I started back at the YMCA today. I won’t be working out, I doubt I could as I have very little energy.
Instead, I am using the pool, a lap or two, sometimes three, then a sit in the steam room, quick shower off then a soak in the hot tub.
It takes me about 45 minutes in total, just over an hour including travel time.
I feel great afterwards. Relaxed and refreshed. It’s exhilarating.
I’ve had my new car for just under 2 weeks and I’m absolutely loving it.
For the first time since I was 25, I don’t have a car payment either, and that’s great.
I’ve taken a road trip to Montana and Idaho and put about 4200km on it, it performed very well. I’m happy with the fuel economy, I get around 650km to a tank of gas.
It’s now just over 5100km and I’ll need an oil change on it before the end of the month. All of the maintenance is included in the purchase price as well, so oil changes are covered.
It’s got all the bells and whistles that one could want. The lane assist and adaptive cruise control are amazing features.
Yesterday, I was driving to Cochrane and for some reason, the person in front of me broke hard for no apparent reason and the collision avoidance system kicked in before I could even react. Pretty handy indeed.
By far, this is the best vehicle I’ve ever had.
I’m thinking about adding a new dog to my pack. Only remotely thinking about it, but I may go and meet this little guy.
His name is Brownie and he’s at the Cochrane Humane Society.
It says he’s good with other dogs, but he’d obviously need to meet Apollo before any final decision is made
He’s a mix, looks like he has German Shepherd in him. I’d probably change his name as well, I’m not overly fond of Brownie.
I may go take a look at him today.
I’ve got a rather busy 6 weeks coming up.
The next 2 are a bit slower, sticking to home for the most part.
A friend is visiting from Ontario September 14 and she’ll be here for a week. I then have a friend that I met on my cruise visiting from the 22nd through the 29th, he’s coming in from Miami.
I leave for my 16 day Hawaiian Cruise on September 30 and can’t wait for that. My sister in law has graciously offered to look after Apollo while I’m gone.
So, the next 6 weeks will absolutely zoom by.
I get home from the cruise October 16 and then will have some downtime. I’m thinking of another cruise in December. We’ll see about that.
Regardless, it’s gonna be a good time.
I’m planning very little if anything for the next two weeks until my friend visits from Ontario. She arrives on September 14 and is here for a week.
I’m not exactly sure what our itinerary is while she is here. We’ll do some Alberta sightseeing about the normal tourist spots. We are definitely going to Banff for a day, probably hitting up Drumheller and the Royal Tyrrell Museum. We might visit Crowsnest Pass and possibly Montana. Nothing, other than Banff is written in stone though.
Until then, I don’t plan on going very far at all. Groceries, Costco, that sort of thing is all I’m planning on doing. I’ll take Apollo to some dog parks as well of course.
She leaves the 21st then I’ll have just over a week until I leave for my second cruise, Hawaii for 16 days. That’ll be an epic trip I’m sure and I cannot wait. I get home on October 16. I’m thinking of another possible cruise in mid December, we’ll see on that.
My cousin is visiting over Christmas so that’ll be good as well. The year will be over before I know it I’m sure…
Apollo and I arrived home this morning around 7am. We logged a bit over 4000km in total.
The new car was absolutely amazing and I’m loving it.
We left Eagle Idaho yesterday around 630am and arrived in Coleman Alberta by 9pm. It was a rather long day of driving to be sure.
I wasn’t up to another 2.5 hours to get home, so Apollo and I got a hotel in Coleman and left this morning just before 5am. It was a peaceful drive home.
No more road trips for a bit. I have a friend visiting from Ontario September 14 for a week and we will drive about, but until then I really don’t plan on going anywhere.
Idaho is a beautiful state. High desert in the East part of the state and farmland and low mountain areas in the West. This is the first time I have been to the panhandle part of the state and it was a gorgeous drive North.
All in all, it was a great time.
Saturday was a nice and relaxing day. We started out going to a little restaurant for breakfast in a neighbouring town. I had biscuits and gravy, a dish that isn’t common at all in Canada. It was quite tasty.
We went to a waterfall in Twin Falls, it was a gorgeous drive. I didn’t go with the group for the afternoon activity, Apollo and I went back to the hotel and napped, it was glorious.
We had dinner at Dave’s place last night and he made excellent pasta sauce. I went to bed early, around 8pm, now I’m awake in the middle of the night (1:35am).
Today we are heading to Boise Idaho for a BBQ at my former bosses place with some ex-colleagues. I brought New York strips for the main course, others are bringing appetizers, desserts, etc. I’ll meet one of the ladies who used to work for me for the first time, so that’ll be cool.
We’ll start the trek home tomorrow evening, likely around 7pm. We’ll hunker down in some small town and a majority of the drive home will be completed Monday.
It’s been a great road trip and my car has exceeded all of my expectations. I’m looking forward to getting home tomorrow evening, I can get back into my normal routine.
We started the day in Helena Montana and headed out at around 6am for Yellowstone National Park.
We got there at 10am or so, through periods of pouring rain.
We didn’t stay long.
Admission to Yellowstone National Park would have cost us a total of $230 USD which is around $360 CDN, a bit expensive in our opinions. So, we turned around and headed towards today’s final stop, Twin Falls Idaho.
We just arrived shortly after 2pm and were able to check into our hotel early, our home for the next two nights.
We are heading out tonight, not totally sure of the plans, but I know it’s pet friendly so Apollo is welcome.
Unsure what’s happening tomorrow either really… Sunday we head to Boise Idaho for an afternoon BBQ then we head North to Canada.
I left Coleman Alberta this morning shortly after 9am, final destination of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. We didn’t quite make it all the way to Yellowstone, we are spending the night in Helena Montana at a motel, I was exhausted.
I had a great nap and now feel wonderful. I’ve had a bite to eat, Sasha made egg salad sandwiches and she’s ordering Chinese food and I’m going to have a couple of egg rolls.
After dinner we are zipping over to the local Dairy Queen. I’ll get Apollo an ice cream and I’ll get myself something, unsure what as yet.
We’ll head out first thing tomorrow, likely before dawn heading to Yellowstone National Park, we are about 4 hours away.
We are spending Friday and Saturday nights in Twin Falls Idaho and then heading to Boise on Sunday for a BBQ with former coworkers. We’ll head for home either Sunday night or stay in Boise Sunday night and head North Monday.
The new car has been an absolute pleasure to drive, I’m really loving it.
More later…
As I’ve written, I purchased a new car. It’s a 2026 Ford Bronco Sport Outer Banks Sasquatch Edition.
It was love at first sight. I drove it to Edmonton and back yesterday and I love it even more.
It’s got all the bells and whistles that a modern vehicle has. Adaptive cruise control, lane assist, auto high beams, automatic windshield wipers.
It’s comfortable to drive and it’s pretty fuel efficient. It’s a 3 cylinder engine but still has enough power to get the job done. It very comfortably cruised along at 140kph. Edmonton is a 3 hour journey, each way, so it was a decent test.
Today I leave for a much longer test drive – I’m heading to the US this morning, Wyoming and Idaho then the US West Coast to get home (Oregon and Washington). That’ll be a great test.
This is the first time since I was about 25 that I haven’t had a car payment as well. That’ll be a new and welcome experience.
Kevin's Ramblings... 