Calgary

We had a hard time tallying when we last were in Calgary.  We were thinking it may have been something like 2007.  In any case, it had been long enough that a great many things had changed.  There were new C-Train stops, refurbished shopping malls, extended and expanded freeways and brand new skyscrapers changing the downtown skyline.  Other things hadn't changed as much - traffic was still a nightmare, construction was omnipresent and the city maintained an air of hustle and bustle that gave you the impression that everyone was permanently busy, with somewhere to go and something to do.

We carried the good weather with us into town.  We stayed from Friday afternoon through Sunday evening, and while there was still small piles of ice in the shady corners of Ryan and Jenni's garden (from the previous night's hailstorm) when we arrived, it maintained a sunny 30+ C the rest of the way through our visit.  There really is no way you can complain about that.

We had a kind offer of room and board with our good friends Ryan and Jenni, which we took.  After a quick shower to wash off the last traces of camping, we got to spend some quality time with our godsons, Sam and Ben.  They've become little men, with interests in ninjas, Star Wars and strange little shapeshifting robots that turn into spheres.  We all piled into the minivan for a trip to the local Montana's for dinner.  Strawberry daiquiries, ice-cold Molson's and some chicken and rib combos quickly knocked what energy remained and we called it a night on the early side.

The next day started with a leisurely breakfast of Eggs Benny.  We got to watch little Ben work the iPad like a maestro, playing Cut the Rope at a level well-beyond the average 4 year old.  Having seen the iPad in action both at Hanneke and Jul's and now at Ryan and Jenni's we decided it was time to get on board, and all piled back in the minivan for a trip to the Apple store at Chinook Mall.  We used to go there all the time when we lived in Calgary, but it's all grown up now.  High end stores have moved in - Apple, Victoria's Secret, a variety of places to buy cupcakes (they're all the rage!), and many others.  The boys were interested in the Lego store, and they were amazingly well-behaved during the ridiculously long wait for service in the Apple store.

Done with the mall, we navigated through some particularly gnarly traffic to Bowness Park, one of the few Calgary parks to which we had never been.  Even though it was a little busy in the park, it was still quite serene.  Sam and Ben enjoyed seeing the ducks in the pond and, being twins, were ideally suited for the teeter-totter in the playground.  We walked back to the car along the river which hosted a huge number of people in all kinds of rafts, tubes and inflatables.  Apparently it's right up there with cupcakes as the thing to do.  And with the weather we were having, I could see why.

We went back to Tuscany for a BBQ dinner - some monstrous, and incredibly delicious, steaks, done to perfection, corn and asparagus.  While it probably would have been a good idea for us to do something to work off the calories, we instead put the iPad to work, dialing up Tara and Christian in Singapore on Skype.  It seemed like ages since we had all hung out together, and I guess that is probably because it has been at least that long.  We got thoroughly caught up.  I'm not quite sure when the variety of silly hats came in, or why, but they added to the atmosphere.

After the boys demonstrated their never-fail technique of several hundred high-speed laps around the coffee table as a pre-bedtime ritual, we broke out the crokinole table and proceeded to take our kindly hosts out behind the woodshed for an old-fashioned whuppin'.

Sunday morning started with good lie-in.  The fact that we could do this with a couple of 4 year olds in the house, proves once again what rock stars our godsons are.  Our last stop before moving on was another old favourite, Peter's Drive-in, for a burger and milkshake.  Not much had changed there, with the same amazing shakes being served.  It did seem as if a large fries tripled in size in the intervening years, but who's complaining?

After lunch we struck out for the deep south, to meet up with our old neighbours from the days on Bridlewood Avenue.  Natalie and Curtis hosted, with Gabrielle and Keigan (the entertainment for the evening) there to greet us as well.  Sean and Dee-ya soon arrived, with Jocelyn and Spencer .  The kids were soon fighting the heat with a hose and swimming pool, although their efforts to fill an entire garbage bag with water took the majority of the focus.

It was great to catch up with our friends again.  Good to hear that everyone was doing well and that life in Calgary was treating them well.  It certainly reminded us of the good ole days when a sunny weekend afternoon would almost certainly end up with all of us sitting on someone's deck or patio.  It reminded us of what you miss when move as often as we have - a chance to build really good, strong friendships with the people you live around.

After another delicious BBQ, with more baked beans than was probably good for two people with a 4 hour drive in front of them, we hit the road, headed for home.

We left a few friends unvisited, a theme we would have to revisit in Edmonton, and for that we are sorry.  Damn work, and its restrictive deadlines.