We’re in Kelowna now, just getting a few things done before heading out to the Drake in Canmore for our first show on the road. The van needs an air filter, the gear needs to be sorted and packed, and so on like that.

Oh yeah, we have a real van now. That’s been a bit of an episode this summer. We didn’t think the good ol’ Mazda sedan would necessarily make another trip - it was straining pretty hard on the hills already last time - and a few weeks ago we got a minivan. We loaded up the trailer and hooked it up to the minivan to go rehearse in Kelowna for a few days. Didn’t make it over the mountain. Did some repairs, did another test run… no luck.

With a week before the tour and no vehicle, it was a bit unnerving, but Marcus managed to get a line on a very good deal on a gently used passenger van. And that’s what we’re driving. It’s, erm, definitely bigger than the minivan, though apparently the mileage shouldn’t really be that much worse than the Mazda. It’s going to be nice to have more leg room, and eventually we can bring more people when we need to (anyone need a lift somewhere along our route)?

I’m just flexing my blogging muscles here… a little out of practice. Oh, and there was a bit of an episode with my computer last week, too… complete hard drive crash, had to have the drive replaced. Lucky for me I was running Apple’s Time Machine, so I could restore the drive almost like nothing had happened… but it was a pretty tense two days. Still, better to have it happen at home than in Medicine Hat, all things considered!

Anyway, we’re rested and well fed (courtesy of Todd’s parents) and ready to roll.

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