It's been an interesting two weeks...
It certainly has been in interesting couple of weeks for Teeka and I!
So, the week of July 9th, Teeka and I spent on a "suprise" vacation for my dad that my mom planned. We drove down to Boise on the 9th (6 gallons for 300 miles! I love you, Prius!) and spent the night at my oldest sister and brother in law's place. While there, I was able to catch up on things somewhat with my younger brother, who has recently returned after being a misssionary in Japan for two years.
Monday morning, Teeka, my siblings, their spouses and I all headed over to the airport really early in order to beat my parents there. My mom had told my dad that she was taking him on a surprise vacation for his 60th birthday, but refused to give any details other than he should bring his biking and rock climbing gear. This was around 8 months in the planning for my mom, and I'm very happy to report that we did manage to pull off the surprise. All the girls boarded the plane first while the boys went to go see an early showing of Pirates of the Caribbean II (our flight left later that day). While us boys were en-route to Calgary, Alberta, I'm told the girls went to the Calgary zoo. Once the whole family was together in Calgary we all boarded a bus to drive the hour and a half to Banff national park, where we checked into the Fairmont Hotel at Banff Springs (despite a several hour power outage that was leaving the town in the... er... twilight of the far north).
The hotel (which was built around 75 years ago from rock quarried in the area) look like a castle. It was definitely a high-class place; somewhere Teeka an I don't often have the chance to stay (thank goodness my parents were footing the bill!) The only complaint I have about the place is that our bed rather sucked-- it felt like two concrete slabs with a few springs stuffed between them for good measure. (Then again, I suppose Teeka and I are rather spoiled by our bed at home. :)
That evening we ate at the Waldhouse German-themed restaurant. Having lived in Germany for 2 years, I can tell you that there wasn't much german about the menu there, although the food was excellent (even if it did take a while, thanks to the power outage).
The following morning I got up early to go horseback riding with several of my siblings. This... well... could have been better. We were delayed by about an hour and a half getting under-way, and the ride just wasn't all the fun. The horses were definitely dude horses: Each one seemed to always want to stick its nose into the ass of the horse in front of it. But I did have a good time anyway.
That afternoon I got a chance to do a little shopping in downtown Banff before and after our dinner. As far as tourist towns go, you could certainly do far worse than Banff! The shops they had were actually fairly interesting, and everyone was friendly and eager to please. And multi-lingual. I'd guesstimate that probably 1/3 of the tourists in the Banff area are from non-North-American countries (Japan, mostly). I bought myself a nifty new fly-fishing hat. :)
That evening's dinner was had at the Grizzly House Fondue restaurant. I got the "exotic fondue dinner" (which I actually cooked on a 600-degree flat rock they brough to the table instead of a pot of hot oil). Of the Shark, Alligator, Rattlesnake, Ostrich, Frog Legs, Buffalo and Venison I tried, I have to admit that I didn't care much for the ostrich or rattlesnake, but the frog leg, venison and especially the shark were awesome. :)
Wednesday the 12th we did lunch at a local sushi restaurant (where I managed to up-end my bowl of miso soup on my lap and) where the meal was good but not stellar. I've definitely had much better sushi. Later that afternoon we all went on an hour-long float trip down the Bow river. This was supposed to have "category 2" rapids, and while the river was fast moving, the only "rapid" we saw was a slighly enlarged ripple from a deeply submurged rock. Again, for a family that has rafted the Salmon river near Riggins Idaho together, this was a total joke (not that the Salmon River is incredibly exciting, but at least they do have a decent rapid or two). At one slow-moving part a couple of my brothers (and one in-law) and I decided to liven things up a bit by jumping into the 38-degree water. Yes, it was cold, but not really that bad. :)
Dinner that evening was at the snooty French restaurant downtown: Le Beaujolais. Teeka and I both did the 6-course meal they had there, and it was very, very tasty indeed. (I got to try fiddle-heads, eh!)
Thursday I went with my dad and a few of my siblings on a guided fishing trip on the Bow river. Let me tell you: Alaska fishing this wasn't! Out of all 9 of us who went (in 3 different groups, I think all of us were fly fishing) the only one who caught anything was by brother Tony, and the brown he pulled in measured a whopping 5 inches. Still, I had fun; and I gather that our guide was the best of the three. I was able to improve greatly on my roll cast. (I've mostly fly-fished on calm lakes and ponds before, where unless you've got a lot of high vegetation at the shoreline, roll casting isn't necessary.)
That night we did the "Oh Canada Eh!" dinner show in Canmore. It was a total hoot: The waiters and waitresses participate in the show, singing and dancing at various times throughout the 2 hour meal/performance. Yes, it was extremely cheesy and stuff, but it was also hillarious and a lot of fun. Eh? Eh!
Friday we all boarded the bus bright and early to head back to Calgary for the flight home. Unfortunately, once we were under way we found out the plane we were supposed to be flying back on was being repaired. Apparently during the 100-hour maintenance of the plane one of the mechanics accidentally attached a couple of the struts backward, and there was some buckling and damage caused when it was loaded with a full 5000 pound load of fuel for the flight. All kinds of fun. Glad they found the problem on the ground, eh! Anyway, this essentially boiled down to the fact that we were going to be stuck in Calgary for an extra day. (Yep, apparently Teeka and I take our travel-luck with us wherever we go. :P)
By the time we made it to Calgary, after many phone calls to travel agents, family members at home, etc. we had a hotel to stay at, a few rental vehicles, and arrangements for our flights home the next day. After checking into the hotel, several of us packed back into the rental cars to attempt to dash across town to catch the tail end of the world-famous Calgary Stampede. No offense to all you Calgary residents out there, but I have to say I wasn't all that impressed. The place struck me more as an over-grown county fair than anything else. I suppose it didn't help that we arrived just in time to miss the actual rodeo part of the rodeo, and had to leave to get to our dinner reservation before the next rodeo show was supposed to start. It was hot, stuffy, and otherwise unpleasant. I think I'll watch it on T.V. next time, if ever.
That night we ate at a Calgary steakhouse recommended by the hotel staff. Overall it was a pretty good meal, eh. Alberta beef is yummy! :D
After dinner we did a little shopping before taking most of the girls to go see Pirates of the Caribbean II (again, for the guys). The only thing I have to say about that: Why is it the cover art on most U.S. novels suck so bad? The entire collection of Terry Pratchet discworld books had beautiful art on the covers, unlike the boring crap on my U.S. versions!
The following morning the girls left bright and early while the boys went down to check out the Calgary Zoo. As far as zoos go, this wasn't bad, although it wasn't stellar, either. Check out the San Diego, the Henry Doorly or St. Louis zoos if you want a really cool zoo to see. Still, they did have a Caribou with humongous antlers, which is pretty unique. Afterward we caught our flight back to Boise and the next day Teeka and I drove home.
Overall it was an awesome trip, and Teeka and I are really grateful to my parents for footing the entire bill. Banff is an awesomely beautiful area to visit. To all you rock climbers out there: You'd be hard pressed to find an area with as many and as varied places to climb.
And now... Teeka and I are really looking forward to this weekend when we leave on our much-delayed honeymoon: A cruise from Seward, AK to Vancouver, BC!
And beyond that vacation, the Drama Llama has struck the Moscow, Idaho area recently. Drama, drama, Llama!.
So, the week of July 9th, Teeka and I spent on a "suprise" vacation for my dad that my mom planned. We drove down to Boise on the 9th (6 gallons for 300 miles! I love you, Prius!) and spent the night at my oldest sister and brother in law's place. While there, I was able to catch up on things somewhat with my younger brother, who has recently returned after being a misssionary in Japan for two years.
Monday morning, Teeka, my siblings, their spouses and I all headed over to the airport really early in order to beat my parents there. My mom had told my dad that she was taking him on a surprise vacation for his 60th birthday, but refused to give any details other than he should bring his biking and rock climbing gear. This was around 8 months in the planning for my mom, and I'm very happy to report that we did manage to pull off the surprise. All the girls boarded the plane first while the boys went to go see an early showing of Pirates of the Caribbean II (our flight left later that day). While us boys were en-route to Calgary, Alberta, I'm told the girls went to the Calgary zoo. Once the whole family was together in Calgary we all boarded a bus to drive the hour and a half to Banff national park, where we checked into the Fairmont Hotel at Banff Springs (despite a several hour power outage that was leaving the town in the... er... twilight of the far north).
The hotel (which was built around 75 years ago from rock quarried in the area) look like a castle. It was definitely a high-class place; somewhere Teeka an I don't often have the chance to stay (thank goodness my parents were footing the bill!) The only complaint I have about the place is that our bed rather sucked-- it felt like two concrete slabs with a few springs stuffed between them for good measure. (Then again, I suppose Teeka and I are rather spoiled by our bed at home. :)
That evening we ate at the Waldhouse German-themed restaurant. Having lived in Germany for 2 years, I can tell you that there wasn't much german about the menu there, although the food was excellent (even if it did take a while, thanks to the power outage).
The following morning I got up early to go horseback riding with several of my siblings. This... well... could have been better. We were delayed by about an hour and a half getting under-way, and the ride just wasn't all the fun. The horses were definitely dude horses: Each one seemed to always want to stick its nose into the ass of the horse in front of it. But I did have a good time anyway.
That afternoon I got a chance to do a little shopping in downtown Banff before and after our dinner. As far as tourist towns go, you could certainly do far worse than Banff! The shops they had were actually fairly interesting, and everyone was friendly and eager to please. And multi-lingual. I'd guesstimate that probably 1/3 of the tourists in the Banff area are from non-North-American countries (Japan, mostly). I bought myself a nifty new fly-fishing hat. :)
That evening's dinner was had at the Grizzly House Fondue restaurant. I got the "exotic fondue dinner" (which I actually cooked on a 600-degree flat rock they brough to the table instead of a pot of hot oil). Of the Shark, Alligator, Rattlesnake, Ostrich, Frog Legs, Buffalo and Venison I tried, I have to admit that I didn't care much for the ostrich or rattlesnake, but the frog leg, venison and especially the shark were awesome. :)
Wednesday the 12th we did lunch at a local sushi restaurant (where I managed to up-end my bowl of miso soup on my lap and) where the meal was good but not stellar. I've definitely had much better sushi. Later that afternoon we all went on an hour-long float trip down the Bow river. This was supposed to have "category 2" rapids, and while the river was fast moving, the only "rapid" we saw was a slighly enlarged ripple from a deeply submurged rock. Again, for a family that has rafted the Salmon river near Riggins Idaho together, this was a total joke (not that the Salmon River is incredibly exciting, but at least they do have a decent rapid or two). At one slow-moving part a couple of my brothers (and one in-law) and I decided to liven things up a bit by jumping into the 38-degree water. Yes, it was cold, but not really that bad. :)
Dinner that evening was at the snooty French restaurant downtown: Le Beaujolais. Teeka and I both did the 6-course meal they had there, and it was very, very tasty indeed. (I got to try fiddle-heads, eh!)
Thursday I went with my dad and a few of my siblings on a guided fishing trip on the Bow river. Let me tell you: Alaska fishing this wasn't! Out of all 9 of us who went (in 3 different groups, I think all of us were fly fishing) the only one who caught anything was by brother Tony, and the brown he pulled in measured a whopping 5 inches. Still, I had fun; and I gather that our guide was the best of the three. I was able to improve greatly on my roll cast. (I've mostly fly-fished on calm lakes and ponds before, where unless you've got a lot of high vegetation at the shoreline, roll casting isn't necessary.)
That night we did the "Oh Canada Eh!" dinner show in Canmore. It was a total hoot: The waiters and waitresses participate in the show, singing and dancing at various times throughout the 2 hour meal/performance. Yes, it was extremely cheesy and stuff, but it was also hillarious and a lot of fun. Eh? Eh!
Friday we all boarded the bus bright and early to head back to Calgary for the flight home. Unfortunately, once we were under way we found out the plane we were supposed to be flying back on was being repaired. Apparently during the 100-hour maintenance of the plane one of the mechanics accidentally attached a couple of the struts backward, and there was some buckling and damage caused when it was loaded with a full 5000 pound load of fuel for the flight. All kinds of fun. Glad they found the problem on the ground, eh! Anyway, this essentially boiled down to the fact that we were going to be stuck in Calgary for an extra day. (Yep, apparently Teeka and I take our travel-luck with us wherever we go. :P)
By the time we made it to Calgary, after many phone calls to travel agents, family members at home, etc. we had a hotel to stay at, a few rental vehicles, and arrangements for our flights home the next day. After checking into the hotel, several of us packed back into the rental cars to attempt to dash across town to catch the tail end of the world-famous Calgary Stampede. No offense to all you Calgary residents out there, but I have to say I wasn't all that impressed. The place struck me more as an over-grown county fair than anything else. I suppose it didn't help that we arrived just in time to miss the actual rodeo part of the rodeo, and had to leave to get to our dinner reservation before the next rodeo show was supposed to start. It was hot, stuffy, and otherwise unpleasant. I think I'll watch it on T.V. next time, if ever.
That night we ate at a Calgary steakhouse recommended by the hotel staff. Overall it was a pretty good meal, eh. Alberta beef is yummy! :D
After dinner we did a little shopping before taking most of the girls to go see Pirates of the Caribbean II (again, for the guys). The only thing I have to say about that: Why is it the cover art on most U.S. novels suck so bad? The entire collection of Terry Pratchet discworld books had beautiful art on the covers, unlike the boring crap on my U.S. versions!
The following morning the girls left bright and early while the boys went down to check out the Calgary Zoo. As far as zoos go, this wasn't bad, although it wasn't stellar, either. Check out the San Diego, the Henry Doorly or St. Louis zoos if you want a really cool zoo to see. Still, they did have a Caribou with humongous antlers, which is pretty unique. Afterward we caught our flight back to Boise and the next day Teeka and I drove home.
Overall it was an awesome trip, and Teeka and I are really grateful to my parents for footing the entire bill. Banff is an awesomely beautiful area to visit. To all you rock climbers out there: You'd be hard pressed to find an area with as many and as varied places to climb.
And now... Teeka and I are really looking forward to this weekend when we leave on our much-delayed honeymoon: A cruise from Seward, AK to Vancouver, BC!
And beyond that vacation, the Drama Llama has struck the Moscow, Idaho area recently. Drama, drama, Llama!.