Day 1, the Snowbird Trip south for 2011

We are off to the sunny south, sure was cold & windy in Edmonton today, probably just so we would appreciate the warmer weather when we get there. We stopped in Devon to visit with Yvonne, Emma & Jules and collect the luggage we left there a couple of weeks prior, the Malibu has very limited capacity. It was a day of mixed emotions as we saw Phil, Char & Katy off to the airport for their return flight to England. We loved having them & the good-byes were hard this time, a time of sadness, but joy as we reflected on our time together. That old saying: "absence makes the heart grow fonder" was never more true. We were lucky enough to have Bill & Patti drive out with us, not sure where the luggage would have fit without them. Also it was nice to be able to say our good byes with them at the same time. Our time to head south is always joyous as we anticipate the good times we have with our numerous friends in Apache Junction & other parts of the sunny south. The trip from Edmonton was pretty uneventful, but we did fight strong winds for the first couple of hours. Stopped in Red Deer for Tim Hortons & fuel, it was ultra busy. Made it to Calgary by 4 PM & through in record time with very light traffic. The days seem a little longer here than at home as it never really got dark until Ft MacLeod. Roads were all dry & bare, even got to use the cruise control, which is unusal this time of year. Got a hotel in Lethbridge and there is a nice Italian restaraunt next door where we had dinner. Not as good as the one we enjoyed with the family at Earls last night, but still very nice. We will cross the border early tomorrow and hope to make it right through all the difficult mountain passes in Montana.