Back from Calgary

Made it back in one piece, although not without mishaps. I "love" my old "Catmobile" that as mentioned is set up for the comfort of the cats. She has been maintained, but a trip over the Coquihalla exposed some "minor" issues. First issue was brought to my attention just as I had done the Coquihalla and gone down the long hill in Kamloops. The "brake" light came on and to make a long story short, the bad news was that there was a broken brake line and the good news was I found an absolutely fabulous garage in Jay's Automotive, located on Battle St. just off the main drag at the bottom of the Kamloops hill. I would recommend them to anyone and everyone who is on the road.  I limped in just before closing time and one of the young fellas volunteered to stay later and fix it. Brake fluid sprayed in his eye and working on the ground under the old girl and he had her fixed up in an hour and I was on my way for $110!!!!
Then in the middle of Salmon Arm I heard a "strange" noise and started to pull off a side street and then heard a great bang and back fire. Again, to make a long story short, the differential had dropped. I called Jay's 24/7 line for a recommendation on a good mechanic in Salmon Arm and also a UHaul as my path of last resort, when she dies for good, is to throw everything in a UHaul and carry on. He recommended Eric's Shuswap Automotive that has a good mechanic "and" a UHaul. Bliss!!!! A short tow to Eric's and I spent the night in my good old girl and Eric had a look at her in the morning (no, we're busy til next Thurs.) and was astounded to find that there was no damage at all to the drive shaft, but apparently someone who had looked at the diff, had left a bolt loose. He'd never seen anything like it in all his years of mechanicking. Thought he could have me on the road in an hour. Road test indicated a "new" sound, so he insisted in taking the shield off the big drum thing off and I got a good education on how the "pinion gear" rotates with the other gears. He was great in demonstrating how everything worked. He saw a bright spot which was a broken tooth in the pinion gear but explained that it uses 3 at a time, so she would be fine only she would have a "new sound". He fished out the broken tooth which I now have as a souvenir. $210!!!!
So, Jay's in Kamloops and Eric's Shuswap Automotive get my recommendation!!!
The voltage regulator went at the top of the Roger's Pass and I got to meet Annette and her husband who drive the tow truck between Revelstoke and Golden. Got lucky again in Golden as there was an early morning cancellation first thing the next morning and the guys at OK Tire had me on the road again in an hour even though I had them throw in an alternatior "just in case".
Smooth sailing in to Calgary. Good thing I had two extra days to get there.
The show was great. Cloud was the Second Best Cat in show with 11 Finals and Hobbit, the kitten got finals in all rings the second day of the show, once he caught on to the idea of showing and enjoying it.  I got to hang with my Grandaughter Jassenia who showed "her" cat Jassenia who should be #1 in the Regional Awards.
Also had a phenomenal meal at "Gaucho's" in Calgary compliments of my daughter Sherean and hubby Reuben, for my birthday. If you are a carnivor, that's the place to go. They rotate around all night long with every cut of beef on skewers as well as chicken, lamb and chicken hearts. All you can eat. It was wonderful.
After the show, headed to Lethbridge to see my oldest daughter Tina and the kids and to drop off some kittens to new owners. Had a great time and spent the day with the boys who are excelling in their hockey.  Even practiced some shots with them, for which I will take credit for Ty's shutout in Edmonton the following weekend!! (ha ha)
Headed home and made it to Kamloops again and noticed my lights were pretty dim, so camped in Jay's lot overnight and first thing (7:00 am) the fellow got on it and it turned out the alternator that OK Tire had put in was faulty, so they put in a new one on warranty and a new battery,  as well as checking out all my brakes etc. God Bless em'. 
So, lots of adventures and met lots of great people and the old girl is running like a deer up and down the longest hills.
Right now, am heading over to Vancouver to meet some new owners and be back tomorrow.