Alright so long over due and feels like years since, my post about my trip.
I wrote this with a lot of detail because I wanted to have a nice record of the trip
First off things went wonderfully! I left work a little late so I was concerned about making it with enough time. My flight was at 9PM so I figured getting to the airport 2-3 hours ahead would be fine. I should make a note to travel on Friday nights at 9PM more often because it was a breeze to get through everything! So I checked my bags and headed to get something to eat and to shop for something to bring to his mom. I figured it would be nice to pick something up since she was so kind to have me up for their family Thanksgiving and all. I was raised well eh?
The flight was interesting to say the least. It was FULL of Japanese people in a tour group and I swear just about the only English they knew was 'OJ' haha. I take it they like orange juice because they just about drank the plane out of it! Finally we land and then get a message from the pilot that the airport leases out the stalls so we had to wait for like 45 minutes on the tarmac! Poor Russ was flipping out because the screens weren't showing that we had arrived. Finally we get off the plane, make our way through customs and get sent to grab our bags. I think mine was the last, hence making my anticipation and excitement extremely high to just get out of there and get to Russ. So winding through the halls I reach a corner and as soon as I get around it I see him. He is standing there with a bouquet of Lillies and a huge smile. *this is the part where my heart skips a few beats and gets mushy* lol
We decided that driving 3 hours at 12AM wouldn't be the smartest thing to do so we headed to a party that one of his friends was having. I got to meet a handful of his friends and had a blast watching them trying and make some drink with absinth. After a while we just went into the other room to just crash out though because we had to get up early to drive to Fernie.
The drive to Fernie was nice. I swear I got to see all four seasons at once because it was sunny, then rained, then snowed! Craziness! It was such a nice drive through beautiful mountains. Of course the fact that this was the first time seeing the Rockies I was pretty amazed! He drove and told me some stories about the little towns through the mountains. Like one where the there was a little town on the side of a mining mountain and one day the mountain just came down and covered the whole town with so much rock that they could never recover anyone who had been buried! We met up with his parents at the golf course, had a bite to eat and then hit the greens. His dad is hilarious! Teeing in the middle of the fairway! We had a good time and lots of laughs. Russ took me up to the town and to the ski hill and we had some hot chocolate and walked around by the hill. Then we went back to the house for a sauna and then sat down for a Kiwi Thanksgiving dinner. By the time 10 hit I was exhausted and headed to bed.
The next morning we got up, had a little breakfast, and packed up our stuff. We then headed out to see where the kokanee spawned and to a lake where Russ spent a lot of time at as a kid. Then we went for a hike to see a few lakes and just relax. After the hike to the second lake we headed back to the jumping rock where we left some of the stuff. There we enjoyed the scenery and munched on some cheese and wine. After a few hours we took off back to Calgary.
That night in Calgary we went to a bar that was having super hero costume night and kareokee. It was pretty hilarious to see some of the guys get into their skeleton gear and go to the bar as spermy elastic things, lol. It was the first time I got to meet a good chunk of his friends. They were hilarious and we all had a blast.
The next morning we got up early and headed to the small airport to meet up with Gordy. Gordy has his own plane and offered to take us up and for a ride over the Rockies. As you will notice I took a crap load of pictures. IT was amazing! I've never done anything like that before! Plus Gordy let me fly the plane! It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time! We landed into a small airport in Golden. Someone at the airport gave us a ride into town and we had some lunch, then walked back to the plane. I got to fly over Banff and Lake Louise and get some awesome shots. He let me fly a little more on the way back, but it got a little bumpy so I told him to take it back, but not before he made me tip the nose and tip the wings! Once we got back we headed back to Russ's to relax a bit before heading over to Wade and Kyles house.
Wade and Kyle are kids that Russ looks after, but they also play World of Warcraft with us. They are 9 and 11 and so awesome! Their mother invited us over for their thanksgiving dinner which was more traditionally like the American one so I stuffed myself with turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes! We played some games, jumped on the tramp and of course I got them all rowled up right before bed! We headed home around 9 for game night at Russ's place. It was a welcomed break from the going and it was cool to hang out with Russ's friends without alcohol being present.
Tuesday we headed out to Lake Louise and Banff to walk around. At Lake Louise we were going to get a canoe, but the day before was the last day at the season. So we got some chocolate and just sat by the lake, and horsed around. It was a beautiful day, the water was so bright and calm. Then we headed into Banff to see the castle hotel and the hot springs. We walked around the street shops for a while and then met up with Russ's parents again. We went to an awesome restaurant called teh Grizzly House. It was a fondue place! I've never eaten at one of those before! We had a great time stuffing ourselves and laughing. After dinner Russ and I headed to the hot spring to take a dip. When we got there we had about 20 minutes which was just right. After a heart warming talk we headed home.
Wednesday we slept in a little and just took the day at our own pace. We went to the Calgary Zoo and also up to the Olympic center to see the skeleton track. There were some Lugers out on the track doing some practice runs which was cool to see. We swung by Russ's work so that I could meet his boss and some of the kids he works with. Then we headed to dinner at his parents house so we could show them the pictures of the flight from Monday. Then we headed home, played a little WoW and headed to bed.
Thursday I dreaded waking up because it meant that my trip was over. I had to be at the airport a few hours early again which sucked because it cut into time that I could have been with him. Turns out getting through customs was really a breeze so I was there with 2 hours to waste. So I got myself a Tim Horton's IceCap (YUMMIEST THING EVER) and a hamburger and sat down. Flight was delayed a little, but then I was on my way home.
It was SO hard leaving. I have so much fun with him and I can just see myself doing so many things with him. Oh well who knows...only time will tell eh?
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