The Journey Begins

Welcome to my blog, "The Great Dolan Adventure," which will detail and document some of our journey during our move to and time in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. First let it be said that I am not a writer by nature or nuture, but I will do my best.

I chose the blog's title because that was the word that came up time and again in conversations about our move, that it would be an adventure.

We left town on April 1st, and it was not an April Fool's joke, although it felt like it somewhat. Another day or two in Portland would have been nice, if only to rest up and visit before the journey ahead. But Dennis needed to be at work in Calgary on Monday the 4th, so by 5pm we were on the road, having cleaned (thanks in a great part to the wonderful help of my mother-in-law, Sue) my entire house almost top to bottom.

We travelled a few hours to Kennewick, Washington and spent the night. An uneventful trip. Although we did discover that we stayed at the same hotel our friend Trent W. stayed at when he was driving trucks.

Saturday we travelled to THE BORDER. I put that in caps, because if you're aware of all the "fun" we had trying to get the paperwork to get our cars across the border, you'll understand. If you're not aware, I'll bore you some other time with the tale of woe. But make it across the border we did, after some discussions that left us still wondering if we needed all the documentation we had to get our cars, ourselves and our stuff across. Things are confusing (for us AND Border Patrol & Customs) when your husband is on a two-year assigment.

If we thought the fun was trying to get across the border, we were in for a great surprise, as what we didn't know was we were about to hit a mini-blizzard! I've driven in worse, but not on an unfamiliar, two-lane highway. What "fun." After a couple hours we got through it and spend the night in Cranbrook in Eastern BC, where we discovered that Friday they were hit with unexpected snow. A lot of it! Calgary, too.

Sunday got us back on the road and by 4pm we were in Calgary, touring our new home. I feel like I'm in a dream, or playing house, or borrowing someone's vacation home. This house is unlike anything I've ever imagined living in, and even though we are only renting, it's still amazing. We are very thankful to Dennis' employer for giving us a housing allowance that allows us this home.

That's the journey to Calgary. I'll continue the story of our first week tomorrow. Until then, stay safe and thanks for coming along for the ride.

Holly