We Might Be Crazy...

So Ben and I made a bit of an impulsive decision ... we are moving into a new rental unit!! We had been casually looking, since our current lease ends in October, and were surprised to stumble onto a really, really great house. We are taking the main floor, and there's a basement unit below us with only a single lady living there, so we'll have so much more privacy.

The house has absolutely everything we're looking for: quieter residential neighborhood but close to town (a five minute express bus will get us there!); walking distance to the best park in the city, and in turn the fabulous Bow River; hardwood floors; two bedrooms; a spacious kitchen and back deck; a garage; and a petite fenced-in back yard with a nice big tree. As an added bonus, our pals Greg and Angie live on the same street - I hope they don't get tired of us!

Now we have our fingers crossed that our current place will rent out by September 1st so we don't have double rent ... please send good vibes our way! The crazy part of all this is that we signed the lease exactly one week before we need to move. We'll move on Monday and Tuesday of this week, then leave Wednesday for our three-week road trip, so it's a lot to cram in. But I think moving is like pulling a band-aid: it's going to be a pain no matter what, so you may as well just do it fast and get it over with!

Although Ben and I should be doing tons of packing and organizing this weekend, I am happy to report that instead we spent our Saturday morning eating chocolate chip pancakes, sipping coffee and listening to Jack Johnson while enjoying our city view for one of the last times. I will definitely miss this apartment! Things I will NOT miss? Panhandlers, drunk people shouting in the street at all hours of the night, sirens, riding an elevator every single time I want to step outside onto solid ground, and not being able to do laundry in my pajamas :)

Family!

In the midst of our hectic summer, I've not had a chance to write about the amazing visit from my family two weeks ago! It was so different to have the opportunity to host my parents and show them around a place where they had not been before (there are not many!)

Liz arrived a night earlier than the parents, so I got to take her to a few of my favorite hang-outs (Melrose, Molly Malone's and Farm) and a walk around our lively neighborhood. In spite of weeks of rain, the weather could not have been more perfect by the time she arrived! Luckily, the sunshine and warmth stuck around all week; on one occasion it was actually warmer in Calgary than in Nashville! I never expected Liz and I to be sunbathing way up in the Rocky Mountains during our trip!

The quick rundown: After two nights in Calgary and a quickie tour of the city's sights (there are not too many!), we hit the road and spent the better part of a day driving through the mountains and into the tiny but beautiful town of Jasper. Some highlights of our drive along the Icefields Parkway were Liz and my dad drinking pure glacier water from a stream on the side of the road (it gave them an energy surge!); possibly the most beautiful picnic spot in the world (at a mountain overlook); and Athabasca Glacier - burrr!

Once in Jasper, we grilled out at our adorable cabin and checked out Athabasca Falls, Mount Edith Cavell and the massive Angel Glacier - which included a live avalanche in front of our eyes, Maligne Lake, which we saw from the vantage point of canoes, Maligne Canyon, with mossy, old-growth forests and deep-carved canyons, a horseback ride and wildlife sightings galore.

After a whirlwind two days, we drove back toward the town of Banff, whose upscale charm and liveliness is a total contrast to the laid-back, peaceful feel of Jasper. Both spots are wonderful in different ways. On the way, we stopped at Lake Louise and my parents said they finally understood what all the fuss was about!

From our Banff homebase, we took the Lake Louise gondola for an amazing view, hiked around Morraine Lake (an even more spectacular turqoise color than Lake Louise!), relaxed in the Banff natural Hot Springs, and enjoyed the culinary offerings and charm of the town of Banff before heading back to Calgary. It was sad to see the family go, but we had a great week!

Prairies, Lakes and Friends, oh my!

I'm writing this entry in a very tired but content state of mind - just returned from a long weekend at the lake. Yes, there are lake houses in Canada, and the lakes do melt in the summertime (albeit not until May)!

Today (Monday) is a holiday here, although I'm not sure what for - from what I can gather, many locals don't really know, either. Ben and I only learned of the holiday last week, which meant that our well-intentioned camping trip could not come to pass: every last campsite within driving distance was already booked up! Luckily our friend Angie has a fabulous cousin who invited us all to her family's lake house about 2 1/2 hours north of Calgary. So on Friday night, we packed up and headed north, through prairies and out into the middle of nowhere, until suddenly we were upon an enormous, beautiful lake in a sleepy but oh-so-charming Alberta town.

This was a lake trip in the very best way: not overly touristy with swanky rentals everywhere, but instead with families who have likely passed cabins down for generations, with just the right amount of kitsch to make you feel totally at home. Angie and our hostess are linked through the Italian side of their families, and therefore we enjoyed amazing cooking (and lots of it!) and the best hospitality I could imagine. What a treat to escape the city, enjoy good food and friends, and not look at a television or computer for three days. Bosco came along, too, and I'm pretty sure it was his idea of heaven!

We took a few speed boat trips around the water, laid in 80+ degree sunshine and at night watched a booming thunder and lightning storm, complete with hail, over the lake. Amazingly, we woke up to another warm and lovely day afterward. The weather was so ideal that it was tough to believe our hostess, Meaghan, when she described the winter ice fishing that takes place on the lake. The ice gets so thick that trucks can drive across. I was just in love with the flowers and gardens in the area, too - probably because they reminded me of Danish gardens, which made me very happy :)

I'm constantly surprised by Canada - the multitude of ways to enjoy the outdoors continues to impress me, from hiking, skiing or camping in the mountains, to sitting by a lake in the middle of the prairies, to tubing on a river through the city (which we hope to try next weekend!). Ben and I are now a mere two weeks away from our great road trip of 2009, and I can't wait to see what else is in store for us.