Calgary bound

Our flight to Calgary had to be delayed of course, only not too badly:

Westjet told us in advance that the plane (one of those 737s that gained a bit of a reputation for crashing) was not to their usual standards as it had transferred when they took over another airline, Sunwing. We had visions of a Freddie Laker style "pack 'em in and fly them to the sun" kind of interior, with no legroom for anyone bar pygmies. Actually it was OK for the 4 hour flight. We had quite a bunch of Costco store managers around us, all chatting to each other after one of those corporate meetings that the captain so misses attending. When they talked about the bigger stores having 400 employees, the crew had some flashbacks to her time as the UK HR Manager for Toys R Us. It was so good to just be a spectator.

Why on earth were we flying to Calgary you might well ask? A low rise boring kind of place in the flatlands. Well, that is thanks to Martin and Inge, the prior owners of Malaspina, another Nordhavn 47.  They live near Comox on Vancouver island and told us that we should visit them, borrow their brand new Airstream caravan and tow truck for a trip through the National park, then spend some time staying with them. That was such a tricky decision - should we accept or????  In amazement at their generosity (or should that be stupidity?)  we accepted of course. They collected us from the airport, w had dinner and a catch up before we overnighted in a Hampton by Hilton airport hotel. For info, never ever go there. It had the most disgusting breakfast ever. Nothing like the UK Hampton offerings and really inedible. We were so glad to check out the next morning and be collected by Martin who took us to the camping site they were staying in for a rapid teach in about the Airstream and loads of local advice:

As you can see the Airstream is rather splendid. Yes, Martin and Inge were truly demented letting us borrow this. There is a kind of "not only but also" thing to report though. The tow truck was a proper North American boy's toy. A Dodge Ram:

Just a little 5.7 litre V8 petrol (gas) engine to haul the Airstream around with. That ought to be enough we thought. Thank heavens for Canadian fuel prices. We felt that a green "Eco" light coming on when you drive it gently was a little bit odd though.

Martin and Inge flew back to Comox from Calgary and there we were, alone with their truck and trailer in a campsite at Cochrane ready to hitch up the following morning and venture off. What could possibly go wrong?