Three Days Journey

We made it. We packed boxes, stacked boxes, and watched the movers haul them onto their truck. We left Victoria the next day and it only took three days to drive 1, 689 kilometres to a brand new life. Of course, we had a two beautiful overnight stops on the way - One to visit with my auntie, uncle, and cousins in Kelowna, BC, and the other to stay with some dear friends in Cochrane, Alberta. 

Our last sailing on BC Ferries (well, for the foreseeable future) included a trip to the breakfast buffet, some ocean and island sight seeing off the bow of the ship, and a muted whistle at Active Pass. Both of us remembered the whistle being much louder and more frightening as children, but maybe this is what happens when you grow up - Loud noises don't scare you so much. 

Alas, no whales. 

(Not true, our new oven just beeped and I jumped about a mile in my chair.) 

The drive to Kelowna was easy. My only problem was when I took the 17a into Richmond rather than just following the 17. After driving this route out from Tswassen hundreds of times, I got confused with all of the new roadwork that has happened outside Vancouver. Nonetheless, we found our way back via the 91 and onto Highway 17, which is, of course, the Trans-Canada. 

After my mix up in the Fraser Valley we had no issues. Just sunshine, "Steve the First" (a hilarious CBC radio drama which I highly recommend), and some Vinyl Cafe to accompany our journey. We pulled into Kelowna just as planned, at about 4:00 PM. We had a fabulous supper of pink salmon, roasted root veg, and decadent Choices cakes, surrounded by our family. It was a wonderful way to be sent off to a new province! 

The next morning, we made sure to pick up some Okanagan cherries on our way out of Kelowna. Again, it was an easy drive, but this time made more delicious because of the cherries! We stopped for a decadent lunch in Revelstoke at La Baguette - decadent, because it included fresh gelato and a blueberry pavolova for dessert!

Stop at La Baguette. You will not regret it. 

The soaring Rockies gave us some much needed mountain time, as we wound our way closer to the prairies. We picked our way into Cochrane, driving along the Bow River and marveling at the many signs for wild life. (We saw none, besides many large trucks!)

We miss you, mountains.

By the time (don't forget to add in a one hour time difference like we did!) we arrived at E + MC's house, we were ravenous. Luckily, they had anticipated this and had a steaming chicken pot pie fresh out of the oven. We had an evening of much merriment, with mead, a delicious galette, and board games. We're all looking forward to seeing each other again soon. 

Early the next morning we prepared ourselves for the last day of driving. It seemed that we hadn't quite left the West Coast behind, because a torrential downpour greeted us as we packed up the car. Of course, being BC born and bred, we had our rain coats handy! 

The next issue was to decide which road to take. Google Maps recommended three routes and after a bit of back and forth, we decided to take the AB-570 from Drumhellar. This meant that we got to see many Hoodoos, as well as the rolling prairies. I'd been a bit nervous about going this way, as there were no gas stations along the route, but we filled up in Drumhellar and the car has a big gas tank. 

Hoodoos! Just outside Drumhellar.

After about an hour of Hoodoos and the ghost town of Dorothy, we found ourselves on a straight prairie road. It's quite something to be able to see the crest that you will be on in 10 minutes! We listened to "Steve the Second" (the sequel to the CBC radio drama that I mentioned earlier) while enjoying the huge sky around us. 

Cruise control at 100 km/hr and you're good.

However, at long last, our journey was at an end. We pulled into Saskatoon around 3:30 PM and found our way to our little house on the prairie. Our landlords were here when we arrived and gave us the grand tour: We've got a main floor living room-dining room, a kitchen (with dishwasher and self-cleaning oven!), a mud room, and a bathroom with bathtub. Upstairs we have our bedroom and our guest bedroom. We hope that you will be out to visit us soon! 

Notice the dishwasher. We are excited.

We arrived to a beautiful floral arrangement sitting on our dining room table. It's from some of my dear friends and says, "Welcome Home". We do feel like we're at home, even though we are just getting to know the city. Everyone we have talked to has been friendly and full of helpful hints of fun things to do in and around Saskatoon. The drivers are courteous and, like in Victoria, stop for pedestrians crossing the roads at crosswalks. This is the mark of a good city. 

Wonderful friends. We miss you already! 

We've been out to procure supplies at Costco and Superstore. Our pantry is full, which inspired us to bake cookies. A 2.4 kg bag of chocolate chips begs to be transformed into a gooey mouthful! You'll know that we have settled in happily, because we have cookies, internet, and the knowledge that Saskatoon's renowned Jazz Fest begins today. We will check it out if it is not thunder-storming tomorrow.

Cookies. We have them. 

The rain has returned and I'm feeling quite at home with the World Cup, a mug of steaming tea, and a warm cookie. I'll talk to you all again soon. Love to you all.