The day started at about 0530hrs with Molly jumping on the bed while calling ” get up, get up, time to roll!”.
Marion had an early appointment so she was out the door by 0615hrs. A few minutes after that, Molly and I rolled out. While approaching Saratoga from the south I saw Larry rolling in from the north. We couldn’t have done that if we tried. The restaurant door was held open by a chair? We couldn’t stop laughing when we found out that one of the toasters had been squeaking and had been sprayed with WD40. The laughter became even more intense when while looking at maps, I managed to stick my finger into my coffee cup and spilt the entire thing on the table, the maps, the utensils, the seat, the backpack and just about anything else that was within a 3 meter radius. ( No customers were harmed during the ‘spill the coffee sequence)
(Greg taking a picture of Larry taking a selfie of us)
Other than the smoke filled skies, the ride to Red Deer was great. Up to the point where we had to find the new ‘temporary’ entrance to Gasoline Alley. Navigating through the construction, we found a spot to pull over and do a quick leg stretch.
Molly reminded us that no motorcycle trip through Calgary is complete unless we stop at Andrea’s Chrome Toys For Motorcycles.
Phil bought the company from Andre many years ago and has tried hard to change the name. But no matter how he tried, the name Andre stuck. Thanks Phil, the jell-seat is fantastic.
We continued east from Phil’s (Ande’s), and then south to Vulcan. After a quick lunch it was fitting that the Enterprise should meet the Starship Enterprise, so off we went.
(The Enterprise meets the Starship Enterprise).
Continuing south, we were astounded by the number of police vehicles we saw. Probably more than we have seen during 5 years of traveling the QE II. And smoke was showing no signs of abating.
About 50 km north of Lethbridge we encountered 40 – 50 know cross winds which made the riding a bit tough.
After checking in at the Coast Terrace and relaxing for a few minutes, we had an absolutely fantastic meal which I finished with a piece of Key Lime Pie which by itself was almost worth the ride. Time to hit the hay. Oh yes, the Coast Terrace here is very motorcycle friendly, they even have priority motorcycle parking on the sidewalk near the main front doors.
(535km)
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