Saturday was one of the busiest and longest days that I think I’ve ever had in my 48+ years.

I decided that I wanted a trailer to be able to do some camping with the dogs.  I was also planning on using the trailer should I have had to move back to Ontario for a new job.  Seeing as I didn’t get the job, I won’t be using it for that, but that’s OK.

I searched the net and found what I was looking for, a Teardrop trailer.  They are small, lightweight (weight under 1000 lbs) and can be towed by pretty much anything.  I found a great small manufacturer in Spruce Grove, Alberta, just West of Edmonton and I arranged to pick up the trailer this past Saturday.

I left Coleman at 4:40AM for the 6-hour drive north.  I passed through Calgary and stopped to have breakfast with a friend.  We ate at a place on McLeod Trail, 99th Avenue Cafe.  Amazing breakfast, I had what was likely the best breakfast sandwich ever.  It was a triple-decker with bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ham and a fried egg, it came along with home fries that were also great and they filled my coffee to-go mug as well.  I headed back onto the road a little later than I wanted to, around 8:15AM.

The trip north was uneventful, traffic was very light.  Either my GPS failed me or the map link that the seller sent me was wrong (it was Apple Maps so I blame that) but I did not end up where I wanted to be.  I was able to text him my position and he came to meet me, I was only a few kilometers off, so it wasn’t too bad.  I took a look at the trailer I was buying and it met my needs.

We zipped to the bank and then I had to get to my appointment at uHaul to have a trailer hitch installed.  If you are ever in the market for a trailer hitch, don’t even bother going anywhere else.  They were over $100 cheaper than the next lowest quote and they do quality work.  The hitch was installed in under 2 hours.

In the meantime, my brother met me at the uHaul and we headed to South Edmonton to go to Little India for lunch.  Amazing food there.  We were a bit rushed though since I had to get a plate for the trailer and they were closing at 3PM.  So, back to the uHaul dealer, pick up the trailer and get the plates.  I also picked up a bike rack at the uHaul, that will come in handy.

Back at the trailer shop, I was shown all of the cool features and we hooked up to my car.  I drive a 2015 Ford Escape, my first Ford and I love it.  It pulled the trailer with ease, the trailer is only 8 feet long, and just slightly taller than my car so it did cause some drag on the highway.

I headed to my niece’s place, I had not yet met her son, my great-nephew, he’s going to be 4 in November.  I was planning on only staying for 30 minutes or so, that turned into 2 hours but it was a great visit.  I was planning on stopping at Crossiron Mills on the way home but I knew I wasn’t going to make it before they closed.

Instead, I stopped off in Olds, Alberta and met up with an old friend.  We did a bit of shopping, how exciting, at Canadian Tire and Walmart and then went to Dairy Queen for a bite to eat.  The chicken strips at DQ are out of this world good.  If you ever order them, forget the dipping sauce and order a side of gravy.  Amazing stuff, better than any chicken strips you will get in a pub.  I guarantee it.

I left there around 11pm, maybe a bit later and headed for the last leg to home.  I had about 3.5 hours to get home at this point.

I bought gas and 2 x 5-Hour Energy drinks and although I drank them both along with a large coffee and a vanilla latte, I was falling asleep along Highway 22.  Luckily, I had a trailer attached to my car and I pulled off at a road-side stop and slept for a bit over 4 hours.  A passing transport truck shook the trailer enough to wake me, it was shortly after 5AM.

I continued home and made it back by 7 in the morning, so, 26 hours after I had left.  My dogs were attended to on Saturday by Crowsnest Pet Care, they were visited 4 times in total, fed and let out and played with, but they were very happy to see me.  I had never left them all night before, but they were fine, of course, it was just me that felt guilty about it.

I slept until 11AM or so, I wanted to get up and watch the Bills game.  It took me some time to actually get out of bed and turn on the game.  I caused them to make an amazing come-back and win their season opener against the rival Jets.

I went to bed shortly after 8:30PM and slept through until my “normal” wake-up time of 4AM.  I needed the sleep.

All in all, a good but VERY busy weekend.  I am definitely getting too old to pull off all-nighters.  Speaking of all-nighters, I have another one coming up in October when I take the red-eye to Toronto.  I am sure I will have stories to tell then as well.