Sawridge Hotel Fort McMurray

We made it home safely. The -21 C temperature coming off the plane last night was a little bit of a shock to the system. We were delayed by the snow in Toronto but luckily the held our flight from Edmonton to Fort Mac for us. We look forward to seeing everyone again and sharing a few pictures with you. André & Gina

Alright, so after spending most of the night watching the Broncos get blown out, I am pretty much done packing. Follow along with our trip as Gina and I head out to the long lost continent of Madagascar. I'll try to keep the blog up to date as best as I can based on internet availability. The cab comes at 4:30am...time for bed. André

Still at work in Fort McMurray, just counting down the days. The days are already getting noticeably shorter. The days of 24 daylight are over. The mornings are getting crisper. Fall is definitely on it's way. I think Chase has lost his mind up at Diavik. We're ready for a vacation!!

As we pack our bags, check our lists and get things in order it is only a week before we leave. This entry is to serve only as a test that this blog and the address book is working. We hope to be able to do some entries once we leave on our journey. Downloading pictures may be a bit hopeful but we will try!! The countdown is on L

Hey Guys, Just a quick note to let you know what's going on. I got laid-off today (I was kind of expecting it a few days later but whatever) so I'll be coming home soon! I'll be heading back to Ontario on Monday and stopping in Toronto to visit my sister for a couple days. I'm not upset about the lay-off, in fact I'm kind of glad because I'm sick of the job. Drop me a line if you want to hang out in the next couple of weeks! Ciao! Jess

... we're comfortable, we may more on to one for each day of the week. Until then, we can formulate sentences and have small conversations in French, we know our basic words and phrases in Arabic, and we're just getting started in Spanish, but quickly on our way to the same level as French! - Find couches to sleep on in each country we visit. What can be cheaper budget accommodation that free? We plan to use websites like couchsurfing.com, globalfreeloaders.com, ect ...

... again. This past weekend we went to Edmonton, Calgary and Banff. Friday we went to the waterpark at the West Edmonton Mall and got in cheap because people were selling tickets at $20 each and the rest of us got a 'family' pass so it was about the same amount. Saturday morning we drove down to Calgary where we went to Elbow Falls and went cliff jumping. It was really fun ...

... so we basically have one giant room. Aden and Paul started work on Tuesday and Sierra and I started on Wednesday. We began with orientation for the morning then we got coveralls and our foreman Eric (Eric Foreman?!) drove us to the job site and gave us a tour and our PPE (Personal Protection Equipment). He told us what we'd be doing and showed us where we'd be working. Our crew is in Coker ...

... were layed off. I was upset by this, but I have to admit, happier it wasn't me. I'm not ready to go yet. I could use atleast another month to recover from my last few months off. Still, I am curious see how things will be when we get back. I am on a cable pulling crew. Our post layoff leftovers are to be merged with another cable crew. I am looking forward to this actually. The days were beginning to blend, so any new dynamic is welome.

... and turned on..the television. Nice. So now I am up too. SO BAD did I wanna be able to go back to sleep. My whole body knew it would be the right thing to do, but it was not to be so. I fought the reality for a bit, but by 5:00am, we were back on the road. Still dark and the roads were still bad, but less traffic. Daylight would come soon and the tension of driving would subside. A little. I am happy to report we made it home safe. Cheated death again.