Drivin’ to Alberta!

Heyoooooo!!!!!  I’m back + better than ever in the great province of Alberta!  A fun 12 hour drive?  Notsomuch…

Oh man, it’s been a harrowing past week.  It took Jeff + I a frenzied day + 1/2 to pack for our 5 month stay in Alberta.  Not to mention stowing away hoards of stuff so that our subleasers can have room to move in!!!!  It was the absolute opposite of good times.

On Sunday morning our goal was to be on the road by 7am.  Oh ho hooooooo!!!!  Au contraire mon frere!!!!  After 4 hours of sleep the night before + with so much left to do, we didn’t hit the gas until 11am!!!!  Four hours past our leave time.  Nailed it.  Megumi was all ship shape + ready to go as well!!!  It was our first time on such a long road trip together – a post on that to come!

Only an hour into the drive we HAD to stop, since we hadn’t eaten yet.  What a couple of wimps.  Tim Hortons, save me!!!

For those of y’all that don’t know, Tim Hortons is as Canadian as it gets.  Timmy Ho’s Canucks call it.  There’s pretty much like 5 of them in every town.

The weather was crazy + unpredictable.  Sun to pounding rain, to snow flurries, to wet slush!!!  Jeff has done this drive countless times + knows the road by heart.  Here he is straight chillin’ with our cars.

I on the other hand was white knuckling it the entire way!!!  We drove through the infamous Coquihalla Pass, which at around 4,081 feet elevation the weather can get really sketchy.  The day before our road trip, the Coquihalla Pass was closed off due to crayzay weather conditions!!!  Yikes!

Being from Los Angeles, I was freaking out, yo!!!  Stories about black ice, (invisible glazed ice patches) truck collisions + snow storms filled my little anxiety ridden brain!!!  I’ve never driven through the likes of it before! I had no winter tires or chains, but I made it!!!!

After the 10th hour I was having none of it.  I was ready to throw in the towel, as it were.  We made a stop at the Husky gas station.  In Canada they have Husky gas stations – isn’t that cute?!  This one had a restaurant!  Alas, it was closed.

Mmmmmm, truck stop eats.  NOT!!!  Actually, I got some chili that was pretty good + that ain’t no lie!

Earlier in the week we were at a drugstore + Jeff wanted to stock up on “road food”.  I was chiding him for the soda he was getting + he started waving his arms wildly + bellowed at me, “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I NEED!!!!  YOU’RE A ROOKIE!!!!!!”.  That has been my go-to catch phrase for the week.  I like to randomly say it really loudly in a super low voice whenever the mood strikes me.  YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I NEED!!!!  YOU’RE A ROOKIE!!!!!

Another funny thing is that during the drive Jeff kept responding to my questions in a Sam Elliott voice.

I guess when you’re on the road + you have a moustache it’s pretty much a given.  If you don’t know who Sam Elliott is, Google him, become familiar with him, admire him.  Sam Elliott = DREAMY!

My fave are the truckstop goodies.  YESSSS!!!!

A 12 hour drive + we rolled into Canmore at around 1am or so.  As we drove through the town, to the left loomed these humongoid, dark figures that I thought were skin walkers!!!!  BUT, NO……..

ERMAHGERD!!!!!  I tried not to spazz out because I didn’t want to scare Megumi, but I had never seen Elk that close up before!!!  There were 6 of them AND THEY WERE HUUUUUUGE!!!!  I was following Jeff + lost him since I was busy getting my mind blown.  He called me + yelled, “Where are you?!  What?  Elk?  Oh puhleeeeze!!!”.  Jaded much?

Well, that is a short summary of our drive to Alberta!  I’m really excited to be here in cowboy country + a summer filled with the Canadian Rockies!  Stay tuned amigos y amigas!!!  Adventures ho!!!!!!!