The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth
Last Wednesday, I headed out the Calgary to visit Jenny and attend the Calgary Stampede. I had a great time. Enough with the small talk, onto the details, cause well, that’s where all the excitement lies right?
So, my parents dropped me off at the airport immediately after I got home from work on Wednesday. Luckily, the airport wasn’t busy, so we got there around 6:30, had a nice dinner, and I was still waiting around a bit for my 8:40 departure. The new terminal’s nice, and in hindsight, I could have made the earlier flight (I think it was at 7:30).
I got into Calgary a bit before 11, and met Jenny at the airport. That evening, we didn’t do much since I was a bit wiped from the traveling (even though I slept on the plane, the time change screwed with me). So, we stayed up chatting for a bit, but by 1, I was exhausted (I was so excited the night before that I only slept 5 hours, so combined with the time change, it explains it all).
The next day involved the most exercise I’ve gotten on a Thursday in awhile. It started off with a Denny’s breakfast, which was a great start. Nothing like a little grease to get you going. We biked all over Calgary, and even had time to watch the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Let me tell you, that hill to get from the U of C area to downtown is a lot more fun to bike down then up, especially when your bike chain slips off the gears half way up. To add to the pain, I played an intramural soccer game that night with Jenny’s team. The steak I had that night, was certainly a great reward though. Mmm, rare and tasty! There’s nothing wrong with Alberta beef!
Friday was our Stampede day, which was great! We got up early, went downtown to pick up a cowboy hat for me (Jenny already had one). The midway and all the exhibits were pretty fun. It reminded me of the CNE. Jenny and I won a couple of prizes on the midway, which was good. The color game got the best of us though, which is strange because we usually do pretty well at it. After we exhausted the exhibition part of the stampede, we went back downtown for an all-you-can-eat sushi dinner. That certainly hit the spot. We definitely got our money’s worth there. We then headed back to the Stampede for the Grandstand Show, where the chuck wagon races happened which were followed by the show itself. The chucks (as everyone called ‘em) were great to watch. So many people and horses in such a confined area made for a ton of excitement. Hopefully the pics can show you what chuck wagon racing’s like. The pics turned out pretty well considering the camera’s more than 3 years old and we were pretty high up (about 5 rows back in the balcony).
Saturday was a nice day. We spent it around U of C’s athletic area. Which, I must say, is a lot nicer than Mac’s. We played some squash, saw the Olympic Oval (I thought it was really strange to see people skating in shorts), and then went outside where there was yet another intramural soccer game about to start. Jenny joined in while I took a nap. Before you judge me, I was on vacation! That night was one of Jenny’s friends’ birthday so we met up for dinner and then a night out. We ended up partying at a few clubs along the Red Mile. That was a good time, and I think I handled myself pretty well considering I drank a fair amount.
The next day, we had another soccer game, where we all played really well together, and showed significant improvement since the game on Thursday. Since Jenny and I slept until 10:30, and lazed around a bit, not much happened besides the soccer game that day. My flight was at 6:15, so I left for the airport a bit before 4. After I got my boarding pass, I had to join this giant line to check my bags. It got into line around 4:30, and thought there’d be no way I’d be out of it before 5:30, so I’d find it a bit tough to make the flight if there was also a long line up to get through security. Luckily, the line moved very quickly, and I was at security around 5, and at the gate by 5:15 or so. While checking in, I met this other guy who was flying for the first time (he must have been 16 or something), and his Dad told me to keep an eye on him since we were both on the same flight to Toronto. I thought that was funny since he was like 6’2”, and I’m only that tall in my dreams (actually, even my dreams are now more realistic, I’m probably only 5’6” even in my own dreams). So, I helped the kid out a bit and got him safely on the flight. Luckily, his mother was there to meet him at the airport. As well, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my parents were there at the airport to meet me too. I had called them from Calgary, but they’d said that I’d have to take an airport limo home. Somehow though, I had this feeling on the flight home that they’d be there. So, the flight landed a bit before midnight, I was home by 1, and in work this morning for 8:30. Which is why I’m pretty tired right now, since work begins again in another 9 hours.
Additionally, the weather was great. While watching some tv, I heard about the heat wave that was hitting (and is still) over the GTA. I must say, Calgary’s weather was a lot better. The sun was out constantly, there were hardly any clouds, and there was practically no humidity. The temperature never broker 30, but at the same time it never went under 25 until around midnight. Even then, the temperature at night was a very comfortable 12-15. It was a great time, weather wise. I don’t think it rained a drop while I was there.
To see some pics, check out my facebook page or my flickr page.
So, my parents dropped me off at the airport immediately after I got home from work on Wednesday. Luckily, the airport wasn’t busy, so we got there around 6:30, had a nice dinner, and I was still waiting around a bit for my 8:40 departure. The new terminal’s nice, and in hindsight, I could have made the earlier flight (I think it was at 7:30).
I got into Calgary a bit before 11, and met Jenny at the airport. That evening, we didn’t do much since I was a bit wiped from the traveling (even though I slept on the plane, the time change screwed with me). So, we stayed up chatting for a bit, but by 1, I was exhausted (I was so excited the night before that I only slept 5 hours, so combined with the time change, it explains it all).
The next day involved the most exercise I’ve gotten on a Thursday in awhile. It started off with a Denny’s breakfast, which was a great start. Nothing like a little grease to get you going. We biked all over Calgary, and even had time to watch the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Let me tell you, that hill to get from the U of C area to downtown is a lot more fun to bike down then up, especially when your bike chain slips off the gears half way up. To add to the pain, I played an intramural soccer game that night with Jenny’s team. The steak I had that night, was certainly a great reward though. Mmm, rare and tasty! There’s nothing wrong with Alberta beef!
Friday was our Stampede day, which was great! We got up early, went downtown to pick up a cowboy hat for me (Jenny already had one). The midway and all the exhibits were pretty fun. It reminded me of the CNE. Jenny and I won a couple of prizes on the midway, which was good. The color game got the best of us though, which is strange because we usually do pretty well at it. After we exhausted the exhibition part of the stampede, we went back downtown for an all-you-can-eat sushi dinner. That certainly hit the spot. We definitely got our money’s worth there. We then headed back to the Stampede for the Grandstand Show, where the chuck wagon races happened which were followed by the show itself. The chucks (as everyone called ‘em) were great to watch. So many people and horses in such a confined area made for a ton of excitement. Hopefully the pics can show you what chuck wagon racing’s like. The pics turned out pretty well considering the camera’s more than 3 years old and we were pretty high up (about 5 rows back in the balcony).
Saturday was a nice day. We spent it around U of C’s athletic area. Which, I must say, is a lot nicer than Mac’s. We played some squash, saw the Olympic Oval (I thought it was really strange to see people skating in shorts), and then went outside where there was yet another intramural soccer game about to start. Jenny joined in while I took a nap. Before you judge me, I was on vacation! That night was one of Jenny’s friends’ birthday so we met up for dinner and then a night out. We ended up partying at a few clubs along the Red Mile. That was a good time, and I think I handled myself pretty well considering I drank a fair amount.
The next day, we had another soccer game, where we all played really well together, and showed significant improvement since the game on Thursday. Since Jenny and I slept until 10:30, and lazed around a bit, not much happened besides the soccer game that day. My flight was at 6:15, so I left for the airport a bit before 4. After I got my boarding pass, I had to join this giant line to check my bags. It got into line around 4:30, and thought there’d be no way I’d be out of it before 5:30, so I’d find it a bit tough to make the flight if there was also a long line up to get through security. Luckily, the line moved very quickly, and I was at security around 5, and at the gate by 5:15 or so. While checking in, I met this other guy who was flying for the first time (he must have been 16 or something), and his Dad told me to keep an eye on him since we were both on the same flight to Toronto. I thought that was funny since he was like 6’2”, and I’m only that tall in my dreams (actually, even my dreams are now more realistic, I’m probably only 5’6” even in my own dreams). So, I helped the kid out a bit and got him safely on the flight. Luckily, his mother was there to meet him at the airport. As well, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my parents were there at the airport to meet me too. I had called them from Calgary, but they’d said that I’d have to take an airport limo home. Somehow though, I had this feeling on the flight home that they’d be there. So, the flight landed a bit before midnight, I was home by 1, and in work this morning for 8:30. Which is why I’m pretty tired right now, since work begins again in another 9 hours.
Additionally, the weather was great. While watching some tv, I heard about the heat wave that was hitting (and is still) over the GTA. I must say, Calgary’s weather was a lot better. The sun was out constantly, there were hardly any clouds, and there was practically no humidity. The temperature never broker 30, but at the same time it never went under 25 until around midnight. Even then, the temperature at night was a very comfortable 12-15. It was a great time, weather wise. I don’t think it rained a drop while I was there.
To see some pics, check out my facebook page or my flickr page.