November 8th

7pm: A day off today & so what am I doing on a plane? Well flying it actually, this was the rather wonderful Xmas present that Nicky had given me last year. A session on the flight simulator near Calgary Airport. An amazing experience as the thing is so life like, it moves around & you actually fly over Calgary, or Canmore or in this case sit on the runway at Vancouver having just landed. I really enjoyed it, great fun at the end when the kids came & joined me - they thought they were actually flying. I had taken a single real flying lesson back in about 1999 in London & loved it, even thought about getting my pilot's license. We ended up taking Tabby for Sushi at the Sushi boat restaurant in Calgary because let's not forget, it was her sixth birthday today!! Tabby had spent the morning in a private pottery making class, i think she enjoyed that as much as I did my aviation experience.

November 2nd

 

9am. Vancouver bound & on the runway at YYC yet again, how many flights this year  still more to come! Still a nice day for it.



October 17th

10am - I took an early flight keen to get home & to see the family, the sun shone all the way & I had a great view of Calgary shining in the morning sun as we flew in, but the best view was looking straight down as we made our final descent from the east.

October 14th

 

8am Calgary Airport & this is my never-to-be plane heading to Vancouver. We boarded as normal but then sat there for an eternity before the captain informed us that the computer on the plane was broken. Dutifully we de-planed & waited for a replacement, I arrived in Vancouver hours later - but better to find out the computer was down while at the gate then 38,000ft over the Rockies I guess.



August 25th

11pm: Nicky has headed back across the Atlantic for her dad's 70th birthday. I am going to attempt to work around the kids - Tabby is at an art camp, Charlie is heading for the first time to daycare - not sure he is going to like it. We will find out tomorrow, as you can see Nicky is somewhere between Canada & Greenland as we speak...

July 30th

8pm: Here I am coming in the opposite direction, heading west from Toronto to Calgary. Calgary has been plagued by violent thunderstorms all summer, and tonight was no exception - we dodged the worst of it coming into land, but it was still a very bumpy ride. This is probably over Drumheller. we are aiming for the patch of light, but hitting mostly angry storm clouds!

July 27th

8.30pm: Here I am somewhere over Eastern Manitoba on my way to Toronto for a few days work. Lovely evening for flying, this is an Air Canada plane - i am switching allegiance from Westjet to AC in a vain attempt to rack up some frequent flyer points!

May 25th

9.30am: On board  Westjet flight across to Vancouver we flew directly over Canmore, the valley itself shrouded in misty cloud but down there in the bottom right hand corner is my street & probably house, marked with an x. It was a busy day in Vancouver, lots of interviews to conduct............

April 15th

9.15am: My Air Canada plane is leaving Calgary Airport on a beautiful morning, not a speck of ash in the sky unlike Europe with it's misbehaving Icelandic volcano. We worked hard and late in Vancouver but finished the day with a superb Indian meal at Maurya - the best I have had in North America.

March 20th

 

8pm: I was pretty tired after a busy week & devoid of inspiration, but with such a cloudless sky, the vapour trail of this Westbound jet looked pretty neat as I glanced up from our back garden.

March 4th

4.30pm: I *think* this is the top of Mount Baker which peaks at 11,000 feet. The mountain, actually volcano, is located in the state of Washington which makes sense as we departed initially on a south-eastern heading out of Vancouver on the short hop back to Calgary. A glorious day in BC & Alberta & an unusually smooth ride through what is normally a bumpy air corridor.

February 5th

2.15pm: Toronto Airport. Finally the plane that would take me home, after the best part of two weeks on the road. I had a great time, visited New York caught up with wonderful friends & enjoyed myself with my work colleagues - a really nice bunch of people - however I need to get back & see Nicky, Tabby & Charlie & resume life in the Rockies!!

January 14th

Heading home, an unusual route took us right over downtown Calgary, happily basking in the warmth of a chinook. A lot of the snow had melted in the 4 days I was away. The Bow River is clearly visible, if somewhat frozen - to the north of the downtown core. Princess Park Island in the centre of the river a fantastic setting for the Calgary Folk Festival in July which will draw huge crowds, (& us), to see some top names perform.

January 11th

Leaving Calgary on a Westjet Boeing 737 - 4 days work in Vancouver & Victoria ahead of me. This is shortly after an early morning take-off as the plane climbs out of Calgary, heading westwards towards The Rockies. The sprawling southern Calgary suburbs below..........