An Update from Calgary

Hi Family!

As a distraction, I decided to spend a little time on the interwebs tonight and thought it might be fun to update you as to how the trip to Alaska with Estelle is going.

What's it called? Operation Alaska Thunder

What's the purpose? To move Estelle Cowie to Ketchikan, Alaska.

Who's involved?  Yours truly and my best friend, Estelle Cowie.  Plus a Toyota Corolla, a very angry but drugged cat and of course all the stuff we can stuff into the car.

So we started out our perilous (not so much) journey from Kansas to Alaska on Wednesday March 27th.  We spent the night in Denver and got together with both Michael Richardson and Linda Dillon.  Some Italian and Ice Cream was had before we settled in and watched a little bit of the Volunteers (an oldie, cheezy but goodie of a Tom Hanks movie - he has a horrible English accent).  I collapsed before the movie was over and retired into my bedroom.

It was a good nights rest for me. But Estelle woke up tired as her legs cramped all night.

It was then off to Billings, MT.  It was a long traverse through Wyoming and Montana but we drove it in approximately 8 hours.  That will be one of our shorter days.  We stayed the night at a delightful Holiday Inn.  One of the things you'll notice about the northern part of the countries and Canada are the presence of Casinos.  In fact, we had one in our hotel in Billings.  Neither Estelle or I gambled but we did have some great food and enjoyed the hot tub (as we did in Denver the night before).  

This morning, we woke up and went to breakfast only to find that Lucky, Estelle's cat had somehow gotten between the cloth lining of the box spring and the box spring itself essentially barricading herself in the interior of the box springs.  I returned after Estelle did so I missed most of the attempted capture.  It was most humorous to return see Estelle trying to finagle the bed to get the cat out.  I am happy to report that the cat was pulled out much to her dismay.  

We got on the road at around 10 am after a stop at Walgreens.  The reason: Walgreens failed to tell me that one of the prescriptions I had picked up was only partially filled (to the tune of 4 out of 30).  This resulted in a necessity to get a new prescription after the Walgreens in Hutchinson graciously returned the entire prescription so I could just pick one up in Billings.  

On our way to Calgary, we passed through some beautiful countryside.  I took the wheel all day today (which was an 8 hour, thirty minute drive).  Estelle will be driving most of tomorrow as we are passing through the Rockies and I have nervous tendencies when it comes to driving in the mountains.  We entered Canada at around 3:15 pm.  It was a great experience at the border.  We didn't get searched or anything which was a relief as both Estelle and I had nightmares about us having to unload the car completely for border patrol.  After answering the typical questions, we were on our way with well wishes from the Canadian boarder agent.

It was another 3 and a half hours to Calgary but again we were treated to wonderful scenery.  I was relieved however to arrive at the Radisson Airport Hotel in Calgary as I was (and am now) quite tired.  We had a very nice Indian flavored dinner with some excellent curry.  I then ventured out to find a cord to update my GPS with as well as a cell phone so that we would have cell phone coverage in Canada as it seemed like a bad idea to drive 2 days without cell phone help.

This adventure ended up lasting more than an hour as I ran into a number of stores which closed almost an hour earlier than they said.  Combine that with a bomb threat at the local mall where I was planning on making my purchasing and you have a hunt which saw me exploring the better part of the part of Calgary near the airport.  I am happy to report that I was able to track down both of my required items.  But it wasn't without a very long journey.

And it paid off, almost.  The phone is all set up and ready to go in case. If you would like to call me, the number is 250-615-9259. Obviously, you'll need to dial the appropriate country code to get connected to Canada.  Otherwise, expect to hear an update every 1-2 days on this blog or via phone (depending on the availability and coordination with Estelle.

Its a 10 hour drive tomorrow (of which I'll probably do 4 hours) so I had better peace out for now.

Love to all and special thoughts to Grandma.  May her recovery go as well as the trip has so far.

Best and love.

Charles