That's because I screwed up the timeline of events! We were pretty tired and I was rushing trying to get a blog post out to you before we got too far behind. And I inadvertently put a comment in the blog post about my toe injury the day before it actually happened!
Yes, we did do about 10 kms (6 miles) of walking around Amsterdam, and no, I would not have been able to accomplish that had I inured my toe just before that.
So I apologize. But my excuse is that the last 48 hours or so have been pretty hectic.
However it really was difficult doing the 2.5 km (1 mile) hobble from Montreal airport to the Airbnb. I was in a lot of pain, and still hadn't even taken my sock off to look at the toe. Once we arrived at the airbnb I took my boots and socks off and sure enough, it was black and blue. Fortunately, there was an ice pack in the freezer and that helped relieve some of the swelling. It's not really visibly crooked, so I don't think I'm going to go get it looked at.
We slept well, but were awake early. We got up right away and walked back to the airport. My toe actually felt a little better, and once I got into a groove I was almost back to regular speed if I didn't twist my foot the wrong way and wince in pain every now and again. It was an absolutely beautiful morning walk... blue sky and sunshine!
We were impressed that we were able to print our boarding passes at a self serve kiosk, so headed right to security. We were through that pretty quick as well, and had a couple of hours to spare so we went looking for the premium lounge. (We have free passes through our Scotiabank Passport Infinite Visa Card). But the lounge was located on the international side only, so we couldn't access it. That doesn't seem very fair to us, but I guess that's just the way it is at Dorval airport.
The rest of the flight went very smoothly. We didn't notice anything different compared to pre-Covid flying except for the masks that are still mandatory in the federally maintained parts of the airport and flight. Any provincially maintained areas are mask free, and probably 90% of people don't wear a mask in those areas.
The plane departed right on time, and arrived in Calgary about ten minutes early.
Again, we travel with carry on only, so were able to run out of the airport right away and grab an Uber. And good thing too, because we didn't have much time.
When I booked the car rental, the airport location was almost twice the price as the downtown Calgary location. But I hadn't noticed at the time, that the downtown Calgary location closes at 1:00pm on a Saturday. And our flight landed at 12:10pm. But I had proactively contacted the manager at the downtown location and explained that I might be late. Great guys at Hertz downtown Calgary, and he said they could stay until 2:00pm if I contacted them and told them I was on my way. Fortunately that wasn't necessary and our Uber driver got us there with 5 minutes to spare!
They put us into a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee. Fully loaded with all the toys. A very nice ride for us for the next ten days! A little bigger than I normally would have wanted, but with my guys weekend away coming up, I will be driving three of my friends so it will be nice to have the extra space and comfortable ride.
So now, after a four and a half hour flight, we had a five hour car ride ahead of us!
Heading out of Calgary on a beautiful day.
Yep, we are back on the prairies.
Scenery along the way.
The big teepee at Medicine Hat, Alberta.
We stopped and took a break in Medicine Hat and bought some wine, beer, and groceries.
Lots of hay!
Harvest has started early this year.
We like this old barn just down the road from the park.
Our first view of Lake Diefenbaker.
Entrance to the park.
It is great to be back at Cabri Regional Park. This is the park we managed for the four summers from 2014 to 2017, and we made quite a few friends here, some of whom still read this blog every day! So it was really nice to see many of the regulars, but we're disappointed that some of the seasonal campers have moved on and aren't here anymore.
We had a campfire!
We're staying in one of the seasonal fifth wheel trailers that belongs to the aunt of one of our friends here. Really nice of them to set us up here, and it feels like being back home!
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Nice price drop on this 9' x 12' RV Patio Mat.
And in Canada...
Its amazing how time flies. I hadn't realized it had been so long since you guys managed the campground. Glad to see the lake appears to be at a healthy level. Such a pretty place to be.
ReplyDeleteIt really is amazing, it honestly didn't feel like it was all that long ago but the last full summer that we worked here was in 2017! There are been quite a few changes at the park and they are all very positive changes. The marina being the biggest change. Unfortunately the water is still quite low but at least boats can get in and out of the water this year, apparently that wasn't possible last summer. It is a pretty spot, and we do miss it so it is nice to be back even though it is just a short visit.
DeleteI'm sure it must be fun being back there and seeing your old haunts and some old friends as well. Is it cold? Hard to believe this time of year, as we are sweltering in most of the US, but I see you are wearing jackets.
ReplyDeleteIt is fun to come back here and see our friends and old campers that we dealt with for the four years that we were working here for. Quite a lot of changes at the park but all for the good.
DeleteNo, it is actually quite hot here. In the evening when the sun goes down it is cool so yes, the sweaters come out but during the day it's another story!