Wednesday, Sept 4 - We've had three fine days in Edmonton since arriving on Monday afternoon. We brought the sunshine into the lives of thousands, as until we got here, Edmonton has had a miserable summer, with rain almost every day, cool temperatures, and generally sinking morale. But upon our arrival, the sun came out, the days have been lovely and warm, and morale has suddenly gone through the roof. We await a call from the Mayor to give us the key to the city.

It has been a time of organization. We had to get the r.v. washed at a commercial truck wash place, as it was quite disgusting from the 3,500 kilometer trip to the Yukon, and get it organized for storage at cousin Bill Peterman's place. We had to pack bags for the trip to Vancouver, where we will go starting early tomorrow morning with our good friends Ken and Connie Marshall, who have been putting up with us, and putting us up, in cheerful and hospitable fashion. In addition, we have to pack for the 7 day cruise, the two days in Vancouver following the cruise, and the day or two returning the Edmonton. It is a complicated process, and has caused much head-scratching, trial runs to see if all of our bags will fit in the trunk of a car that has a big battery therein, hybred that it is. We also had a lovely time at lunch today with our wonderful Peterman cousins, hosted by cousin Terry. Great fun to see them all.

So all is in readiness. We have taught Ken and Connie how to play Rummikub, and have managed to have a wee draft of spirits while doing so. We watched Bianca reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open. Our bags are nearly all ready to go. All is therefore well with the world. We have a big gathering of DND teacher friends on Friday night in Vancouver, then board ship on Saturday for the 7 day cruise to Alaska. We'll likely be out of wifi contact, so this will likely be the last edition of lergailrambles for the next 10 days.

We hope all are well. We certainly are. Pray for good weather on the coast. Icebergs and whales await. More later. Stay tuned.