Western Canada Road Trip

COVID Travel
If you are reading this you likely know that we are still living the location independent lifestyle. With no travel outside of the country, then no travel outside of our home Province of British Columbia, then no travel outside of the region of British Columbia we were in, we were beginning to go stir crazy. The last 18 months have been tough on everyone and although COVID is showing no signs of going away completely, restrictions have started to loosen up, so we decided to do a Western Canadian road trip.

Final Road Trip For One of Us
We decided to take almost two months in our 2010 GMC Terrain on its final (yes we just bought something new) road trip. After 11 years and 210,000 km’s the old girl has treated us very well and we’ll miss her. Our Terrain has taken us through 4 provinces and 36 states with only a few roadside mishaps, and nothing serious. We are looking forward to the new technology and of course more comfortable seats after 11 years. We pick up our new 2021 Subaru Forester Touring Edition this week.

Western Canada Road Trip
So where did we go?

We left from Kelowna and visited pretty much every city with a population over 250,000 on the way to and from Winnipeg:

Revelstoke, BC – 1 night
Calgary, AB – 1 night
Red Deer, AB – 2 nights (working with Innisfail Golf Club)
Edmonton, AB – 2 nights
Saskatoon, SK – 2 nights
Regina, SK – 2 nights (working with Wascana Country Club)
Winnipeg, MB – 17 nights (with family)
Regina, SK – 1 night
Medicine Hat, AB – 1 night
Okotoks, AB – 1 night
Calgary, AB – 3 nights
Panorama, BC – 7 nights
Cranbrook, BC – 1 night (Golfed at St. Eugene Resort)
Nelson, BC – 2 nights (Golfed at Kokanee Springs)
Kelowna, BC – 3 nights
Mabel Lake, BC – 7 nights (working with and golfed at Mabel Lake Golf & Airpark)
Kamloops, BC – 3 nights
Kelowna, BC – 35 nights (our home for now)!

Our Favourites
Most of our travel decisions are based around either our timeshares (Panorama) or Marriott Hotels (in downtown locations). It’s how we like to travel and combine our work/ lifestyle at the same time. Here is our top five (6) locations and why…

Calgary Marriott Downtown – Fantastic location and great views of the city. The bar and lounge are fantastic and the hotel is in close walking distance to many, many restaurants and pubs. We love the vibe of this hotel and make a point of staying there whenever we are close by. If you have never had an Old Fashioned (or love them) this hotel is the place to have one.
Edmonton Airport Marriott Renaissance – This is arguably our favourite hotel that is just a hotel, restaurant and lounge. We went out of our way to stay at the airport for two nights, parked the car and never left the airport. The hotel has so many amenities there is no reason to leave. Always great and one of best hotel experiences you will ever have!
Mabel Lake Condo – We stay in a lake view condo twice per year, and it is spectacular. Two bedroom, two bathroom with a balcony and the view is unbeatable! It is walking distance to the golf course with pizza that will rival any pizza you have ever had.
Panorama Embarc (timeshare) – Very Whistleresk accommodations. There is a great hot tub that you can take your own beverage down to (and has no kids allowed). It is quiet and a good place to relax for a week and get some work done.
Nelson Best Western Prestige – This is a relatively new hotel, with good food and river views but nothing overly special. We really like Nelson though as it is a very walkable town on the river with lot’s of great restaurants and pubs to visit. We have also stayed at the Hume hotel and the Adventure hotel on previous visits but none have really won us over.

Honourable Mention (who is the real #1 of course)
Momma Knight’s house (Tara’s Mom), who welcomes us in every time we are in Winnipeg. Fridge full, bar stocked, bed good, sports package alaways available on TV. What else do you need?

We, Jeff and Tara Ciecko of CK Golf write two blogs, one is our 19th Hole Blog where we share personal experiences and the other an Industry Blog where we comment on general business and internet marketing best practices, sales strategies and give golf industry related opinions. We have owned CK Golf for 12 years and provide business services to the golf and other industries. As of July 31, 2016 our life and our business became ‘location independent’. Our 19th Hole Blog is about the places we visit and the things we do. If you have any questions or comments, or happen to be in the same location as us please reach out and contact us anytime.