Text 28771, 82 rader
Skriven 2012-08-26 22:11:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: trip 1
==============
Planning the trip was as complicated as the Normandy Invasion or a
moon landing: It started with Ray driving Neekha from Peace River to
Edmonton so she could fly to Vancouver where her other grandfather,
Raymond (Roslind's Ex) picked her up and took her to his place on
Vancouver Island for two weeks. Then she flew to Yellowknife to join
us a few days before we started our trip so she could visit her old
YK friends.

Meanwhile Chuck, Lexi's and Charlee's father (Raine's Ex), drove
from YK to Fort McMurray and took the kids to Fort Smith, NWT to his
mom's place. 

On Saturday Roslind, Neekha and I met Chuck at a highway junction
called Enterprise, just outside of Hay River, NWT as we went south
and he came north and we snagged Lexi and Charlee.

Later in High Level, Alberta we hooked up with Chuck's mom and new
boy friend, so the two youngest kids could visit them one more time.

Then the five of us went to Ray's in Peace River for a bit, visit
his new squeeze and her three kids and then onto Smithers, B.C.
where Neekha's mother Betty, younger half brother Draiden and
maternal uncle Mark live. The focal point of that part of the trip
was Mark's upcoming wedding; Neekha was the flower girl.

Enroute, we met Raymond in Grimshaw, Alberta as he was heading
north for a fishing trip as we were heading south.

On the way back we dropped all three kids off in Peace River and
Raine and Lyle swooped down from Fort McMurray to grab her two. At
the last minute Neekha decided to join them for a week in Fort
McMurray.

I long ago gave up on Yelp for meal advice. In fact I take a
contrarian view and go to the restaurants that get panned. It turns
out Trip Advisor is not much better; it was 50% wrong on hotel and
restaurant choices, as you shall see as I go on.

Friday, Aug. 3: Trip prep... Car got a tune up, an oil change and
four new tires. Purchased a large bag of road snacks and a cooler
full of drinks and fruit. We had an abundance of perishables on hand
so I simmered a large pot of snow peas, pea tendrils and plum
tomatoes from the garden with green beans, cabbage, boy choy and
broccoli from the store while I sauteed a pan of zucchini, leeks,
garlic and celery which went in the pot at the end together with
garden basil and parsley, more dried Italian herbs and a can of
diced tomatoes for good measure. The mess turned out OK and went
into the freezer to be the basis of future soups.
     
Sat: We skipped lunch at Fort Providence on the Mackenzie River
partly to stay on schedule and also because the car was well stocked
with munchables. Got to Enterprise on time and hooked up with Chuck
who was, thankfully, also on time. Neekha, Lexi and Charlee had a
grand, hug filled reunion. Took an hour off to list and photograph a
combination gas station, convenience store and small motel for sale.
Then, with Lexi and Charlee in tow, we continued on to Peace River.

Supper was at the one good restaurant en route, which we always stop
at, in High Level the most northerly real town in Alberta. The chef is
French from a little town near Nice and the Italian border, the menu
is international in scope and the food quite good by hick town,
truck stop standards. As usual Lexi and Charlee ignored the kid's
menu, asked for two empty plates and helped us choose three adult
dishes. We all chose old favourites we had had there before: shrimp
Kung Po for me, a mild version that is kid friendly, halibut and
pasta of the day (always good, as I mentioned the cook grew up
within spitting distance of Italy) for Roslind and Greek salad for
Neekha (the real thing with chopped vegetables and olives, no
lettuce). The little ones treated our meals like a buffet line and
had a little bit of everything.


Cheers

YK Jim


... Kms are shorter than miles. Save gas: take your next trip in Canada.

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