankfully wanted to help us by driving Gabby and the kids up in their motorhome. I was going to follow them in my truck because we were going to need a vehicle for the duration of the time we are to be in Edmonton (about 2 months minimum). We packed up a few things in the motorhome at the Goh’s and left around 930. I drove myself but needed to make a stop in Mission for gas (and a Rockstar) and for a coffee at Starbucks. I didn’t see them until Merritt after getting a phonecall from Sam only to find out I was 30mins ahead of them. I kept asking myself, they couldnt be going that fast in the motorhome? It turned out to be a good thing because I had a chance to sit in a fairly empty parking lot in the sun for 30min with just me and (re)reading the Book of Job.
The kids and Gabby really loved being in the motorhome on the way up because the kids weren’t as restless and were able to play with the Goh’s children who were also about the same age. It was also good for Gabby since she was able to stretch a little bit and use the washroom for her frequent breaks because of being pregnant. We ate lunch, filled up with gas and moved on to Valemount to stay at the Rocky Inn; a good stop for the motorhome and a place for us to check in for the night. We ate dinner at the Rocky Inn around 530pm. After getting ourselves ready for bed and getting the kids ready for bed, we were all asleep before 9pm. Before falling asleep Hayden kept expressing his concern that “the motorhome was going to leave without us”. I guess he really enjoyed it!
After a breakfast in the morning, we started to drive again around 10am and had lunch just after passing through Jasper, AB around noon. The kids, especially Hayden didn’t want to travel with me in the “bumpy car”. I took some video on the way up of the amazing scenery since the weather was great on the way up for the entire trip! I’m hoping to put together a short video clip of our 2month trip sometime in the future.
Around 430pm we arrived in Edmonton, and the Goh’s checked into the RV park (the site wasn’t something they expected) but ended up settling in there for the night. Sam and I went to check out the Travelodge where we were booked in for the week…. Not happy! Upon walking into the place, all I could smell was a musky smokey smell. I was skeptical so I asked the check-in person if I could see the room before checking in… Upon taking us to “Room 111”, and looking in, there were 2 small beds in an all-blue room, with the of the beds being about 2ft from the wall. There would be no room for a playpen for Hayley… not to mention the smell of cleaning chemicals and the room smelling really “damp”. I was expecting to be a little uncomfortable for the week in a hotel room, but not this uncomfortable. I decided I wasn’t about to check in to this place and we looked for an alternative. We ended up booking at the Sawridge Inns in a rush to find a place and finding out we are paying slightly more than double each evening. BOOOO. At least the room/beds were a little bigger and they kids could move around a little bit during the evening.
We’re all settled in now but with more stuff than we’re able to carry back in the truck :-D. I will worry about that later (I’m thinking we’ll use Greyhound to ship some stuff back)
Anyways, we just wanted to give a quick update on our trip up here. More later (maybe a little less “guy’ish” as Gabby puts it haha)
Leave a Reply