After packing the car last night, we were all set for the start of our trip this morning. Shortly after waking up, we locked up the house and headed to Toronto Pearson Airport.

We booked a flight leaving shortly after 9 AM, so we would still have most of the day available on arrival in Calgary. Our flight was delayed by about an hour, but after a leisurely breakfast in the lounge, we headed to the gate and were on our way.

Because we liked the product so much before, we booked a flight operated by a 787 with Air Canada’s new business class pods, which we find very comfortable. The flight may only be about 4 hours in length, but we like to be comfortable nonetheless. Here we are getting settled for the flight.

As you can see from the photo below, the weather today in Toronto is nice and sunny as we are about to take off.

Here is a video looking out the window from my seat, as we’re flying just about the level of the clouds.

Upon arrival in Calgary, the visibility was much different from Toronto. While the weather was OK, it was very hazy from the smoke blowing in from the wildfires in BC, and the city smelled a bit like a campfire. After picking up our rental car, we made our usual stop at the Sobeys for some groceries, and then headed west toward Banff.

It was a bit cloudy when we arrived in Banff. We pulled up to the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, which is our usual place to stay. We checked in, and the hotel once again gave us our usual suite, which will be our home for the next 4 nights.

After getting unpacked, we headed outside to walk around the grounds before dinner. We had reservations at Castello, which is our favourite restaurant in Banff.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner and relaxed for the evening just taking in the mountain views.