Day 1. After more than 6 months of intensive logistics and planning, the start of the trip is finally here.

 We flew from California to Calgary, Canada and drove to Banff National Park in Alberta.  We made it onto the plane as they were closing the door behind us.  Almost missed the very first flight – hoping that is not a bad omen for the rest of the trip.  Have to work on that one.

We stayed in the town of Banff in the Hidden Ridge Resort, a place just outside town center in a more rustic setting.  We hop a bus into town and eat at Boston Pizza.  No were not home sick yet but we realized that in the crowded in-season, finding a restaurant that can seat a party of 7 without a reservation becomes the biggest factor in where you eat.  

The long summer is here. Walking back from the bus back we realize that it’s still fully light out at 10pm having had a warm and sunny day. The long summer also refers to how we planned the trip itinerary.  We are zig-zagging around trying to avoid extreme cold weather for the first 6 months of the trip.  Aside from Nepal, we are hoping winter in Sydney and northern New Zealand is the coldest we get.

You will notice Game of Thrones (GOT) references in my posts.  Leanne and I started watching GOT season 1 together in March as our escape from the insanity of planning this trip on top of the normal day-to-day activities.  We are up to Season 8 Episode 2 when we left for the trip so we still need to get through 4 more episodes.