Van Fans

Okay, maybe we should have anticipated that technical difficulties might arise when attempting to blog from hostel lobbies and remote island lodges ... but we're frustrated nonetheless. So we'll return to the Rocky Mountain montage when our technology is cooperative. In the meantime, I'll tell you about Vancouver! We love you, Vancouver. Let us count the ways:

1) Your beaches. Lisa, our gracious host, lives a hop-skip from Kitsilano Beach. A city where you can live (on a student budget) steps from the Pacific? Points. We spent our first full day in Vancity lounging around working on our tans (stop laughing - I actually have one right now) and swimming in the giant lane pool - I did a total of 4 lengths and that was a pretty solid workout. HP and I have also done some great morning runs gulping in ocean air. Could definitely get used to this!

2) Your food. We've been spoiled by incredible vegetarian dishes (Naam...ate there twice), sushi, fresh (giant) fruit and hot chocolate that I'm pretty sure was just a piece of dark chocolate melted into a mug. After two weeks of eating at truckstops and fast food joints, it felt good to ward off the scurvy with some vitamins. Having lactose-free and gluten-free dietary restrictions in our mix usually means very few options, but VanCity delivers for all your weirdo-health-nut food needs! Points.

3) Your weather. Okay, so we've been advised to come back in the winter before we move our lives out here ... and the abundance of stores dedicated to rain gear have us a bit concerned ... but seriously. It's been perfect.

4) Your outdoorsiness. Vancouver folk definitely appear to be fitter in general. And makes sense - all you want to do is be outside. We definitely upped the activity levels in Van - a day of biking through Stanley Park, running, swimming, movies in the park (even couch potato activities are outdoorsy here!). We put ourselves through the infamous Grouse Grind, a gruelling 2.9k up Grouse Mountain in North Van. Apparently competitive types time themselves, but we has-been cross-country runners took our time. Okay fine, I still timed myself. But it wasn't pretty.

4) Your shopping. Actually, this is a love/hate thing. The shopping's great, but I've parted with a bit too much money as a result, and my pack is starting to become rather difficult to zip up. But lots of unique finds here - we spent a solid afternoon scouring without even realizing how long it had been.

AND another bonus point to Van for having a bar with BOARD GAMES! Such a good call. We had a wicked night out making friends over CatchPhrase and Giant Jenga. Ottawa needs to introduce this asap!

So yes, we've left with a rosy perspective on Vancity. All three members of Team Roadtrip have been dreaming up ways to move our lives out here. We're also in agreement that going west was the right direction - we may have been less impressed with Saskatoon's rivers and canola fields if we had started with ocean and mountains. This way, it just kept getting better (and we kept gaining time! Loved that!)

Schming and I are now all on our lonesome: HP's employment commitments forced her to leave us, and we left Lisers behind in Van. Things are quite a bit quieter without the Perlmutter presence. Anyone who knows a Perlmutter knows they are one-of-a-kind, and the inevitable "Perlmutter moments" are a source of endless entertainment. But not to worry, I've been keeping the legacy alive with a series of Perlmutter moments of my own ... more on that later.

Rocky Mountain Picture Show

Here's the thing, we didn't realize how amazing the Rockies would be until they appeared almost immediately after we left Calgary. They actually take your breath away and we had such and great time exploring them (minus that time I thought I couldn't hike another step then we hiked three days in a row..) that we thought we would keep the talking to a minimum during this note and just let you bask in the glory of the mountains we visited. Please note, we were also informed that it was peak bear season so to properly envision the situation enjoy the images of tranquil mountainous beauty with preventative loud talking and the occasional sing-a-long as the soundtrack to the scene.

Rockies- Day One
Kananaskis, AB






















That night we went to the hot springs in Banff, the Keg (we had to experience the local delicacy again - which was naturally Alberta beef) and then home to our hotel in Canmore.

Rockies - Day two
Banff

We took it a bit easier and hiked the Sundance Trail in Banff then we drove up to an amazing view point. Here, we found a couple taking engagement photos. We couldn't think of a more majestic and romantic background for that scene. Heather must have really thought so as it prompted her to propose to Jackie. (She would later make her a ring out of tinfoil and a Smartie, but that's neither here nor there.)































Rockies - Day Three
Lake Louise

This was our favourite hike. It was the perfect length, difficulty and the view was stunning the ENTIRE way. We hiked up to the little tea house at the top and then we kept going as far as we could to get closer to the glaciers. It was a perfect way to finish off our adventures in the mountains.












Next stop was Kamloops where Jackie's aunt Maureen graciously took us into her home. She gave us beds to sleep in, bumbleberry pie, tea and even packed us a lunch the next day. Thanks Maureen!

I should note, when we asked her what there is to do in the lovely town of Kamloops, we were quickly told "You are not in the city anymore girls". So we moved on to Vancouver quite early the next day. Stopping only for a picnic lunch along the way.

We heart mountains. And Nick Carter.

TWO updates in one night – don’t you feel lucky?!?! Sooo Schmingles left us in Drumheller: land of dinosaurs and hoodoos! It’s pretty amazing to watch the landscape change from prairies to rocky canyons … the experience is probably best represented photographically.

Sadly, this is the day my lingering throat infection turned into a full-on flu, so as cool as the Dinosaur Museum was (no, a cool dinosaur museum is not an oxymoron!), I stumbled through it pretty quickly, and proceeded to pass out on a bench outside while the other two fossiled it up.

We hit the road for Calgary that evening. I missed most of this as I was again passed out in the backseat, but we ran into a hailstorm - in a construction zone no less - and it was a slow slog of a drive. We've been really lucky with the weather, so I guess we were due for a test of our road tripping skillz. We arrived at HP's cousin Bill's place late that night. Schmingles graciously slept on the floor so that the sick girl could have a mattress to herself…though the next night she also ended up on the floor because apparently I also rustle around and giggle creepily in my sleep … but that’s another story.


So Calgary! Otherwise known (to me anyway) as the land of miracles. I was feeling slightly better in the morning - at least well enough to complete my Calgary goal number one: purchase a cowboy hat. Apparently Calgary's not the most hopping town on Sundays, but luckily the tourist shops along Stephen Avenue were open, and I found myself a lovely black hat emblazoned with silver horseshoes. I am in love with it, and have been wearing it in inappropriate contexts in an attempt to save it from ruin in my pack. My travel companions are pleased.

Sitting in the sun at the Olympic Park perusing some tourist guides, Schmingles noticed that the Backstreet Boys were playing in Calgary that night. Anyone who knew me circa-13 years ago knows that I was a hardcore BSB lover, so I tried to convince the girls to drop 50 bucks for the show ... this didn't go far. I then tried to sneakily have us drive up to the Saddledome so I could sneakily find us some cheap scalper tickets ... this plan also failed. So I gave up and settled for achieving my other Calgary goal: going out to a country bar. Bill suggested that Roadhouse might be a good spot, so we headed that way. As we approached the bar, a sign in the distance caused me to stop and gasp. A conversation with a bouncer confirmed that a couple members of BSB had signed a contract - they were definitely coming to the bar post-show!! A minor freakout ensued.

So, I plied my reluctant companions with alcohol, pulled a table right next to the VIP area, and waited as the bar filled up with 20-something former BSB superfans in tight leather dresses, stilettos and hair extensions ... we felt a tad out of place in our travel tshirts, but I was too excited to care. And we had our prime front-row seating! Around 11:30, multiple bodyguards arrived... followed by Nick, Howie and some other dude who I think replaced Kevin. Nick came up and touched my hand at the beginning, and then so did Howie. I was pretty content with this, but it was only the beginning: Nick came back around and HUGGED ME. I died. Sadly, this was right after they banned any more photos (presumably so the Boys could get drunk and not end up on TMZ), so I have no evidence besides my eyewitnesses ... but it happened!!!!! This is literally my 13 year-old self's dream come true. 13 years late, but whatever. It was magical.

Apparently a hug from my childhood crush and a night out drinking was all I needed to recover - I felt a million times better the next day. Bill took us out on a hike in Kananaskis - incredibly beautiful, but also a tough slog! But wow, the Rockies are more incredible than we imagined - and expectations were high. Our photos won't do it justice, but we can try....



We hit the hot springs in Banff, then went all out for a steak dinner at the Keg. More hiking in Banff today, and we have lots of pics ... but I'm losing steam here, so we'll leave it at this. Lake Louise tomorrow!

1-2-bungee!!

Turns out, it’s harder than expected to keep up a travel blog… We are giving ourselves a breather tonight though in Banff and we have internet access so no more excuses. That being said, I believe I owe you some stories about Edmonton…

As I mentioned we were staying with Mike and Brittany who conveniently have three couches in their apartment. The first night Mike took us the “The Sugarbowl” which was a cool little pub/restaurant with tasty food and a large selection of beers. I’m always happy to find my favourite beer Fruli, but when it’s on tap, I know the place has promise! After dinner we scoped out Whyte Ave. which is full of quaint but trendy stores, restaurants and bars all along it, which we were actually a little surprised to find in Edmonton but it left of us with a good impression of the place, there was also a sighting of a man in a cowboy hat which got us (particularly Jackie) excited about heading out West!

The next day, (We actually stayed two days in this place, a pretty big deal for us.) we went to the Art Gallery of Alberta in the morning. It’s less than a year old; the first piece of art we saw was the gallery exterior itself – check it out!

The exhibits inside were equally impressive. We saw a handful of exhibits including some Canadian works, Warner Brothers (you should see the work that goes into those cartoons), Escher (a truly unique artist who will challenge your ideas on perspective, reality and who has a whole new take prints and patterns) and Piranesi (a series of prison etchings with an incredible amount of detail).

As promised, stories about the beast of a mall and my crazy friend came to be that afternoon. As you know, we went to Mall of America in Minneapolis and we were on a mission to determine whether Edmonton mall could beat it in size. It sure can. A leisurely day at the mall included a skating rink to the front of us, a pirate ship/aquarium to the left, a water park beside that, then there’s the amusement park and Casino to the right. Not to mention the stores and the restaurants…

It was daunting. First we wandered. Took a little glance at the roller coasters, (I paid my dues there, not happening twice in one trip! Not to mention Jackie’s friend Pawel talking about the previous serious injuries/death cause by it…) we saw a sea lion show, went into the water park, there Jackie decided to “ask” about the bungee jumping that she said she would “never do”. I suppose they told her enough to change her mind, (mainly that no one had ever died doing it there) and then after a few moments of serious deliberation she decided she would go through with the jump. AH. You should have seen her try to shop while freaking out that she would be jumping off an 11 story tower in 40 mins. The time came, everyone below her in the wave pool was cheering, she was facing the water, she couldn’t turn back… until they counted down pre-jump and she did. But in calm bungee style, the guy up top convinced her to face backwards, look into his eyes and essentially get pushed off the edge. She did it!! AHhhhhhh. She’s one brave and crazy girl.

Brad, a friend from home who had just moved to Edmonton and Jackie’s friend Pawell met us at the mall. We all went to dinner together and tried the local delicacy a “Bulldog”, which is a margarita with a Coronita upside down inside it at Chili’s.

After a fun night, we said our farewells to our Edmonton friends and prepared for our next journey which would take us to Drumheller (hoodoos!).

Made it to Edmonton!

We are winding down day 6 of our trip (crazy!) and we have successfully made it through three states and we landed in our fourth province yesterday when we stopped in Edmonton. At this point we have officially (and accurately) been deemed couch surfers as we moved from our family accommodations is Winnipeg, to Jackie’s friend Janet’s place in Saskatoon and onto her other friend Mike’s place here in Edmonton. Everyone has been amazing hosts, we’ve gotten very lucky. But back to where Jackie left off…

I feel the need to a) post a picture of the massive, deliciousness provided by Winnipeg’s apple pancake and b) emphasize how friggin’ scary the Spongebob roller coaster in Mall of America was. Like… next time Chris brings home a Spongebob DVD (which he so often does) I will seriously think twice before watching it.


Moving on.. we really enjoyed our stay in Saskatoon. We went to Earl’s for dinner, checked out the Fringe festival (well we saw the buskers on the street, most impressive one being a 10 year old boy belting out House of the Rising Sun. Least impressive being the British woman in a cheerleader outfit asking for $20 donations), then we finished the night at the appropriately named Calories for some tea and desserts. We woke up, went for a run in the lovely park and departed Saskatchewan and headed to Alberta.

And along the way… A canola field photo shoot was in order!!













That’s right, we love the Praries and all the flat fields it offers. It’s just so pretty! All those people who warned us it would be boring were wrong. It’s not boring. Also, I noticed we may be easily amused by things… like canola, so that might help.


I will continue about Edmonton tomorrow. Stories of the beast of a mall and my crazy friend will have to wait…