Quest 2 the West

On our last day alone with the boys, they were slow to get moving. A visit to the Red park, lunch and then just a lazy afternoon. Cullen and I made the drive to the airport to pickup Mike and Mel. Cullen had his shoes on and was ready to go an hour before the time came to leave, he was so excited to see them. Where Campbell more or less ignored them when they facetimed, Cullen was locked on to the screen and you could see he was close to tears and chatty at the same time.

When it was finally time to leave he asked, "are we going to see Mommy and Daddy at the airport?" In his excitement I think he forgot why we were going. One on one time with Cullen is more fun than I can explain. He's smart and funny, a natural athlete and very tough on himself.

We arrived about 30 minutes later, he was still not sure that they would be there. Mike texted me the section of passenger pickup they would be at. It's about a kilometre long with numbered columns and I saw 1-3 but must have missed 4 where they were standing. Cullen said "I see Mommy, I see Daddy, back up papa, back up" in his high pitched voice. There are 4 one way lanes full of cabs and people doing the same thing I was attempting, backing up was not an option. I pulled over to the curb hoping he was not imagining his long lost parents and that I would not have to try and make another pass. A few minutes later we were on on our way home with one very happy little boy.

On our last day in Calgary Sal and I went for breakfast at Cora's. Not a bad meal but no huevos rancheros which I had been craving. We went back to the house and did some packing. Mike suggested a trip to Costco so we drove over along with Cullen.

As it was last year, our last day in Calgary was the first day of the Stampede. We had to wait for the roads in downtown to open after the parade, we were hunting duck. Barbeque duck that is. Stampede parade is basically a day off for most of the offices downtown so once the roads open things get much easier traffic-wise. We were able to park right across the street from the hunting grounds at Wai's Barbeque. As I paid for parking Sal went in and ordered a pair of ducks. I walked into the most amazing aroma. I was instantly craving duck.

AJ and Jess came for supper one last time. Mike grilled steak, Sal had made a ton of potato and pasta salads, and the kids put on a dance show for the ages. Campbell was the star as he changed his moves to suit the music and went on tirelessly for more than 30 minutes.

We turned in early and were up and on the road at 6am Calgary time. Our first day on the road was uneventful. The miles went by quickly and at noon it was hard to believe I had been driving for 6 hours. Sal slept a good part of the way so I was alone with music and thoughts about the trip, the upcoming hockey season and getting back to reality. We saw 34 degrees in Saskatchewan but it cooled down to 29 in Brandon.

In Regina it took about an hour to get through the construction, our only slowdown of the return trip. They have been working on the bypass since the 90's and the cost is now estimated to be 1.8 billion. I really didn't find driving in on the strip and then cutting around the main part of the city on the existing ring road all that bad.

After showering and a nap we went to Montana's for supper and were asleep by 10:30. Up and on the road by 6 Calgary time again. Brandon to Winnipeg early on a Sunday morning means a deserted Trans Canada. The canola is in full bloom and fields were a brilliant yellow.

The last day's drive is always long especially when you hit Ontario and have to slow down as the separated highway ends. We hit major rain at Shabaqua but the sun was shining by the time we drove up out street.

All in all it was a great 3 weeks. Time with the kids and grandkids, mountains and wildlife can't be beat in my books.