And Away We GO!

Last night was the final "Pickin'n'Grinnin" for us and it was full of a wonderful variety of musical instruments and styles, with some great blues numbers, an Oktoberfest yodel and neighbour Dave singing "Monster Mash" for Hallowe'en. There were 11 musicians and about thirty in the audience.

During coffee & cookies after the jam, we enjoyed a warm sendoff of hugs and best wishes . 

Weather is good (for now) so it seems we've  made a good decision to leave sooner than later....Arizona here we come!

Hallowe'en Dreaming

Today we spent a farewell afternoon and dinner with our daughter, son-in-law and two grandboys!

Weather has changed our departure plans and we are now set to leave Calgary on Oct 31 so we can avoid snow and below-freezing weather in the Alberta forecast for Nov 1, 2 and beyond.

Four year old Zach made drawings for the three jack-o-lanterns and gave them each a name. The red marks are the candles.

 

 

Pattern transferred to the pumpkins

 

 

We watched as each parent spent some time carving the faces; Zach was told to stay back from the sharp knife! 5 month old Magnus joined the party too. 

  

Before bedtime, we had a look at Zach's Mario Brothers costume, complete with a bushy moustache! After goodnight/goodbye hugs all around we are mindful that those would be the last until March when they expect to be in Phoenix for school break. It will be Face time until then....

Thoughts Before Leaving on Nov 2

~ Never travel with anyone you do not love ~

Ernest Hemingway 

And now....

for Something Completely Different!

After much discussion and dithering, we have made the decision to spend our winter in Phoenix, Arizona (like thousands of other Albertans!). Whew! That was a poser!!!!!

Primarily, we were looking to change up our bicycling experience; having passed through this part of the world many times, we knew that the area is much more conducive to cycling than South Texas in that there are miles of street routes and off-road paths. We'll even be able to find a few hills to climb!

Of course, we'll miss our friends at Paul's Park in Brownsville - especially Don & Kathy, who took us in from the first few days in December 2005.