banff

Katie and I are back and life is returning to normal slowly. I am lucky enough to have one more day off to sort of come back down slowly so I am taking the time to get the blog train rolling along again.

I had to take yesterday to figure out just how I was going to present all the tales and moments of five days out west and I think the best way to do it is one day at a time. So I will do my best to remember and share all the stories and best pictures of each day. The trip was so good it will be hard to capture it but I know you all just want to know the basics anyways. So here we go and please be patient as I try to get through five days as well as living in the present.

Day 1 (Aug 29)

Katie and I packed up the car early on Wednesday morning with a 7:45am flight to Calgary. Since we have the car now doing the park-n-fly thing is such a great treat. We got there time to spare and soon we were boarding the shiny Westjet plane with all the excitement ahead of us. Nothing that exciting to report from the flight. I watched three hours of Calgary’s BT and Katie tried her best to get some sleep. I found the five hour flight pretty quick and soon we were landing in Calgary where Ruth would pick us up.

We got off the plane and met Ruth while waiting for bags. I found the whole process very quick and painless and had a chance to check out the airport before we hit the Avis counter. We were all renting a car so we could drive to Banff and then Golden B.C. Again pretty painless although as you will read when we get to Day 5 it could of been better.

Into the no frills Chevy Colbalt and we were off. Ruth did all the driving and now the plan was to put in some time before we had to pick up Peggy (the bride) and head off to Banff. We had some lunch on the Red Mile that was amazing. I had this homemade garlic hummis with a Big Rock beer. Even in the off season I could tell this strip was where the Flames faithful spent all their time.

After some food and catching up we spent the next few hours relaxing and waiting to head to Banff. It was a good chance to rest up before the evening events that would be sure to be crazy. Once the bride was all packed into the car we all headed for Banff. The ride was very scenic with shots of where the Calgary Olympic events were and being able to see the mountains ahead of us. I went a little crazy taking pictures but what do you expect with that view getting closer with every bump in the highway. Besides I was in the car with three girls who were best friends and a wedding to talk about so I just went into my own little world.

After a great drive we entered Banff National Park and the excitement grew even more. What a great place that I wish there was more time to check out. We got into the town and began the search for the cabins that the girls were staying at for there stagette party. After a extra long tour of Banff we finally found it and met up with the other guys and girls. The exchange was quick and I was into the boys car and off to hit our digs elsewhere in town for our night of fun.

We got to Rundle Manor not to long after that and don’t let the name fool you, it was not the Hilton but it was all we needed to have some drinks and party it up. We hit the pilsner and jagermeister and of course knew we were having a better time than the girls. When the need to for called we hit the town and continued the party at the Rose and Crown. Little did we know that after we left it was the same place the girls ended up.

With food in our stomachs it was back to the manor to drink some more and one by one crash into sleep. Andrew and Kyle apparently ended the night listening to my snore so loud they had to forget about trying to watch TV. I passed out on the couch from a long day of time zone change and drinking and had a pretty good sleep considering.

This was a fun day and it was only just the beginning.

Here are the pictures

More pictures

Highlights

  • great flight
  • seeing Calgary for the first time
  • the hummus
  • the scenic drive
  • catching up with the guys
  • Andrew’s chip casserole
  • chip bag hats
  • the jerk wings I had at the bar
  • the very comfy couch at the rundle
  • Aussie Blondes

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