Calgary, Alberta, Canada

We found ourselves heading to Canada this past weekend!

Calgary to be exact.

This past week I grew overwhelmingly excited for the fact that my passport had FINALLY arrived and we couldn't pass up a chance to get out of the country.

Even though it was a hop, skip and a jump north,  we still had the experience of getting through customs and handling foreign currency. All of which were like stepping stones for our hopeful adventures remaining this summer. 

You'd think by now we'd have this travelling thing figured out. For the most part, I think we do.

This weekend though....we forgot the simplest of details.

Which was to check the city website to see what events are happening.

If we would have done this, we would have known that it was the start of the Calgary Stampede.

We literally didn't pick up on this tidbit until we went to the Calgary Tower and the woman told us that in an hour they would be bringing a HORSE up to the observation deck! A HORSE?!?!

So here's the easiest way to break down our trip, we did the following, in order: Calgary Tower - think Seattle Space Needle, but in Calgary. It sits 525 feet above the ground and gives you an AMAZING view of the beautiful city!

Within the Calgary Tower, they have 36 feet long glass floor that you can look down from - what a rush!

Here are a few pictures of the view:

This is the Saddle Dome - you can see part of the Calgary Stampede celebration around it.

After we left the tower, there was all sorts of parades going on - but sadly, no pictures of any of them.

They had a horse parade, band parade and then an Indian parade.

We found a little Irish pub that served breakfast and had outside seating. The food was quite yummy!

While we were enjoying our food, we had the entertainment of a square dance band and show along with being greeted by these fancy creatures...

This last one is a favorite! My dad makes a face exactly like this!

I couldn't help but laugh at this mascot!

After breakfast, we toured around a little bit and then were off on a hunt for plaid!

We were so out of place with our plaid-less shirts and no cowboy hats...so we were on the hunt.

After shopping success, we headed down to the big event of it all!

There were rides, carnival games, lots of food and tons of animals!

We stopped by to see the horses and miniature donkeys first.

Horses come in many different sizes....for example...

BIG

or

small

The miniature donkeys were adorable, but as the announcer mentioned "they have a longer lifespan than most marriages, so choose your donkey wisely". :)

We wanted to scoop one up for Mom Haderlie, but didn't think it would clear through customs, instead we thought pictures would do...but we quickly realized they are a little camera shy...

We went looking around at the games and rides, but it quickly started to rain.

We still stuck it out and endured a little rain...

Right after we took this picture it started to down pour.

We decided to call it a day.

Calgary has so much to offer!

We even picked up a bit of the lingo while we were there!

Like...

G'day! = Hello!

Clicks = Kilometers (in distance)

Washrooms = Bathrooms (yes, they are labeled this EVERYWHERE)

These are just to name a few!

We had an early flight home Sunday and even scored first class!

We made it home just in time to watch the World Cup Final!!

Did you watch it??

It was UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

Give up!

Mat has a really neat video of his landing from the test flight that we have been trying to upload...

and we give up!

It doesn't want to load....even after HOURS of it trying to.

It's too big of a file and takes forever.

If anyone has suggestions on how to get it uploaded, we'd greatly appreciate it!!

Thank you!

:)

All in a Day's Work

So, this is the first time in my whole life that I have ever blogged.  I think its cutesy when Jen does it to share our adventures with everyone, but today I get to tell you about an adventure I had to take by myself.

Last week, I was asked if I wanted to go on a "test hop."  Heck ya!!!!  For starters a "test hop" is a test flight of an airplane.  After maintenance, especially after work on flight controls, the plane goes on a test flight to make sure everything operates the way it is supposed to.  I was pumped about the invite.

I had a 6am training session for my flight training on Friday morning that finished about noon.  I had lunch and then at 1pm I met up with Rich, one of the flight test guys.  We drove over to the hotel to pick up the other test flight pilot and then to the maintenance hanger.  As we walked in, here is what I saw.

The Boeing 737-700.  It was magnificent to be able to walk up to this thing and touch it.  I walked all around in amazement of how big it is and how majestic it looks.  Here are some more pics.

Head to Tail

The Power Plant

The Spinner

As we checked with the mechanics to make sure everything was ready to go, we did some visual checks to make sure all the hydraulics were operating properly.  One pilot sat up in the front seat and the other guy and I stood outside to verify that all the controls were doing what they were supposed to be doing.  As we started this process, the lovely Houston rain started.  Due to the recent hurricane, we have been getting some serious rain.  It got serious enough that the airport shut down for an hour and a half. That makes a mess for everybody trying to get in and out.  So as we waited for the rain to lighten and for the airport to open, I took some time to take more picture and pester the mechanics with all sorts of questions about the airplane.

Under the Right Main Gear

Landing Gear Bay, there is a ton of crap in here!!!

As long as the engine isn't running, this make a pretty good seat.

I didn't realize how much these tugs weighed.  This "little guy" weighs in at 30,000 lbs and has a 3,500 hp engine to pull aircraft around with.

As we waited, they pulled this pig into the hanger next to us.  This is a B 777.  It's about 3X the size of a 737!!! I got to go walk around it and go into the cockpit.  This thing is enormous!!!

So, we waited our hour and a half, then the rain let up and the opened the airport.  We jumped in and were pulled out to the taxi way.  We sat there doing the preflight checks and tried to convince the air traffic controllers to let us out.  For a test hop, it's usually really quick.  They go out over the Gulf, do their test and come right back in.  With all the delayed and crazy traffic, we were told at 7pm that we wouldn't be able to get out until 11pm.  Crappy.

They hooked the tug back up and pulled our plane back into the hanger for the night.

At 6:30 am on Saturday, I showed back up at the hanger ready to go.  The weather was much nicer and ATC (Air Traffic Control) wasn't busy at all.  We did a quick walk around and got loaded up.  The tug pulled us out and we were on our way.  During this, I got to sit in the "jump seat."  That is a 3rd seat in the cockpit that doesn't have access to any controls, but you get to look out the front window.

We got our clearance and fired up the engines.  It was us 3 in the cockpit, and then 3 mechanics went along, more for the ride than anything.  We taxied out onto the runway and started our takeoff roll.  Usually with a fully loaded aircraft the lift off speed is around 140 knots (approximately 160 mph).  As light as we were, our lift off speed was 116 knots (approximately 135 mph) and our climb rate was awesome!!!  These planes have tons of power anyways, but with an empty airplane, it can go!!!

We climbed up to 15,000 feet and headed out over the Gulf.  The flight test was to check the hydraulic system and then to turn it off and make sure the manual backup was set up properly.  It passed with flying colors and we were on our way back. 

He made our way back into Houston's airspace and got our landing clearance for runway 27.  This is the same runway Jen and I like to sit at the end of and watch planes land.  Here is what it looks like...

...stay tuned for the video...due to technical difficulties it wouldn't upload....

From lift off to parking it was a total of 41 minutes. A pretty quick flight and since the plane passed, we didn't take it back to the hanger, instead we took it to the gate where it was going to go back on the line in a few hours.  We taxied it to the gate and there is where we left it.

What a ride.  To be able to sit up front in a very light airplane is an unreal experience.  I can't wait till I get paid to do this stuff!!!!!!

...a quiet 4th of July with family & farms...

A sunset from Waco, Texas.

I love the sunsets we've seen in Texas. Each one very different, but still breathtaking.

We've had a lot of rain the last week (spun off of Hurricane Alex) and our friend, the sun has been missing.

This last weekend though he blessed us with beautiful rays and warmth.

For the fourth of July, we stayed close to home. Mat went on a "test flight" first thing Saturday morning (keep checking back - he wants to actually do a blog post about it!) and I just finished with finals. We have been constantly going every weekend so we forgot what an actual Saturday felt like. It was nice to have a little time just "hanging out" before we were off and running for the weekend.

First, he headed straight for the north side of Houston to see Aunt Debbie & Uncle Frank, they live on a farm that reminds me of a "hidden treasure". It sits about an hour outside of the city and at the end of this gravel-like road. They had just done some canning and we scored candied jalapenos, dill pickles and HOMEMADE SALSA!! It has a kick, but is incredible!! Mat really liked the candied jalapenos and I'm scared to even give them a try. Just a small sniff burnt my nose! :) 

We then drove even further north to Hewitt, Texas (it's neighbors with Waco) to spend the night with Aunt Jeanne and Uncle George. The morning of the 4th, Uncle George and Mat ran off to the farm. Mat was tickled as can be! He came back telling me how we shot his gun, caught some bass and got to see Uncle George's trains. He was all set for the day!

Then we had a HUGE dinner full of brisket, potato salad, baked beans, etc. It seems to be the Texas way to have brisket on the 4th rather than hamburgers or hot dogs. :) It was sooo good! Our cousin, Jamie even stopped in and brought her two adorable kiddos! It's been so nice to see our Texas family more and more, we are looking forward to the day when we will live closer to them. For now, it's nice to have a place to run to when we need a break from the city. :)

Aunt Jeanne also loaded us up with a TON of leftovers! We're definitely set for the week!

Before we left town, I wanted to see the farm. Uncle George and Aunt Jeanne are building a house there and I was curious to see where everything would be. It was beautiful and you can't hear the city noise, it will be the perfect retreat. Mat was thrilled because of all the fish he was catching!

I even gave it a go, but as soon as I handed the pole back to Mat (after I didn't catch anything) he just casted a line and a fish jumped right on! It was pretty comical! I stuck to taking pictures after that.

Speaking of...

 

This is the farm with Aunt Jeanne and I fishing.

Mat showing off one of his many fish.

And another...

That's all of 'em!

And as we were driving back home, we saw multiple firework shows light up the sky!

The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, growing up in a military related family, I have a deep appreciation for all of those who have or still are serving our country.