Visit with Lukah (and skiing) – March 12-15, 2013

Julie and I made a trip to Fox Creek to visit Lukah, our great nephew. He is an 8 week old healthy, happy baby. Lukah is Sean Tollett’s son.

After visiting in Fox Creek we continued on through Edson to Jasper. We stayed, once again, at the Lobstick after getting a good deal on rooms through Hotwire.com. We skied Wednesday and Thursday in fresh snow and great conditions. Julie doesn’t appreciate the powder as much as everyone else. She finds it a challenge but did really well both days. We used of Sunshine Marmot cards and got the first (our seventh) day free and a good discount on the second day. That will probably be our last ski trip. It was a great way to end the season.

Truck Upgrades March 11, 2013

I had some upgrades installed today to hopefully improve our diesel truck mileage and performance. After some internet research and speaking with Supreme Diesel in Sexsmith, Alberta, I decided to go with the following upgrades;

PPE Xcelerator Tuner
Edge CTS Insight Monitor
S&B Cold Air Intake Kit
FloPro 4″ Aluminized Exhaust

The goal is to improve mileage and performance over the long Central and South America trip. The total cost of the upgrade including tax was $2496.52. With even a small improvement in mileage, this will pay for itself in fuel cost savings. Time will tell if the upgrade was worth it.

Brenda Montgomery’s 50th birthday party – February 9, 2013

We were invited to Brenda Montgomery’s 50th birthday party at Nitehawk Ski Hill Tube Park. It was a beautiful evening. The weather was perfect for this type of outdoor activity. Somewhere around -5C, I think.

Kelly, Brenda’s husband, had organized the event. There was a good turnout for Brenda and it was a lot of fun. It is something you have to try. There was a great buffet of food to enjoy in the cozy chalet after a few hours at the tube park. It is something I think we would try again.

Photos courtesy of Lola Wright.

EMS Wine Fair – February 8, 2013

Julie and I attended the 13th Annual Wine Fair & Auction with our friends Frank and Lola Wright.

The event was held at the TEC Centre at Evergreen Park and appeared to be very well attended. A number of wine sampling booths were set up with a wide range of wines to try. The most expensive wine we sampled was an Australian red imported by Harvest Vintage Imports – Torbreck Les Amis Grenache at $221.95 a bottle. Unfortunately, Julie really like it! There were also 4 food vendors providing sampler plates of appetizers and desserts. All that we tried were very good. We had a good time and hope the Regional EMS Foundation met their fundraising goal.

Quick trip to Edmonton – January 30 – 31, 2013

Julie and I made a quick trip to Edmonton for some specialist appointments. It was cold and snowing most of the trip down but the roads were not too bad.

After the appointment, we headed over to MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) to check out a few items, mainly some new boots for Julie. Julie didn’t find any but we ended up with a few other items.

We, once again, used Hotwire.com to book a hotel. We ended up staying at a 3 star hotel in west Edmonton, the Best Western Plus Westwood Inn, for $79.99/night. Hotwire is great as long as you don’t mind not knowing the exact name of the hotel until after you book. We keep getting good deals on hotels.

We also delivered a care package to Jordan, who is attending the U of A, and took him out for supper. He choose Three Boars Eatery. It is a funky little place just off Whyte Avenue near the university. It serves small plates to be shared, kind of like tapas. It was an excellent way to spend the evening with our son, a couple of good beers, and great food.

Vaccinations

Julie and I had our Yellow Fever vaccinations done at the Alberta Health Services (AHS) Public Health offices on January 28, 2013. Yellow Fever vaccine is required for entry into many countries we plan to visit.

We also picked up our medications for ‘Salmonella Typhi’. It consists of 4 pills taken every second day. (‘Vivotif – Typhoid Vaccine Live Oral Attenuated Ty 21 a’) This is a preventative measure against Typhoid Fever, which still affects over 17 million people worldwide, annually.

The cost was $216.00 each. Hopefully, we will be reimbursed by our health insurance provider.

The complete maps and data regarding precautions and areas of concern, provided by AHS, is linked below;

Mexico Traveler Health Report

Mexico Traveler Maps

South America Traveler Health Report

South America Maps (very large file)

Ski trip to Jasper – January 14 – 17, 2013

Julie and I made a trip to Jasper to ski at Marmot Basin for 3 days. The weather was mild but quite mount-edith-cavell windy. Some of the upper lifts were closed on Thursday afternoon due to the high winds (reaching 100 kph) at the top. There was no new snow but the conditions were quite good.

There were great deals on hotels. We stayed at the Lobstick for $58/night. We used Hotwire to book the hotel on the day we left. Also, we were there mid-week plus it is “Jasper in January” time. Lift tickets are discounted in January and we have the Ski Marmot card.

[Show as slideshow]

Sun Peaks Vacation – December 31, 2012 – January 5, 2013

Our Christmas present to the family, again this year, was a family ski trip to Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops, BC.

We rented a condo for 4 days, 3 nights in the Crystal Forest development. It was a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom unit with, gas fireplace, private hot tub, and nearly ski-in, ski-out (a short walk was required).

sun-dogs-at-sun-peaks Our good friends Frank and Lola were staying nearby with their friends, Andries and Twiny, who own a beautiful home on the mountain. We were all invited for dinner one evening at Andries and Twiny’s home and we had a great time. They wined and dined us royally along with the very large group of family and friends they had staying with them. Frank and Lola’s son and daughter were also staying nearby at Sun Peaks and dropped in after supper for a visit.

One morning, Julie and Melodie were also able to visit with Julie’s cousin, Ellen, who also owns a beautiful home at Sun Peaks.

On the way home, after our vacation, we stayed with Julie’s Aunt Lynne and Uncle Herb, at Sheridan Lake, BC. Once again they spoiled us with food and entertainment.

A big thanks to all we had the privilege of visiting on the trip. Your generosity is very much appreciated.