GrannyRant

CANADA 2010 – THE FINAL EPISODE

Good morning, Granny Calling. The final day has arrived, we are flying home today and everyone is a tad subdued. We have had a whirlwind tour of some beautiful places in Canada, met some wonderful people and seen sights we shall never forget. The bears, the wine tour, the dreaded raft…..We have stayed in some beautiful hotels, eaten some fabulous food and laughed, cried and gazed in awe at some of the most incredible scenery.

As we ate breakfast on the morning of the flight, we talked about how difficult the journey is and the fact that we don’t actually like flying but you have to do it, if you want to experience some of the world’s wonders. Robyn talked about how she hates to go to the airport and say goodbye to people and I agreed, saying that I always cry like a baby. Martin and I were all packed and struggled to shuffle stuff about in bags to make sure we didn’t exceed the 20kg weight allowance. This was difficult especially as we both had a Calgary Stampede cowboy hat to get in the case and pack it in a way that kept it’s shape. We had breakable presents to bring and rolled them up in clothes to help keep them whole.

Our flight is at 3.40pm and we need to be at the airport by 12.40. The airport is about 20 minutes from Robyn’s house so by 12.15 we were on the way and we were all quiet on the journey, I think in anticipation of the tears that would soon flow. Uncle talked about how happy he was that we had made it and was telling us which members of the family had made it over to see them. He was thanking us and we had just been treated like royalty for almost a month, “we should be the thankful ones” I said.

We arrived at the airport, got the cases out onto the pavement and took turns to hug each other, say how much we loved each other and cried like babies, even Martin was brought to tears and Robyn was so tearful she said Adam would have to drive home. I hugged Uncle and told him to say goodbye to all the people we had met and who had made our holiday special and gave him kisses to take back for Aunty and Katy, then we turned and walked towards Departures and waved as they drove off, Martin and me still wiping our tears away. We wasted away the couple of hours before the flight and bought last minute souvenirs, got Tim Horton’s coffee for the last time and pretty soon, we were boarding the plane.

The flight was as you would expect, we watched rubbish TV, ate horrible in flight meals and drank vodka and tonic thinking it would encourage sleep but it was to no avail as neither of us slept throughout the entire 9 hour flight. We arrived at Manchester airport exhausted, hot and felling ropey as you do after that length of time in a tin can with 300 other people breathing recycled air. It took 2 hours to get clear of the airport, wait for the minibus to shuttle us to the car-park and load the car and start the 4 hour drive home.

Martin drove the first 100 miles or so and then we stopped and had breakfast, which was very welcome. We had been travelling for 12 hours and in our heads it was 12 o clock midnight, while it was 11 o clock UK. We stopped near Birmingham, I bought water and when I got back to the car, Martin was asleep in the drivers seat. I swapped places and drove the last 78 miles home.

When we arrived at the house, there was a mountain of mail, no bread or milk and I had to shop for food. We managed to stay awake until 12 midnight by talking to neighbours outside on the patio and that enabled us to get a full night sleep. The perfect end to a perfect holiday. I hope you have all enjoyed reading my escapades. I wasn’t sure if I could keep up this blog as we travelled but judging by the amount of ‘hits’ and comments it has received it has been well-read. The Canada adventure has ended but the blog will continue, please come back a visit again……..Granny xx

Good evening…Granny calling…I am going to write two days at once again as it’s sometimes difficult to get time to write when there is so much to do and see. On Friday (day 14), we got up at around 09.30, Robyn and Adam were already at work and we decided to have an easy day after the trip from Edmonton which had worn us all out, especially Uncle who did all the driving. We ate toast and drank tea and Uncle went out to Tim Horton’s for the first fix of the day. We sat around and decided eventually to take a trip to IKEA as Robyn needed some door mats and tugs for her new house. We wandered around there for around 2 hours, ate lunch in the restaurant and when we left the store the day had warmed up to around 26 degrees. Aunty bought minced beef and vegetables to go with spaghetti for supper and got some veggie meatballs for Martin, she also got 2 sauces to mix as there was no garlic in the one jar.
By the time we had got lost again (because there are road works and diversions all over) it was 5.20 pm and we had to get supper soon, we were going to ‘Aussie Rules’ Piano Bar and had to leave by 7.30 to get there for 8pm. We all piled into the van like the ‘AntHill’ mob and off we went. Robyn chose the venue and Boy, were we in for a treat. As we went in we had to get a boomerang stamped on our hands to show that we had paid and we were shown to our table, in front of the bar, not far from the toilets, or ‘Blokes and Sheila’s’ as they were called and just off to the side of the stage where the 2 pianists would be performing. The waitress came and told us how it works, you choose a song/artiste write it down and also whether you were celebrating anything and if you put a tip (few dollars) you have more chance of getting your request played. She said “you can dance anywhere you like, on the floor, on the chairs, but the tables are not safe. It’s intended to be interactive so clap, scream and sing as loud as possible, this sounded like my kind of place!
We wrote down about 6 songs and said we were on holiday from the UK, threw a few dollars on top and Robyn handed them in. As soon as Bob and Keith started singing the place erupted, the singing raised the roof and every now and then they shouted out “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” we shouted “Oy, Oy,Oy” all a bit Welsh if you ask me? Someone asked for Justin Beiber and when Bob went off for his break, he downloaded the tune and tried to learn it, it was hysterical when he kept singing oohh baby, baby and the crowd were in fits of laughter.
We sang old songs, new songs, rock songs, country songs and some very naughty songs including a version of Mony Mony which included more ‘F’ words than you could shake a stick at. When he sang Summer of 69 he read out Mine and Martin’s name and said we were from the UK …well chuffed!! We had a real raucous night; we met Darlene and her husband, had lots to drink and really enjoyed it. Robyn chose well and there was lots of praise for her choice on the way home, especially as she was kind enough to drive!! We carried on talking about the night at home and eventually got to bed at around 2am….Exhausted…..
Saturday morning (day 15) started slowly as we all woke one by one, Martin and I woke at around 8am but the house was quiet so we decided to try and get another hour of sleep. When we finally got up, Robyn was already on the phone trying in vain to find me an appointment to get some in-fills for my acrylic nails, there was nothing available so we concentrated on trying to organise our raft trip down the river. Robyn and uncle went off to hire the raft and Adam went to the store for eggs for breakfast. When they got back Robyn said that they were out of 6 man rafts, (we were going to have a larger one for more space) so we had one of the last two 4 man rafts available. Then we realised that we only had one vehicle and we needed to park one at the end of the journey at ‘the bridge’ while driving another on to the start with the raft. Uncle and Aunty said they would take us on their way back to Saskatoon. Sounds like a plan and we loaded the cool-bag with a few beers, some sandwiches and snacks. We piled everything else into a bag, putting mobile phones and cameras in plastic re-sealable bags to keep them dry, ‘just in case’. We took towels, dry tee shirts and lots of sun-screen; we were going to be on the river for around 4 hours. Martin and I were excited and really looking forward to doing something different.
When we arrived at Cochrane, we pumped up the raft, we said long, emotional ‘goodbyes’ to Uncle and Aunty and thanked them for their hospitality and the lovely trips they took us on and for giving us the opportunity to see some of Canada, especially Saskatchewan which we have heard about over the years but never thought we would see. With a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat, I grabbed one of the handles on the raft and we marched briskly down the steep hill to the river. I hate Goodbyes.
When we got to the river, we pushed the raft in and Adam told me, Martin and Robyn to get in and he would push us out into the water before climbing in. We immediately got stuck on a rock and had to push with the paddle and bounce up and down on the raft until we got going.
After a few minutes, we settled into the raft and moved around a bit to even out the weight, Adam and Roby at either end with a paddle each and us two in the middle, we were going great, it would be a stroll in the park and any worries Martin and I had were quickly dispelled as the sounds of traffic disappeared and all we could hear was the water, the birds and other people in rafts….bliss!
We floated down the river for about 30 minutes, when we came to a small island in the river, we decided to go to the right but we were laughing as Robyn was having trouble paddling and I was saying that it was because of me and Martin being too heavy in the middle. We soon came to a patch of faster water and although it was probably only waist deep, it was quite fast and we were being dragged toward the bank, Robyn and Adam tried in vain to paddle away from the side and then we came around a bend and saw a huge overhanging rock jutting out into the river, we had nowhere to go, Robyn shouted “oh shit, we going to hit it” and we braced ourselves. The raft hit the point of the rock side on and I was sat in the middle straddling the seat so was facing the rock head on, I leaned back, the raft crashed into the rock and a huge surge of water hit me straight in the face as the raft shot out of the water, tipped upside down and we all went into the river.
We tried in vain to save our stuff but it was floating away from us at great speed in the flow of the water, I lost my glasses and couldn’t see, Martin was in over his head and Adam was out of sight, I panicked for a second or two as my life jacket lifted up and covered my face, the water went over my head, I hit my leg and couldn’t get my head out, I think I swallowed a pint of water as I was spluttering and trying to get my head out, then I heard Robyn shout “JULIE!” and the next thing I knew, she had hold of my life jacket and lifted me out of the water. I shot into the air like a dolphin! “I’m ok I said, I can swim across now. Where are Martin and Adam?”
I could see Martin now, even though without my glasses everything was blurred and the glare of the sun on the water didn’t help. God, I felt so helpless as we are both asthma sufferers and immediately hyper-ventilated when we hit the coldness of the water. He was ok though and had made it to the side further upstream. Robyn tried to swim after Adam and some of our belongings, but all we rescued was one paddle, 3 odd sandals a plastic bag with cucumbers for out picnic and 2 hats. Adam caught the raft and the paddle, which incidentally would have cost us $2000 if we had lost it.
When I got my breath I called to the others and although there were some minor injuries and we were all in shock and out of breath, we were ok. I waited for Martin who joined me and we stood for a minute, taking stock, we hugged for almost a minute I reckon and said how lucky we were that no-one was seriously injured or worse. I called to Robyn and asked them if they we ok “not really” said Robyn. Martin and I gingerly walked down the shoreline on the sharp stones, feet bleeding and with no shoes, it took us ages to walk 100 metres or so. We all counted our blessings and then realised that Martin and Adam both had mobile phones in their pockets…no use though they were both waterlogged. We had lost 3 cameras, my purse with $250 dollars in and my debit cards, 2 pairs of my prescription glasses and one pair of Martins and my blackberry phone. Then we realised that the keys to Uncle’s new Dodge Van were in the bag with Robyn’s camera! There were a few choice swear words from us all, until I said, “look, we can replace all these things”…no-one died. I t could have been so much worse.
We sat on the raft, which was now seriously deflated and not safe to float the rest of the way down, we shouted to a few people on the other side of the river to see if they had mobile phones to call for help but they were all too far away and couldn’t hear us. Then a couple in a small dinghy passed by and Robyn asked them if they had a cell phone, they paddled across to us and they very kindly phoned 911 and told the emergency services where we were. They offered to stay with us but we told them we were ok and that we would be fine now that we knew that the fire service would be on their way…there are some wonderful people in this world and today really restored my faith in human nature.
We were getting cold, the river was freezing and we were probably shocked, we kept hearing what we thought were motor boat engines but they were down-river, the after around 45 minutes (seemed like a hell of a lot longer) the Fire and Rescue Service arrived, I have never been so pleased to see someone in my life! They asked what happened, they were really nice and made no fuss, they said they had been called out a few times already, the river is high and fast at the moment because of all the unseasonal rain recently, we shouldn’t worry about it.
They tethered the deflated raft on the back of the boat, sat us all in and tried to pull away, the boat was grounded and difficult to get going. When we spun around in the river and headed down-stream I grabbed Robyn’s hand and we just smiled at each other, what can you say? Suddenly, one of the crew said, is that your paddle? Someone had pulled it out of the river and stood it up on the bank with our empty cool bag. Adam said, “That saved us another $20”. Those Firemen had no need to do that and went out of their way to pick it up, makes you feel humble when people are so helpful.
It took around 20 minutes to get back to ‘The Bridge’ where we were to pick up the Van and when we got there, there was an ambulance, a fire truck and a local news reporter waiting, embarrassing, but we decided, better embarrassed than drowned!
The breakdown truck came to break into the Van (Uncle had left spare keys inside, ours had sunk to the bottom of the river) Robyn and Martin went up to drive it down, we had no shoes, Adam had a broken toe and was having difficulty walking and we all had cuts and bruises and were all shaken by the experience.
I am now writing this at the kitchen table, Robyn just rang to say that she was having X .Rays and Adam was waiting to see a Dr. Martin and I have cuts and bruises and we are aching all over, we can treat those at home though. What a day! Well we did say it would be an adventure, that’s me finished for river rafting, I will stick to walking from now on! I just hope that Robyn and Adam don’t blame themselves, it was no-one’s fault and as I said earlier, all’s well that ends well……glass of red anyone?
To be continued…Granny

Good Morning, Granny calling…..it’s day 12 and I had a terrible night’s sleep and was awake for hours, every time dozed off, I dreamt weird dreams and this kept me awake most of the night. Why this was, I have no idea, but the consensus of opinion was that it was down to the cheeses I had for supper the night before. My Mother always said “don’t eat cheese before bed, it makes you have bad dreams”! She must be right, she’s my Mother.

Anyway, by 09.30 we were all out on the deck drinking coffee and discussing Uncle’s solar lights which haven’t worked properly since he got them. The batteries didn’t hold their charge and he was going to take them back. We listened to the radio to try and catch the weather forecast, the weather seems to be just as much a topic of conversation here as at home. When your on holiday, even more so. The lady on the radio said there was a slight risk of a shower but that the temperature would be around 24 degrees, perfect for a redhead full of freckles! It was a nice day with a breeze which cooled things down and Aunty decided to cut the lawn, the downside to that is that it disturbs the mosquitoes but it has to be done today!

We were going to have an easy day and I still had to find something for ‘The Princess’ Tyler-Leigh which featured Justin Bieber? Who the hell is he? What does he do? We went to Walmart, the Canadian Asda, we searched everywhere as we were told they would have lunch boxes or something. After half an hour we asked an assistant,….they didn’t stock anything JB at all, we left for Zellers. We asked a nice young assistant, he told me, “oh I know him, he’s a singer and we only have posters. I bought a poster in case we can’t get anything else but I will try in Calgary or BC when we go on our road trip. Martin bought Saskatchewan Rough Rider shirts and went to the Adidas shop, 2 more tee shirts later (I think he’s bought about 10 shirts now) we were ready to go the Tim’s for our first fix of coffee. We also had BLT toasties and Martin had an egg salad roll. Aunty was healthy and got a fruit yogurt, the buzz you get from this coffee is like cocaine (Uncle says). It certainly wakes you up!

The highlight of my day was buying size 14 shorts! Surely I must have gained weight while I’m here but what a thrill to buy a size 14, I haven’t done that since I was in my 30’s maybe the sizes are slightly different buy hey, it feels good!

Back at the house, Aunty put on the ribs to boil and we left the men to watch them while we went back to the grocery store to pick up wine, Greek Salad and corn on the cob. We bumped into Lesley who wished us a safe trip when we leave tomorrow and we talked about the great night we had at Bugsy’s bar on Friday. The people are all so nice and really laid back and relaxed. The pace of life seems so easy going and not at all rushed. I could get used to it I think.

Helen, Auntie’s mother arrived and she had already eaten earlier but would have a small supper with us, this lady is amazing for her age and really interesting to talk to. Ok, so Martin wants to try Sushi and although I’m not that enthusiastic I am willing to try anything. Kate discussed all the different types and went out to get some to go with dinner, crunchy shrimp, tuna and cucumber and some with crab and seaweed. Martin liked it as did Aunty and Uncle, Kate likes it all. It was ok, but not really for me. Aunties ribs on the other hand were to die for. She coated them in Salt, Oyster sauce and Oregano, BBQ’d them for about 30 minutes and then sprinkled them with lemon juice, they were amazing and you just had to lick your fingers. We had Greek salad, corn on the cob, new potatoes we drank low alcohol wine and had a lovely time talking about all sorts of things.

When Helen was ready to leave, she gave us a present in a box, I opened it carefully and unwrapped the tissue paper, it was a beautiful embroidered table mat which was made by her Mother, Aunties Grandmother, how cool is that! We were over the moon and what a unique gift to have, we will treasure it, I must ask aunty for her grandmother’s name so I can tell people all about it.

After Helen left, we checked out the Ukrainian Easter eggs, which were hand painted by Aunties Mum and her family over the yeas, really intricate work and so delicate. They were gorgeous and we all oohed and aahed as we looked at the detail in each one and how the colours were still really fresh.

Before we knew it, it was 11pm and time for bed, we have to be up early in the morning, we are leaving Saskatoon to drive to Calgary and going to take detour to Edmonton Mall, Uncle has driven us all over the place and never seems to tire of the driving. The family have done us proud so far and we still have over 2 weeks to go! What a trip, what a dream, what a holiday……..:-)

Day 13 started well, we all got up at around 7 and packed the last few things, showered and ate a light breakfast, toast and tea and packed some fruit for our journey back to Calgary. Kate was already up and dressed, she has to go to work and we said our goodbyes to her as she left. I’m going to miss this crazy mixed up woman, I mean…who the hell drinks beer and Clamato juice? (BTW Clamato is clam juice with tomatoes in it, yes, Clams, as in fish!).

We got going by 8.15 and it was lovely day for the drive, the boot of the van was full. Martin and I have already accumulated a load of stuff and I think we will be leaving our clothes behind to be able to take home what we’ve bought already. 20kg is not a lot of weight for a 4 week holiday, how do these airlines think we cope? We forgot the Sat Nav and had to turn back from 2 blocks away to get it…the sat nav..now that’s anther story….

As we headed out of Saskatoon, we found a Tim Horton’s and stopped for coffee for the journey, I think I’m an addict now. The smell of the fresh coffee in these shops is gorgeous and the prices are so cheap! It’s around 8 dollars for 4 extra large coffees with double cream that’s 6 pounds Sterling, Starbucks…eat your heart out!

It took around four hours to reach the outskirts of Edmonton, driving through the flatlands, with hardly any bends in the roads and flat countryside as far as the eye can see. The yellow Rapeseed covers the fields and now and again there’s a carpet of blue, I’m not sure what crop this is but it’s such a contrast against the yellow. I took a load of pictures and a video as I can’t believe how long these roads go on for without a bend!

We arrived at the Mall, WOW It’s humungous! There are so many shops that you can’t make your mind up where to shop, this is the biggest shopping centre you can imagine (some of the people I work with would be in their element) Martin and I just can’t stop looking and pointing as something new comes into your sight line at every corner. We went to Galaxy land – a huge fairground inside the Mall complete with enormous roller coaster. We got a portrait of ourselves done in the form of a sketch, we giggled because we couldn’t both fit in the booth, being so slim the two of us, and we had to squash together to get both faces in the screen for the pose.

There is a full size tall ship, sea lions soaking everyone as the jump out of the water and pose for pictures with whole families, an ice rink, fountains, too many things to describe here…but we mustn’t forget that we went to Bourbon St and had a beer at HOOTERS! Hooters is aptly name because all the waitresses are hanging out of their tee shirts and shorts in all the right places if you catch my drift! Needless to say, the men really enjoyed it! BTW, we managed to find a Tim Horton’s in the Mall and had coffee and Donuts…as you do!

As we left the Mall at around 6, we thought we should arrive at Robyn’s by 8.30…that went out the window pretty quick! The first hour and a half of the journey went well and we pootled along at a good speed, we were on track to be there before dark, which was good as Uncle was getting tired of driving by now. On Highway 2, we came to a complete standstill and crawled along for around 30 minutes until we were redirected by the Police due to an accident, a truck had flipped on the road and spilled a load of wood and stuff on the motorway. We turned off the main road and had to drive for a few km on a dirt track, the dust was everywhere and it was like a scene from the Dukes of Hazard, yeeee haaaa! Joking aside, this detour set us back about an hour and fifteen minutes.

When we got going we were 52km from Robyn’s house, this should have taken us around half an hour tops, but the sat nav lady kept saying “recalculating” “recalculating” we soon realised she wasn’t recognising the new road system around Calgary and we were on the wrong road. We rang Robyn and she guided us in. Uncle was shattered and had been driving for 10 hours, he said “I’m too old for this”! After a smoke and a cold beer he was fine, but boy oh boy what a nightmare journey from Edmonton to Calgary…all’s well that ends well though and we ate fabulous Robyn sandwiches, Adam came from work after overtime and we all sat around for an hour or so unwinding…bed for me though, exhausted and I was only the passenger……to be continued….Granny

Granny calling….I am a day or so behind, we have been busy, busy, busy and yesterday I decided I would type up the blog as we were driving to MooseJaw only to find that the netbook batteries were flat and we had no way of charging them up in the van. So first, to take you all back to Sunday.

We had some rain in the night and the deck was quite wet in the morning, the sun was hot though, so the water soon burned away. One by one everyone got up, slowly, after the huge supper and beer etc we all consumed at Joan and Henry’s. Katy had already left for work at Smitty’s restaurant so we had a lazy breakfast. Aunty and me discussed what we needed to buy at the store for supper and Martin and Uncle chatted about the previous night, we had great fun and ‘the boys’ (Henry and Dave) had promised to come round and help Uncle to get rid of a dead tree at the side of the house. It was 11am though and no sign of a phone call yet? I wonder what time they stayed around the fire pit until. This may have a bearing on whether or not they turned up, if they turned up at all. Sure enough at noon, there they were, the tools were out and Dave was up the ladder sawing away like a lumberjack! Henry, Uncle and Martin, holding the ladder, taking bit of wood to the truck (Henry will use the wood for the fire pit) and generally all mucking in to get the job done. It’s nice to see that Aunty and Uncle have such great friends and these people are always ready to help out if needed. Aunty and me pulled some weeds out of the flower beds and swept around a bit and before we knew, the tree was gone and the boys were all out the back on the deck drinking cold beer, which Dave had brought in a cool bag.

Aunty and I headed for the store and left them to it, we had guests coming for supper and needed pork chops, potatoes and salad etc. First stop Robertson’s Farm shop, we bought Garden Potatoes, Salad Onions and Baby cucumbers and sat and ate ice cream under the porch until a few too many Mozzies started to gather, a quick exit was called for and we got back in the car to head for the Store, on the way we passed Joan’s House and ‘the boys’ were still there, probably drinking more beer and unloading the wood into Henry’s yard. At the store, we looked for aunties sister, who works there but we couldn’t fine her, so we got the groceries and headed home. When we got there, Helen and Bill, (aunties Mother and her boyfriend) were already waiting, these two are amazing, they’re both 87 years old, still driving and they go dancing at The Legion, whenever they can. They decided as we were later than they expected, to go off dancing for a couple of hours while they waited for supper at around 7pm.

Tom arrived and had a beer on the deck and shortly after Gail (Aunties sister) with Wilbur the Pug; he was a lovely little dog with a great personality. We barbecued the chops, Grandma (Helen) had brought Perogies and Gail had brought ‘Drumstick Cake. Katy and Tom decided to prepare the rainbow Trout and there was much discussion about how to chop off his head’ Grandma knew how to do it and showed them how not to waste the fish. It was stuffed with onion, tomatoes and lemon salt, wrapped in foil and put on the barbecue. It was a feast and we were all suitably stuffed afterwards…by the way, I don’t usually eat desert, but Gail’s Drumstick Cake is to die for!’ she also makes great chocolate chip cookies, good job I don’t see Gail too often, I would not be able to resist!

After a couple of hours on the deck, we couldn’t stick to bugs any more and finished off the evening in the house, we are always going to get an early night, but it hasn’t happened yet! Holidays are great….

Monday morning, we got up earlier than we have been getting up and the plan was to leave for MooseJaw by 10, Katy had to take her car seat to the Garage to get a hole in the upholstery fixed and we got our stuff together to go the see the MooseJaw tunnels. We all piled in the van and I took up my usual perch in the back, I like this seat, I get a panoramic view, room to stretch out and I can snooze without bothering anyone else. It will take 2 hours to get there and we are going to meet Shannon at Smitty’s for lunch. Katy then joined Shannon and we all drove into town to go and visit the tunnels where Al Capone is alleged to have carried out his bootlegging and laid low when he was on the run from the law. We bought tickets for both tours; the second tour was an insight into the life of Chinese Immigrants brought to Canada to work on the railroad. In tour one, we were all bootleggers and actors took us around the tunnels and described how money changed hands, how during prohibition the booze was bought and sold on the black market and how 97% alcohol could kill you and that al Capone once had his tonsils lanced using half a bottle of bootleg whisky as an anaesthetic! The actors were great; Aunty was nicknamed Gidget for the tour and was put in charge of the ‘hush money’! We laughed all through it, it was great fun.

The second tour was led by a lovely lady called Ashley and was set in a Chinese Laundry owned by ‘Mr Burrows’. It was acted out by Ashley and she narrated the story as well as changing voice to the stern lady who dealt with us ‘coolies’, these people earned 35cents a day and paid half of it back to the owners in rent. Life was tough and a lot of people got hooked on opium to escape the misery. It was really informative, totally different from the first tour and really well done.

We got ice cream, Tim Horton’s Coffee, met up with Katy, who couldn’t get a haircut, said Bye to Shannon and Uncle drove us the 2 hours back to Saskatoon. The evening was lazy, we mooched around the kitchen, I trimmed Katy’s hair and at 11.15 it looked like we were having that early night. I said I’m having vodka and tonic before bed, Uncle said I think I’ll join you…OMG, 2 bottles of vodka (50 proof vodka) later and at 04.40 am we went to bed just as the sun came up…the night was a blur, but we laughed, we sang, we drank some more and I have videos and pictures to incriminate everyone at a later date, but not for public viewing so I may have to be choosy what I post! Another fantastic day….even if I am a tad hung-over….to be continued….Granny 

Granny calling….getting out of bed later every day, could it be due to the fact that we were late to bed again? Yesterday went by in a flash, as does every day and by the time we had sat on the deck for the morning, shopped for ‘stuff’ to take to Joan and Henry’s for supper, it was time to shower and get out of the house!

During the day we mooched around, it was quite hot and I got burned on the deck, my arms look like striped tomatoes, red, white and freckles in between. Martin has been eaten by the mozzies and we are trying new lotions and potions all the time to try and fight the bleeder off! Aunty and I have been to Body Shop and found some Satsuma Body Butter that is supposed to deter them but I think they like it!

We left for Henry and Joan’s house at around 5.30 loaded with beer, vodka and tonic in ice boxes. We also had a box with Katy’s macaroni salad (she made a veggie version for Martin), chicken wings, Caesar salad, veggie sausage and burgers and huge prawns. The boot of the van was chokka block!

Joan’s yard, is her pride and joy and it’s really pretty. She has lots of flowers, solar light everywhere and some of these lights change colour I think Uncle may be getting some of those, he has to ‘keep up with the Jones’! Hanging on the shed is a bird box and pair of sparrows is flying back and forth dutifully feeding their chicks. Joan is also growing tomatoes, peppers and corn and the grass is cut to perfection. Lot’s of talking and banter and more talk of Corrie with Henry as the beer and V&T flowed. Dave arrived and joined us at the table and then Joan got home from work to complete the party. Fire up the Barbecue and wait for supper.

The food was fabulous, the salad, the chicken, more beer and more vodka and tonic. The ‘boys’ go outside for a smoke and light the fire pit. It was difficult at first but once it was going and we all sat around the fire laughing and telling stories, it was great. Katy disappeared quite early as she said in her best ‘Australian Accent’ I’m tai-ud (that’s the best way I can write it as she says it) and she slept on the couch until we were ready to leave. We must have got home about 1ish, but I can’t swear to that having drunk way to much V&T, we ate pretzels and talked for ages and Uncle checked out the golf on ‘Sports desk’ I can’t remember going to bed, but I slept like a log! Another fabulous day full of lovely memories and really great people……..to be continued …Granny 

Granny calling….
Today we leave Calgary and head to Uncle’s house in Saskatoon Saskatchewan, where I have been warned that the mosquitoes are large enough to carry away small children. Before we leave, we are going to eat at the Mall and visit Calgary Zoo. As usual, it takes us until 11 to all get showered and ready to leave the house.
My mozzie bite finger blister, which is now starting to recover due to the antibiotics, now is the same colour as the paint in our very regal looking purple painted bedroom, with matching covers. I love this room and the colour makes it feel warm and welcoming.
Pack the bags ready for when we get back from the Zoo as we will be heading straight off for Uncle’s house when we get back. The Zoo was great, we saw Tigers, Grizzly Bears, Elephants and Gorillas, it was a nice day, we got slightly burned and we had a lovely time just wandering, which was great as would be sat for a long time, the drive to Saskatoon is six and a half hours.
After the Zoo, we went for ice cream, we had crushed raspberries, chocolate sauce and crushed nuts, it was so hot it dripped everywhere, we got covered, finger licking good.
We got back to Robyn’s, threw our stuff in the Dodge and said our cheerio’s to Robyn, (we will be back in a week) and headed out for the long drive. After an hour we stopped at Tim Horton’s for coffee for the journey (Uncle is an addict I think)!
We drove through the Badlands near Drumheller where they dig up lots of dinosaur bones, what strange land formations and rock structures but it’s pretty in a sort of pre-historic way. On the journey we saw fields of Rapeseed, which glowed bright yellow in the sun and caught sight of some deer and gofers as we hurtled along the highway towards Saskatoon.
Two hours before the end of the journey (or 4 hours in) here’s Tim’s again and we stop for a BLT Toasty, Martin had a veggie cheese toasty and we all had another coffee, God this caffeine gives you a buzz! We refuelled and set off again, as it got dark, the bugs really started to appear and within half an hour of last light, you couldn’t see through the windscreen and Uncle had to pull in and clean the screen, while fighting off the mozzies! I have never seen so many bugs in my life but they soon cleared as the lights of the city appeared and we left the country side behind.

The house is all lit up and Uncle said…oh shit, why did Katy leave the lights on in the garage, the bugs will be everywhere and will swarm in the house as soon as we open the door….he wasn’t wrong, we had to pile the bags in and in the 30 seconds the door was open, in they went and we had high-jinks trying to swat them with electronic bug zapper. Katy and her friend had made nachos and salad, it really hit the spot and we caught up on family news etc and Katy’s work news and how her job interviews had gone. We sat up until 2am chatting to Katy and her friend, zapping bugs and drinking beer and wine. A long journey but we had another great day. Martin and I are having a great time, the family are all so helpful and we are so happy that we made the effort to come to Canada……to be continued 

DAY 4
Good morning – Granny calling.
I got up early again, didn’t get a good night’s sleep as the bloody mozzie bite, which was now badly infected had swollen and was sore. Shower, downstairs to write my blog up, (I was two days behind) jet lag is over and I feel much better this morning. 4 cups of tea later I was joined by Uncle who had got up for a cigarette and was already planning his morning drive to the coffee shop 4 blocks away – Tim Horton’s coffee shop sells great coffee and with double cream, it goes down really well in the morning. I can’t get over the fact that he drives out for coffee though, even if he is on holiday, I think I’d make do with instant first thing in the morning.
The weather is fowl, high winds, black sky and raining like cats and dogs. It is 10 degrees and the temperature, according to the forecast, was set to get worse throughout the day. This was not good news; we have tickets for the stampede and the grandstand rodeo show which is outdoors this was not just a shower, it was a storm. The grandstand show hadn’t been cancelled for 46 years and the stampede for 102! Sods law that it would be when we were in town. Anyway, as we all said, “you can’t plan the weather”.
By 9am Aunty and Cousin Robyn had joined us and we sat around moaning about the weather, watching weather reports and trying to decide whether to go to stampede or not. Adam is gone to work and would join us later for the Grandstand show. The tickets for the show cost $50 and we had $300 dollars worth for 6 of us and we were not sure if we could get a refund? We rang the ticket office and they said “no way is it going to be cancelled, that’s never happened in years”! I’m not holding my breath.
09.30- quick trip to the Medi-Centre to sort out my swollen finger. $60 dollars to see the Doc and $42 dollars later, I have anti inflammatory drugs and Anti-biotic – sorted. Forget about the finger now and let the pills do their work. We all had a great breakfast. Bacon, eggs, hash-browns, loads of toast and choke cherry jam. I’ve no idea what a choke cherry is but I like it.
We pile into Uncle’s van at around 11.30 and drive off the Mall, just outside Calgary. Martin bought 4 Tee shirts, at a bargain price but would no way pay $32 (£20 approx) for a real leather belt, which is strange as he needs a belt but does not need 4 tee shirts as he has around 10 shirts with him and umpteen back at home. We had New York Fries, these are like skinny chips and you buy them covered with sour cream and chilli sauce. They were great and after a year of Weight Watchers dieting, felt really naughty, but what the hell, it’s a holiday. We also had more creamy coffee, which comes in half litre cups; it’s so strong the kick is like a mule!
The rain kept coming and coming, there were accidents on the road where cars were aqua planning and not allowing enough stopping space, Robyn and I went to Costco and bought rain coats and we decided that were going to the stampede whatever the weather. While driving to the city he news reader on the van radio was reporting the deaths of 4 horses and numerous injuries to cowboys due to the wet and muddy conditions and the people of Calgary were not happy about it. I think they’re angrier about the horses than the people as the people have a choice of whether they take part or not, the horses-well, they do as they’re told and then they die. Makes me sad and I’m not sure how myself or Martin would react if a horse or a person got hurt or even killed, while we were at the show.
The show ground was wet, deep puddles everywhere and everyone’s jeans were wet right up to the knees almost. We did the ‘stampede’ thing and wore check shirts, jeans and cowboy hats and tried to the make best of it. We had mini donuts with cinnamon and sugar and after 45minutes of wandering and watching people on the fair rides we decided to wait at the meeting place for Adam to get there from work. During stampede week at work Adam has to dress up Western Style as the whole city turns ‘country’ so he turned up in cowboy clothes and joined us in the rain. We decided to go in for a beer, get warm and sit out the 45 minutes until the grandstand show. The lady at the bar served us with a smile, 5 Alexander Keith’s Light beers and a Gin and lime $42 please and then she muttered something to Robyn which I didn’t quite hear…Robyn’s face was a picture, the show was cancelled, Adam already knew and thought we did too, they told him at the gate, so it must have been decided about half an hour after we arrived at the stampede ground, we had driven all across the city, in shitty weather, in rush hour, for Jack Shit! But the beer and the Donuts were great and I have a Calgary Stampede Tee shirt. Oh, and by the way, I didn’t have to watch a horse die, that makes me happy.
We piled in the car, us girls went shopping for wine, cheese and finger food and the men went back to dry off and drink beer, all’s well that ends well………to be continued 

DAY 3
Granny calling…4 hours sleep, tossed and turned all night, the sun came up at 04.20 and my body clock was all over the place and telling me to get up. I did and I’m so glad. The sun was hot very early and I sat on the deck in the peace with only birdsong and the sound of the kettle humming in the kitchen..Yes we really did make it to Canada, my dream has come true and even though my brain isn’t functioning as it should, I feel quite pleased with myself.
Aunty joined me for morning teas very shortly afterwards and we sat chin-wagging for an hour before the rest of the house joined us one by one. The weather is glorious…but not set fair, dark clouds loomed in the East and the forecast was for heavy rain and wind coming from the Rockies in the afternoon.
We had to decide whether to go the stampede and the rodeo show with fireworks in the evening, or the Banff and up the mountain on the cable car. That decision was, in the end, made for us as we couldn’t get tickets for the Monday show and had to settle for Tuesday. As it turned out, it was the best decision as while we were at the Mall eating lunch, we experienced the most tremendous thunderstorm, with hail the size of ping pong balls, high winds which brought tree branches crashing on to the roads and huge puddles of water as the drains struggled to cope with the speed of the downpour. We all got soaked running back to Uncle’s van (which he bought for us to borrow for our road trip) and laughed all the way to Banff about the soaking we got and the fact that I had fallen into the van as I struggle to get my short legs up inside quickly!
I hate heights, so the journey up the mountain in the gondola was a bit of a worry for me, I have a real phobia but I was determined to get to the top and I’m so glad I did. The views of the Rockies, the river below and of Banff Town were spectacular and reminiscent of scenes we have witnessed in Austria on previous holidays, only on a larger scale. It was windy at the top and far too cold to do the 1km hike up Sulphur Mountain, I have to say, I wasn’t sorry and neither was my partner. We settled for loads of pictures, coffee in the restaurant and watching the snow and fog outside. When it cleared we took more pictures, visited the gift shop and watched the chipmunks playfully dart between the legs of the people at the viewing point high up above the coffee shop.
We finished of the day with a visit to the waterfalls, supper at Brewster’s in Citadel and a glass of wine with coffee, before going to bed at around 11. Pooped, still jet-lagged and woozy from the pills I have to take for my now infected mozzie bite….my finger is twice the size of the others and visit to the Medi-Centre is planned for the morning….well I was warned that the mosquito in Calgary are big enough to carry away small children and that they were even bigger in Saskatoon, where I will be heading on Wednesday…….to be continued 

CANADA 2010 – DAY 2
Granny calling,…..After the realisation yesterday, that the flight was at 1.30 pm and not 11am as I had thought all along, we got up early. I immediately questioned why I drank a double brandy before hitting the hay, it always hurts in the morning and my head was fuzzy. He wasn’t much better and we padded around the hotel room in silence. Two cups of travel lodge instant coffee later we were raring to go.
We parked our car the car park, the man who drove us to the airport was very talkative and pointed out Manchester United’s training ground and other points of interest as we went and we arrived at the airport just in time for the check in to open. Flight TDX034K Manchester to Calgary. No delays listed, so fingers crossed.
3 hours is a long time to wait but we shopped and ate some breakfast and the time soon went by. The flight was good, clear skies meant we saw wonderful views over the Atlantic, especially flying over Iceland and Greenland, with spectacular Icebergs and mountains which could be seen clearly from the plane at 37,000 feet. We bought the headsets, (which only worked one side) and although there were in flight movies etc. Neither of us could really concentrate and we counted down the flight on the maps function on the seat back screen. The flight should have taken nine hours twenty minutes, so it was a bonus when we arrived at Calgary after a hairy landing, 45 minutes earlier than expected.
The folks met us at the airport, carrying cowboy hats for the stampede and as soon as we put them on, a member of the Country and Western band ran across and branded us, like cattle! “Welcome to the Calgary stampede – have a great stay in Canada”! I was a tad disappointed as I misheard, I thought he said you need a brandy, all I got was a ‘brand’.
The rest of the day, was a bit of a blur, a mixture of ‘catch up’ stories about the family both sides of the pond. The giving of gifts brought from Wales. Jet lag, alcohol and mozzie bites, I got two big ones and he got away with none. Welcome to Calgary indeed!….to be continue

Granny calling,

Five days to go and I’m still not organised. I have ordered dollars,
I have finished all the washing and ironing and I am struggling to stay focussed at work due to the fact that I have so much to do and so little time to do it in. Hectic is a good description of how this week has started.

Blogging is also going to be difficult as I struggle to juggle life, travel plans and meeting deadlines for the end of this academic year. I have decided that little and as often as possible has to suffice.

If anyone has any tips for travelling let me know……Granny