Live. Travel. Play.

On Saturday, we purchased a small plant that will travel with us on our road trip. We first went to the local greenhouse to get some expert advice on a hearty plant that could survive the trip. The nice lady at the greenhouse politely listened to our hair-brained idea and examined the tiny white flower pot that we just bought from the “AS-IS” section at IKEA. She pointed out some sad-looking succulents (they were 50% off), but after considering the harsh conditions that we would likely put it through (debilitating summer heat, bumpy roads, changing environmental conditions), she eventually concluded: “Maybe a silk plant would be your best option.” I didn’t like that answer.

After hitting a bunch of garden centres, we finally found a beautiful, flower-shaped, 3-inch-wide succulent that fit perfectly in the little white pot. Gregor created a special hook for it to hang off the kitchen gutter of our van. After potting it and admiring the plant’s cuteness, I started to get really anxious about its survival. “What if it doesn’t make it?” I would feel really bad if it died on the trip. I drove Gregor crazy with my worry-wart questions: “Will the stem handle the wobbling of the van? What if we go hiking for 6 hours and it shrivels in the heat? Is the hook strong enough to hold the pot? What if we hit a really nasty bump on the road?”

To ease my fears, Gregor suggested that we take the plant for an afternoon test drive today. We drove south of Calgary to Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail), then took McLean Creek Trail north through gravel, mud, and potholes. We ended up in Bragg Creek and came back to Calgary in the rain. The plant barely shook the entire trip and appeared shock-free when we came back home. I was so happy!