Canada/U.S. Road Trip

Canada/U.S. Road Trip
Our Road Trip Route

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

May 5 - Kelowna to Banff

We had a great time in Kelowna the past couple days.  We spent some wonderful quality time with my dad and step-mom, Manno and Helen.  They put us up at their place, so we were able to visit from the time we got up, until we bid each other good-night.  We slept so well, with the frogs singing their chorus to us each night.

We were able to get in a short visit on Saturday afternoon with Rick's friend, Phil, and his wife, Karen, from his days with Canadian Airlines; and that night we had dinner and visited with my cousin, Corrine, and her hubby, Oral, in addition to my dad and step-mom.  We had a lot of laughs, reminisced some, about when we were young, and generally had a great time.  The weather wasn't pleasant enough to visit outside, as we often do in Kelowna, as it was rainy and drizzly and cool.  Sunday was a day of a little shopping and much relaxation.

Mileage to date: 518 kms.
Gas in Kelowna: $1.35/litre

On Monday morning, we left Kelowna to a dull, cloudy day, and about 12 degrees - not quite nice enough to drop the top on the 'Stang.  We had a nice day of travel, though - we stopped in Golden, BC, for lunch at a unique little diner called the Legendz Diner, a 50's-style diner.  Rick had the chili with toast and a homemade chocolate milkshake, and I had the classic burger with fries - we both really enjoyed our meals.

We continued on to Banff after lunch, and arrived just before dinner time.  It had snowed recently, and though the streets were dry, there was a bit of snow beside the highway.  We checked into the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel for a couple days - we've stayed here previously, and really enjoyed the hotel - it's simply gorgeous.  Because today is May 5th - Cinco de Mayo - we decided to find a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  We managed to get a table at the Magpie & Stump (doesn't sound much like a Mexican restaurant, but the food they serve is...), ordered a couple beers and daquiris, and dinner!  Rick and I both had quesadillas, and they were wonderful.

We woke on Tuesday morning to snow and more snow!  It was completely unexpected for us!  It snowed fairly heavily for part of the day, then stopped, and the temperature warmed enough for the snow to begin melting again.  We had brunch at Starbucks, then did a bit of shopping and stopped into the Cascades Art Gallery, that we always stop at when visiting Banff.  After that, we decided to take a drive - I know, going for a drive when on a road-trip is a bit of redundancy, but it's what we enjoy.  We drove up Tunnel Mountain Drive, and then carried on to the Lake Minnewanka Scenic Drive, past Lake Minnewanka, Two Jack Lake and Johnson Lake.  It was very beautiful, what with the newly fallen snow and the sun starting to break through by the end of the drive...  I'll be posting some photos of our drive.

Mileage to date: 1080 kms.

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