Thursday, April 27, 2006

It's here!

Well, the rest of our stuff finally arrived from Florida today. An early day as we had to drive out of town to the international airport to clear our shipment with customs, then all the way back to unload. So our things are now in storage, although how safely I can't really say. We didn't have time to unpack and check each box--I'd still be there repacking if we'd tried it--so I'm pretty much trusting things are okay on the fact that none of the boxes were physically open/ripped/etc. and none of the fragile ones made tinkly broken-glass-or-crockery noises when we shook them. I am in the middle of sorting and repacking the things I left in my parents' basement after the last move--I will be moving those things into storage when I'm done. Getting the stuff here finally was a big relief.

So now that our things have arrived and Michael has his drivers licence and our authenticated marriage certificate, he is essentally finished everything he has to do before leaving. Which means that I am in the unenviable position of Holding Everything Up. I haven't got my bank statement in the mail, which means I can't show proof of residence to get my licence. I haven't got the list of modifcations for my car from the Registrar of Imported Vehicles, so I can't get the modifications done, which means I can't get it inspected , registered and insured in Alberta, which means I can't sell it. Everything is down to sitting on my hands waiting for pieces of paper to arrive in the mail, essentially so I can do the few short things necessary to wait for other things to come in the mail. I'm getting to the point where I feel like it will never come and I will never get out of here...

In less stressful news, we are going to be leaving town to visit my cousins, aunt and uncle in Saskatoon this weekend. I haven't been there in about 3 or 4 years, and before that short visit (for an ill-fated job interview) I hadn't been for probably about 10 years. Strange when we used to go all the time! So that should be fun. We still have trips to Calgary and Jasper to plan as well.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Darcy finally posts

Well, I seem to have left most of the updating of this blog up to Michael for quite some time. Figured it was about time I posted a new entry, too!

As Michael mentions below, we are indeed in Edmonton after our road-trip odyssey. It was an interesting trip, even if we didn't have time to stop as much as we'd have liked to. I'm glad we decided to break up the trip by going through Denver. By the time we got there a rest was more than welcome. Plus, I haven't really had the chance to get to know Michael's brother and his wife very well until this point (they had moved from Edmonton by the time Michael and I got involved), and it was really nice to spend some time with them at last.. Malini teaches grade one, and she took me to her class one afternoon, which was really fun. We also had a chance to do some shopping and go out for dinner a few times. All told a great visit.

Thankfully we had a relatively easy border crossing at Sweetgrass/Coutts. I always worry that something will go wrong every time I have to cross, so it's always stressful for me. Fortunately we ended up well prepared. the only thing we hadn't done was assign a value to all the things on our moving inventory, and as it turned out we only had to spend about an hour on that. The agent that helped us said that many times people come to the border without any preparation beforehand, and spend about 7-8 hours there doing all the paperwork they need to hand in, so I think we got off pretty lightly! Even importing my car went off without a hitch.

We spent our last night on the road in Lethbridge, and took our last day of travel a little slower. I drove the last day, even though it was Michael's turn, because I've never been through Alberta as a driver rather than a passenger and I wanted to do the last leg myself. We slept in a little later than usual, and stopped at the Penny Coffee house before leaving town. I used to love that place, but going there just proved that there's truth in the idea that You Can Never Go Back. The independent bookstore that used to open into the shop was gone. All the funky posters and pictures on the walls were gone. All the feminist posters and quotes were gone from the womens' washroom. The place had been completely stripped and sanitized and it's fun-hangout character was gone. On top of that, the cappuccino I ordered was watered down to a latte with a little bit of foam on the top...something that always irritates me. Oh well. I still have the good memories from when it was a good place, I guess.

We stopped in Claresholm around lunch time, so I could show Michael where I lived and worked there. The place does not really look good in some respects. Lots of empty storefronts and empty houses. Even some of the churches have closed! The town does have a very nice brand-new public library, however, and the greenhouse I worked in looks really good, so at least that business is thriving!

We also stopped in Red Deer, not far from Edmonton, so that Michael could show me where he lived and went to school the years he was there. The house they were in was almost exactly the same as he had left it!

We stopped at Michael's dad's place when we got into Edmonton, and his mother and stepfather happened to be visiting, so we got to see them all at once! We spent the first few days at my parents' house, then moved to Michael's dad's, and have just set up again today at his mom's place. A little bit different this time around, as we are moving together and have to balance three different families.

Unfortunately not much to report as far as progress goes since we arrived in Edmonton. Our moving truck is late, and we can't really do any out-of-town visiting until it gets here. Whenever that will be. We have to get Alberta drivers licences before we move, which is harder than it used to be--we have to show proof of residence and then wait 2 weeks while everything gets vetted in Ottawa. Thank goodness we both kept bank accounts open here--bank statements are the only thing we would have on the list of acceptable proof! But I have to wait for my statement, then wait for my licence, and what with that and the things to get done with my car before I sell it it's going to be a longer time than anticipated before we will be ready to move overseas.

Not that I've really been able to wrap my head around the reality of our actually moving to Abu Dhabi yet! But, one step at a time I guess!

What with everything that's going on I think this blog needs a facelift/makeover. I'll try to get to that soon....

Friday, April 14, 2006

Back in Canada

We left sunny Denver at 10:30 MST on Monday, April 10. We were running a bit behind schedule as we had anticipated entering Canada on that date. But we wanted to visit with my brother and sister-in-law for a few days and rest up for the next leg of our journey. Darcy's car was ready for pick-up that morning as it needed a new starter and front brake pads. Day five of our roadtrip took us to Billings, Montana. I drove that day and covered about 585 miles. It was a very blustery day once we entered Wyoming. I had never seen that state but the desolation of the landscape was breathtaking. I believe that it is the least populated state and I think it has the second highest elevated state capital. While Denver touts itself as the mile high city at 5,200 feet, Cheyenne (capital of Wyoming) is over 800 feet higher. New Mexico's capital of Santa Fe is nearly 7,000 feet. Sadly we didn't have time to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield. We didn't time it right as we drove past it at 6:00 pm. We stayed overnight at the Cherry Tree Inn in Billings, Montana. It had a George Washington theme and the decor dated from the 1970s. The price was very cheap at $55.00. That night we had dinner at a surprisingly good dinner at the Enzo Mediterranean Bistro restaurant. We didn't expect to find a good Mediterranean restaurant in Billings. The city was picturesque and the Yellowstone River flowed through it. There were impressive bluffs Darcy drove on Day 6 and covered about 575 miles. The weather continued to cool off as we approached the continental divide. We passed the divide twice - first heading west on I-90 approaching Butte and second heading north on I-15. The city of Butte, Montana is situated almost on the divide and junction of the two interstates. We drove through a localized snow storm since the elevation was 6,300 feet. It was nice to see snow again! By this time we were on the final leg of our roadtrip in the U.S. The last city we passed through before reaching the U.S. Canada border was Great Falls which I had visited as a child. My parents went to school at the University of Montana in Missoula and we made a few trips to northern Montana in the early 1970s. Unfortunately we also didn't have time to visit the Lewis & Clark Museum in Great Falls. It was late in the day (4:00 pm) and we needed to give ourselved time to pass through customs and arrive in Lethbridge, Alberta by nightfall. That's all for now - more to come later....

Monday, April 10, 2006

On the road again...

I couldn't help but think of the Willie Nelson song *On the Road Again* for the title of this entry. Darcy and I have had a wonderful time with my brother and sister-in-law over the past five days. I had a headache our first day here likely due to the 5,000 foot elevation. After spending some time relaxing I decided to buy some clothes (something that I don't do very often!). My brother is a store manager for an upscale men's clothing store called Jos A Bank. So I bought a suit, four dress shirts, one belt, one pair of wool pants and one pair of Johnston & Murphy shoes. Everthing was close to 50% off so I only paid $750.00. I know, it's still a lot of money but it's a bargain. My brother is probably correct in that my new employer will likely not tolerate staff wearing cotton pants with their mandatory shirt and tie policy. I also own a nice Hugo Boss suit and three dress shirts and some nice ties and one pair of Florsheim shoes. So my new workplace wardrobe is complete.

I've had two good work outs with my brother this past Friday and Sunday. I can always count on my brother to have a good anaerobic workout! He is studying to become a certified personal athletic trainer. Sunday afternoon I shot some hoop (played basketball) with my brother for an aerobic workout. I can't emphasize enough how refreshing it is to be outside in a cool, dry climate! My stamina is so higher and I feel better. Plus the spectacular mountain view is breath taking! The shorter, brown colored front range mountains provide a start contrast to the white capped Rocky Mountains. Maybe one day my wife and I will settle in Denver.

Other somewhat boring news to report is that I went to my bank and made a withdrawal from my checking account. I will keep my Washington Mutual account open but will take most of my money up to Canada to invest. We also need to take about $2,500 with us overseas to sustain us until my first paycheck. The college will pay for our hotel and some food but we'll need to rent a car until I pass probation. The other news is that Darcy's Sentra is in the shop because it needs a new starter and front brakes. Unfortunately the starter was rebuilt only a year and a half ago so this shouldn't have happened. But this wasn't the first time that one of our cars needed a part replaced that had only been repaired the previous year. It happened to my Volvo last month (new alternator) and I was forced to sell it at a terrible loss.

Anyway the car will be ready Monday morning so we should be on the road around 10:30 am. The distance from Denver to Edmonton is about 1,100 miles and it will take two days of driving. We'll likely stay in Butte or Billings Montana Monday night. Time permitting I'd like to visit the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana. We'll drive right by it so it's possible we'll have time to visit. The other landmark that I'd like to see is the Lewis & Clark Intrepative Center in Great Falls, Montana. It's not too far south of our home province of Alberta so we'll likely visit it this coming Tuesday.

I guess that's all for now. I need to refill my drink and visit more with my brother and sister-in-law. The next blog entry will likely be later in the week from Edmonton, Alberta!

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Relaxing in Denver

I guess this is our first post-Florida blog entry. It was an emotionally draining week for Darcy and I during the last week of March with saying good-bye to friends and colleagues. We had established roots in South Florida after almost six years of living there. My friend Dante was a godsend with flying down from Toronto in part to help us clear out our apartment. During his week's stay the three of us spent almost every night relaxing in our apartment complex's hot tub.

We were forced to place many of our belongings by our apartment complex dumpster since we couldn't get Goodwill or the Salvation Army to pick up our unwanted items. But we were pleasantly surprised to observe that fellow tenants took almost all our former belongings! It took us longer than expected to clear out several small items in our kitchen and empty the refrigerator.

We filled Darcy's 1999 Nissan Sentra with valuables and fragile items that we didn't want packed on the moving truck. Darcy and I didn't leave Broward County until 3:30 pm on Friday March 31. Our destination of Edmonton, Alberta was over 3,400 miles away. But we had decided to break up the long trip by stopping in Denver and visiting my brother and sister-in-law.

We didn't have an itinerary for our trip despite getting a detailed travel planner from the AAA. Orlando ended up being our destination that first day of driving 224 miles (Darcy drove). We stayed at the Days Inn and our first restful night in about a month. On day two I drove and it was one of traffic congestion in Georgia. Despite being on the road for almost nine hours we only covered about 440 miles that day. We stayed overnight at the Quality Inn in Morrow, Georgia (just off I-75 in south Atlanta). If we had more time I would have liked to visit the Carter Center there. But it turned out that we were able to visit another Presidential Library later on our trip.

Darcy drove about 550 miles on day three and we travelled through Georgia and Tennessee. After analyzing the AAA planner we decided to visit the Chickamaugua/Chattanooga Civil War Battlefield. Being a history buff I had to stop since I had never seen a Civil War memorial before. I'd forgotten how mountainous the state was by having the Appalachian Mountains. That night we stayed at a motel called the Microtel in Clarksville, Tennessee. That night turned out to be rife with tornadoes and squawly weather hitting the area. A terrific windstorm blew in and brought a dazzling lightning storm. The temperature also dropped and we had to break out our northern climate clothing.

It was my turn to drive on day four and we covered about 500 miles. We drove through Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. We stayed overnight at the Best Western Truman Inn in Indpendence, Missouri. The next day we spent about three and a half hours visiting the Truman House and Truman Library. The Miniature White House had amazing detail and was on loan. We could have easily spent the entire day there but we wanted to be in Denver that night. Sadly we didn't have time to visit the Eisenhower Library in neighboring Abilene, Kansas. The trek to Denver was about 600 miles straight west and it took nine hours. We arrived at my brother's condo at 11:00 pm on April 4 a bit tired and stiff but ready to relax in the cool, crisp mountain air for a few days!