Looking at the weather on Monday, April 1, I decided I'd better head to Calgary on Tuesday, a day early, because the weather will get worse starting on Wednesday and then my planned flight day of Thursday looks like it will be very snowy - a typical Calgary spring ‘upslope’ storm that can be quite nasty. Hopefully I'll change my departure from Calgary to Wednesday to avoid a mess.  Air Canada will allow no-fee changes due to weather, but only once the issue shows up on their 'Dally Travel Outlook'. 

I had a mad dash to get ready. A complicating factor is the Toronto is also predicted to have bad weather - lots of wind and rain, and maybe snow too. Oh well, if I don’t end up changing my flight, I have lots of shopping and errands to do in Calgary, and loads of people I could visit with. But fingers crossed I’ll get out of Alberta before the snow flies.

It seemed funny to be stressing about bad weather when was so lovely at the time. I got in a 50 km road ride late in the afternoon. The temperature was 19 C, and my daffodils were in full bloom.  Ah, spring weather.  It's not to be trusted.

April 2. Revelstoke to Calgary

I went ahead with my annual dental checkup in the am, then left for Calgary around noon. It was a great day for a drive. Would’ve been a perfect day of spring skiing at Lake Louise. En route, I received the terrible news that the sister of one of my travel companions was struck by a car and killed earlier in the day while she was walking. Obviously, my friend's participation in the trip is uncertain. And suddenly, my weather delay concerns are put into perspective.

I had a great visit with Gail and Steve in Calgary, and a delicious dinner too. Shortly after I arrived, I saw that the lousy weather forecasts in both Alberta and Ontario had been acknowledged by Air Canada. After a long wait on hold, a very nice customer service rep changed my flight to Toronto to April 3 but kept Lisbon the same, April 4, allowing it only because I assured her that Air Canada didn't have to provide a hotel room for me in Toronto.  If it works out and my flight isn’t delayed, I’ll now have over 24 hours in Toronto. If the weather isn’t too terrible, I’ll rent a car and drive 90 minutes north to Collingwood to see my mom and sister. The bonus of that is I could then drive Wendy to the airport, saving her husband the round trip.

April 3 Calgary to Collingwood

I woke to nice weather. It sure looks like departing Calgary won’t be a problem - today the issue is in on the Toronto end, with wind and rain, and possible snow. Steve kindly drove me to the airport. It was a low-stress early arrival at the airport. My afternoon flight started boarding right on time, but was halted halfway through due to a ground stoppage in Toronto, apparently due to high winds. I was first in line at the time of the stoppage, and was happy to be stuck in the airport rather than already on the plane.

Turning back from the gate, I was thrilled to discover that the adult daughter of good friends was also on my flight. She was on her way to Barcelona where she’ll take advantage of her mom being there on a work trip. What a great opportunity. Hadley and I had a nice chat while we waited out the weather in Toronto.

After a 30 minute delay, they boarded the rest of us. It was an easy flight and I laughed my way through Paddington 2. I’m not surprised to hear it has a 99% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I wonder who the curmudgeon reviewer is who didn’t like it.

I decided that there was low likelihood of being snowed in at Collingwood, so drove up north. The rain turned to snow for the last 15 km or so of my drive, but it wasn’t sticking to the ground. I was happy to arrive to a nice bowl of homemade soup.

April 4 Collingwood to Lisbon

We woke to discover that the overnight snow hadn’t amounted to much. The 90 min drive back to the airport won’t be a problem. Phew.

I had lunch with my mom and then managed a nice nap before leaving for the airport for our late night flight. Five of us will fly together, including Tricia, whose family urged her to go on the trip despite a family tragedy earlier in the week. Betty is on another plane heading for Lisbon tonight also from Toronto. And then Leslie won’t leave til tomorrow night.

Our 11 pm flight departed late on a completely full plane. After 3 days of travel in 3 time zones, my body clock is quite messed up already. And we haven’t even gotten overseas yet.