Spring Break 2022 - Alberta - Day 2

It rained and snowed most of the day today, but we made it to Jasper (our destination).  Thanks to AA and his long stays for work, he had lots of points to get us the 2 rooms for free, plus a free buffet breakfast for the 4 adults. Amelia walked into the breakfast buffet this morning, and said her dreams came true, as there was so much food.  All of us ate for $13.  

We headed on the road, with the blue truck in front and us following behind in our Black Camry.  The car is ok, but there is sure a lot of road noise. First stop was to get gas for the blue truck, then off on hwy 16 we went.

We stopped in Hinton for Lunch at Smity's and then did a group grocery shop. Don't forget about the stop at the liquor store. Lola entertained the kids in the mall entrance while the other adults looked through the selection.

The drive was snowing and raining majority of the way, so the wow factor of the mountains wasn't there. All of a sudden we were in the Mountains. We stopped at the side of the road when there was a group of Bighorn Sheep at the side of the road, just grazing.  They were pretty neat. Lola read in the Jasper National Park pamphlet that the females have skinny pointy horns while the males have the curly thick horns.  We surprisingly saw the male a few 100m down the highway.

Once we got to Jasper, we headed to buy our lift tickets in town, and then settled into our hotel. Kids were most excited about the large closet that connected between their room and the hallway.  Our travel family got a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen and AA and Lola just has a normal hotel room across the parking lot. It is pretty perfect.

Lola made supper of meatballs, spaghetti and garlic bread.  That was the most quiet time of the day, as people were hungry.

After supper we headed for a little swim in the pool.  The water was a little colder than yesterday, so it took Lola a little bit of time to get into the pool. But it was still good to get our body's moving from the 4 hours in the car today.

Once we were done in the pool, the kids went to bed after showers and a snack, and the adults prepared lunches for the next day and we went to bed early. 

Tomorrow is our first ski/snowboard day!

Night.

Spring break 2022 - Alberta - Day 1

After 761 days.... Lola finally got back on an airplane.  Covid 19 has been a long 2 years of staying close to home, and vacationing in Manitoba. AA has travelled for work a few times, so he been on a few planes since the pandemic started. We planned this trip with our friends back in the fall in hopes that the pandemic wouldn't stop us. We were happy that we were able to make this step forward to getting "back to normal"

Waiting for our Uber to pick us up!

Lola was a little anxious about getting to the airport but we made it in plenty of time. The Uber picked us up and we headed to the airport at around 10 am.  Our final destination for the day was Edmonton but with a short stop in Regina on the way.  Pre-Pandemic, we would have been able to just sit on the plane while people got off and others got on, but since of covid and the cleaning that is now done, we had to get off the plane for a bathroom break and to stretch our legs, and right back on we went. 

 Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Alberta

Both flights were pretty uneventful, with us enjoying our packed lunches, and of course AA found some time for a cat nap. Regina looked like it had less snow than both Winnipeg and Edmonton.

Our friends drove, and beat us to the hotel. We had to wait a long time at the rental car counter, as the 2 people before us, had a lot of questions about returning their cars.  We got to the hotel where 2 little girls were pretty happy to see us!

AA being a Diamond member at the Hilton, got us a rooms with points, and we also got upgraded to a King Suite, which was nice so we could hang out in a different room while the kids went to sleep.

We went for supper at a Hawaiian Style restaurant, where we enjoyed the food.  The adults has Poke bowls, which were a little spicier than expected. We then headed to a grocery store, where the Kings followed us, AA wasn't following the GPS very well, so we ended up missing the turn, and having a larger detour than expected, but finally made it to superstore.  We got a few things, and then headed back to the hotel to get in a swim. The pool was a little busy, but we still had a good time, and even Lola got in! The kids loved to splash and jump in, and it was nice to get our bodies moving from sitting most of the day. 

Once we got back to the rooms, and cleaned up from the pool, we had some snacks and drinks and the kids went to bed. The adults watched some curling, talking about the plan for the next day, and now heading to bed. 

View from our hotel room on the 9th floor.

We are heading to our final destination tomorrow, where we can fully unpack our suitcases and be surrounded by mountains!  

Another weekend away, another post

That week went by pretty quickly.  Lots of working from the hotel and meetings but back on the airplane Friday afternoon for some pre-testing as we get ready to fly this week.

This weekend was another where I was looking for things to do outside of the hotel room.  After spending a good part of Saturday getting caught up with work, it was nice to get outside for a short run near the hotel where I found a snapping turtle munching on some weeds on the shoulder of the road:

In the afternoon, I ventured out to go for a walk along the canal and lift locks.  I got there just in time to see one boat coming up to one of the swing bridges:

A short walk along the canal brought me to the Peterborough Lift Lock which is one of two hydraulic lift locks on the Trent Waterway canal system.  It is astonishing to me that they made this structure back in the 1900's and it is till very much in use these days.  Plus, the mechanics behind the lift is pretty cool, just look at the size of the piston (or ram?) - it is huge!

The view from the top of the hydraulic lift lock

After sweating through my shirt and getting back to the car, I grabbed some snacks, some water and my book and went to find a spot to read by the lake:

Sunday was a lazier day with a short 30 mins drive to Selwyn Beach Conservation Park for a hike in the forest and then a snack along side Chemong Lake.  It was hot, 24 felt like 34 (at least).

The beach park

The hike through the trees

Playing with phone camera settings

Chemong Lake

After my snack, I got back in the car and took the long way "home", around Chemong Lake and past Buckhorn Lake and Pigeon Lake (through Bobcaygeon, which the Tragically Hip named a song after) and then back into Peterborough.

Once back at the hotel, it was time for a quick chat with Lola while I got a little bit of work done and then a short nap before heading back out to find a spot to read my book by the lake.  However, as I pulled into the parking lot at Beavermede Park, it was starting to rain.  So instead of going to find a spot to read my book, I took my nectarine and went for another walk around the park and to the lower lift locks before heading back to the hotel feeling a little refreshed from the rain.

I'm looking forward to a busy week ahead so that I can get home as soon as possible and start my next 14 day self-isolation and then enjoy some summer.  At least this time, I can spend time outside in the yard.  Plus, I have my own sunscreen now since I was criticized for not buying some sunscreen earlier on my trip when I was spending so much time outside.

AA on the road again

 I knew this trip was going to be in May/June of this year but I was really hoping we would be through this pandemic and almost back to normal.  Unfortunately, that is not the case and has me stuck here in Peterborough for an extra couple weeks instead of being able to fly home and then come back.  I guess I can't complain too much, I haven't travelled much in the last year and half so maybe this is payback?

Lola was able to load up the car and go camping at Hecla with our friends this weekend, all by herself.  For me, I was looking for things to do instead of work and what better way to spend a weekend than outside enjoying the warm weather.

Saturday was spent hiking along Jackson Creek park and the Trans Canada Trail.  A short 5k hike (round trip) on a gravel path which looks like it used to be a rail bed offered some scenic views of the creek, many trees, a spillway and lakes.

Lily Lake

I was summer smart - I brought a water bottle with me to stay hydrated and decided I probably shouldn't go "off roading" in the trails in the trees for fear of twisting an ankle.  I am getting old (and maybe wise).  Actually, the reason I decided to stay to the trail was mostly because there weren't any vantage points to get from the trails in the trees not like when I went in the trees in the mountainside near Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany...

Sunday I decided to venture out to see Lake Ontario and headed to Prince Edward Wildlife Reserve, about 2 hrs away.  I also decided to take the scenic route to get there, going through many small towns and past hundreds of horse and small dairy barns all while staying on paved roads until the last 5 km to my destination.

I wasn't really looking to see any wildlife, I just wanted to go and hang out by the big water for a bit.  I brought a small picnic lunch with me and my book to spend some time in nature.  Lunch was good, watching the seagulls in the water, looking at Point Traverse Lighthouse and listening to the waves crash on the shore that was covered with zebra mussel shells.

A lookout point, looking back at another point along Prince Edward Bay

Point Traverse Lighthouse

The view at lunch

Shells

After lunch, I took a small walk along the shore to see the other side of the point where the waves were definitely larger.  After crunching more shells under my feet along the walk back to the car, I stopped at "the beach" at the other end of the point and read a couple chapters of my book, ate a snack and watched the birds and a couple sea-doos go by.  It was a very relaxing day.

The Beach (looking South)

The drive back was equally adventurous as the drive out - going through Belleville and then along numerous county roads, past many farms and eventually back to the hotel.

I'll have to keep searching for other places to go for hikes in the evenings after work since I will be here at least one more week, and then some.