Awhile back (like, around Christmastime), I had half-jokingly asked Vienna if she wanted to go on a trip to Calgary with me. I wanted to see our grandparents, and I knew that Anker wouldn't really be game on that (he doesn't like sitting around all day visiting, much less visiting in a small room), so I asked her if she should join me. In the meantime, Vienna had decided that she had wanted to talk to a couple of churches about sponsoring her as she goes back to the Philippines. We ended up taking her car, as we weren't sure if our car would make it, and her car is cheaper on gas. We decided on that last week of Spring Break, as that was when the churches wanted her to share with them. We left on Saturday, as it worked best for her. So, that is a bit of the backstory on how our trip came about.
March 24th: V (sister) and I left Kamloops around 7:30 on Saturday morning. We were worried about snow, but we only encountered a bit of sleet around Revelstoke, and some around Lake Louise, if I can remember correctly. The trip itself was fun. I am not sure on how many stops we made, but we stopped at Golden for our picnic lunch. We also stopped at/in Field, BC, where we drove around and then stopped for goodies and coffee! We got in around 5 MTN time. The fact that we didn't have an accident or get severely lost is a modern day miracle! We only took one wrong turn the entire week!! We were both rather proud of ourselves! We had a nice supper of roast chicken and veggies and a nice visit with our Uncle R and Aunty D. They are my mom's brother and SIL, and our grandparents' oldest son.
March 25th: We went to church, then ended up seeing G&G on the way back. We are SO glad that we did (we hadn't planned on visiting them until the next day), as we ended up leaving a day or so before we had planned on (more on that later.). We had a wonderful time with them; catching up, and then our cousin and his family dropped by, and it was great to see him, as I hadn't seen him in probably 15 years! I hadn't met their kids before, so that was really fun :) We left around 4:30 or so, and ended up having dinner with our cousin and his wife down the road. We had a great time visiting with them. When we do visit with them (and/or others), there are usually other people around, so it was nice to have them all to ourselves!!! We stayed until 10!
March 26th: We sort of slept in, and our uncle made us a wonderful breakfast, and then we went to the mall. I had only wanted to do one thing while there (other than visiting family): Go to the Mall!!! When I lived in Calgary years back, I lived below Market Mall. Well, it has gone through two renovations since I left, and it is such a fun mall!!! I bought H a bday gift, and Vienna got a new phone case. We went to G&G's around 1130. We had lunch with Grandma, while Grandpa had lunch on his side building (they are in two different wings, due to his health), and then we girls chatted with Grandpa for awhile while Grandma was at service. After we got back, V had had plans to have supper with her friend, and I went off with a friend for supper. We went to Brewster's, and it was really good!!! I cannot remember what I had, but I remember that it was good! Ha! We had a nice visit, and I got home around 830. I hung out and played on my laptop, and when V came home, we had a visit, then went to bed.
March 27th: I think we slept in, had a nice breakfast, and then relaxed a bit in the morning. We ran some errands, and went to G&G's around 2 or 3. We had ice cream, and had a nice visit. We left around 430 or so. We drove to the mall again, and then met up with my friend (me), and our 1st cousin-once-removed (her). We ended both eating at Moxie's (at separate tables!), and we each had great visits with our respective friends/family. After our cousin and her husband left (you can read about her wedding that we went to last year here), V joined my friend and I at our table, and we visited for probably an hour longer! We got home around 9 or 10.
White Chocolate Brownie. You're welcome!
March 28th: We slept in again, and had breakfast, then went to our aunt and uncle's (on our dad's side of the family) for a visit and lunch date. We are both SO glad that we went, as we had a wonderful visit with them. Her daughter, our cousin (the cousin from the night before's mum), and some of her kids (and their dog) came over! We had soup, biscuits, and cinnamon buns. Yum! We left around 3, and got to the church where V was presenting, and I went to a coffee shop to relax and wait for her. I went to Euphoria Coffee, and it was SO GOOD!!! V joined me afterwards, and we visited, then we went back to our aunt and uncle's house. We had supper (can't remember what we had....I think it was leftovers), and played a couple of games. Their friends who were also staying there (they get dozens of people staying there each year!) came back from their day with family, and they joined us! We had such a fun time!!! They are from Australia, and are a hoot!!! We played Qwircle, and Qwixx. We both went to bed late again.
The coffee and paper at the coffee shop. I can't remember what I got, but it was DELISH! I think it was a Hedgehog Mocha.
Playing Qurkle with family and new friends!
March 29th: I had an appointment on Saturday (31st), and we were worried, as were worried about snow; thus making our way back less than desirable! We didn't want to get stuck in Calgary, when this appointment for me was pretty important, so after talking to our dad about it, consulting the weather, and road reports, shedding a few tears (as we had plans on having supper with Grandma that evening), we decided to head on out. We were glad we did, b/c even though it didn't' snow (either on the road in Calgary), it made our trip a bit less stressful. We were really sad to have missed having supper with G-ma, and missing another visiting with both of them, they were both (as usual) very understanding! It made us even happier to have had an extra visit with them on Sunday! To take the sting out just a bit, we decided that we would stay half way in a hotel. We decided on Revelstoke, since it was past the Rogers' Pass (an infamous place in the winter). We ended up staying at the Ramada Inn. Let me tell you, that it wasn't as expensive as one would think. It was only $20 more than the other hotels that we checked out. We would recommend it. The only downside was that we didn't have a ton of hot water for our showers. That was because there was a tour that was there, thus taking a lot of the rooms (and water!). Their pool was being fixed up (not sure why, as it is a new hotel, barely a year!), so they gave us a free pass to the Revelstoke Aquatic Centre, which was really nice (I may or may not have forgotten my swimsuit back at the hotel. I may or may not have gotten lost getting back to the Aqua Centre). After our swim, and checking out where to eat (which I may or may not have asked for recommendations on FB), we decided on Zala's, which we would both (semi) highly recommend. It is Italian and Greek cousine, and really good!!! We got back to our hotel around 8:30 or so, and we hung out for a bit, and watched most of Freaky Friday. There is something about watching a movie (or show) in a hotel; even if you have watched it before. You create a memory.
The Enchanted Forest
The hotel was really nice. It had a King-size bed!
March 30th: We slept in, and got up around 8 or 8:30. We had a wonderful breakfast, then we got back, and watched some of Pirates of the Caribbean, and left around 11. The trip back was really great! We stopped in at/on our aunt (she knew we were coming), where we had a wonderful lunch, walk and visit (this was also the first day where I started have more issues health-wise, on top of what I was already experiencing), and left around 2:30 or 3. Vienna dropped me off, and she ended up staying at A and K's, and I came home.
It was a wonderful week spent with my sister, and lots of family! We are both SO glad that we went!!! We might even make a quick wknd out it again this summer!
