We have officially started on our family adventure – and what a start!
The final days of last week were spent in a frenzy of packing and cleaning. Oh, and installing a new kitchen faucet. On Friday morning, our kitchen faucet decided to give out leading to a small lake of water under the sink. After mopping up the mess, we called on the assistance of our trusty neighbour, The Plumber, who promptly dismantled the old one and accompanied us to Home Depot for a new one. A few hours later, the sink had a new faucet and we had a few more grey hairs.
That evening, friends were kind enough to let us stay at their place, feed us and take care of the kids while we continued to work. It was such a huge benefit to know we had a place to sleep that we wouldn’t have to clean again in the morning.
On Saturday morning, after a late Friday night cleaning, we took the last of our boxes to our storage facility. This is what putting most of your life in storage for six months looks like.
We are very glad we went for the bigger locker size, even if we didn’t fill it.
We then handed over the keys to our lovely tenant and had a quick lunch before hitting the road. And what a road!
With the Lower Mainland in the grips of #snowpocalypse2017, the driving conditions were terrible. Our original plan to drive to Revelstoke was quickly cancelled (and getting charged for the unused room 
) and we decided to stay the night in Kamloops. We just had to get to Kamloops first!
Highway 1 was a mess with cars flipped over in the ditch and stuck in the median. The Coquahalla wasn’t much better and, as darkness fell, visibility sucked. In the end, we made it safely and had an excellent supper. Or maybe it was the stress of the drive that made everything taste better.
The drive in the morning wasn’t much better although the clear weather helped. After a pit stop in Revelstoke for lunch, we continued to Calgary. We had never been happier to see the twinkling tailights of skiers returning home!
We arrived in Calgary around 8 pm to a home cooked meal and a well-deserved glass of wine. The next morning revealed that Calgary is also trying its best to keep us here with a major cold snap and plenty of snow.
Hopefully, the next few days will clear up and we can make it to Edmonton for our flight to Iceland on Thursday.
Stay tuned!
Wow….way to persevere….so excited to read the next instalment
Very cool! I’ll be following you and your family on your adventures!
I love how you guys are just getting the messy-chaos elements out of the way early! You are oink to have an AMAZING adventure! Thanks for letting us follow along!
A true adventure has begun! Be safe and enjoy. Love the idea of the blog, too–a great way to remember and inspire!
And the adventure begins!! I’m looking forward to these posts and pictures. Bon voyage!!
Looking forward to hearing more about your adventure. Safe travels
Looking forward to reading more!!!!
Good thing you grew up driving in Calgary and know how to drive in the snow. I would have been one of the overturned cars on the side of Hwy 1 with my stereo blasting endless covers of “Hallelujah”….
I’m not sure what your plans are, but if you make it as far as New Zealand let Gavin and I know!
Looking fourward to read more. …
What a great adventure ahead for all of you! Many of us count on you coming to Brussels of course so we can say hello and meet the family!
Keep us posted!
Such an amazing project. I’m excited to read all about your adventure! Do you know where you’ll be between mid-July and mid-August?
Sounds so exciting – enjoy!