A Bitchin' Beach

Mom and I found ourselves with a free afternoon today. She wanted to chill out with some knitting (her words) (not really) but I wanted to see if I could find a beach we discovered on one of my previous visits. It was a town beach, which means you can only get in with a purchased sticker, which Mom has. It was less crowded than other beaches and it had a natural, untouched feel. Kind of like me in high school.

I headed out alone, leaving Mom to get jiggy wit her knitting. I remembered every turn, so there was no problem finding the entrance. The first time we came to this beach, there were two Nazi park rangers manning the guard house who didn't care that Mom's car had the requisite sticker. Mom wasn't with us, so they wouldn't let us in. We returned with her but since she wasn't in the driver's seat, they almost asked us to turn around again. grr!!

So, I was psyched- and skeptical- when I saw that the guard house was not only empty but boarded up. The gate was open. I wondered what kind of trap those sticklers were setting for me. "YOU VIL EXIT!!" I expected them to cry, as they jumped from the bushes. I entered slowly.

Sorry the photo is blurry. I was scared.

Branches and leaves littered the road as if a tornado or a stray elephant had just come through. And then a deer walked by. This was no public beach, my friend.



I admit the whole scene was strange, but I continued on. The parking lot was completely empty, perhaps due to the zombie apocalypse I assumed I'd find on the shore. Or maybe it was the rain.



So here's the part in a well-written story where all is revealed- why the whole place seems to be abandoned. Perhaps Hurricane Sandy washed away the beach? Maybe this stretch was taken over by a pack of wolves? Or worse- a real estate developer??

Heh- joke's on you. I never promised a well-written story. The beach seemed to be abandoned because it kinda was. That's all. And I loved it.

The only other living thing as far as the eye could see was this unfriendly seagull. He refused to pose for a picture. Hmpf!

I dove in head first!! No, silly, not into the water. What are ya, crazy? I jumped right into my favorite past time: beach combing. You see, I've got a plan. When we retire, I'm gonna make these awesome things using the gorgeous shells, rocks and beach glass I find and then sell them to the snooty rich people in The Hamptons. I can't tell you what these "things" are because you'll totally steal my idea. They're that good. No lie. For realz.

Oh and eventually those snooty rich people will be my neighbors. It's all part of the plan. And on an unrelated note, can I borrow a couple million dollars?  

Anyway, scouring the beach netted some incredible booty. Blue beach glass, y'all! BLUE! One of the hardest colors to find. Don't be jealous. Totally worth the two hours it took to find it.

While I raked my raw fingers through the stones (nothing worth having comes easy, people), I noticed helicopters flying overhead. In Calgary, we only saw choppers when there was a news story or wicked traffic for them to cover. I wondered what could be so interesting? Perhaps the blue glass? "Old woman finds awesome beach glass. Hamptons Mavens all a-buzz."

Yeah, right. Let's get real! You can't see beach glass from a helicopter. But if they could, man, they'd be all over it. Anyway, it finally dawned on me that those helicopters were probably headed to the Hamptons. It's a long, congested drive out there from the city. My future neighbors take a chopper. If they were smart, though, they'd save some of that helicopter money for my must-have things.

I didn't get a photo of the helicopters, but, trust me, they were up there.

And their passengers were probably looking down at me with envy, wishing they were on that wild, abandoned beach. Or maybe they were wistfully thinking that their big, old houses could use something really special on the walls. Preferably made with shells, rocks and beach glass. Just you wait, you rich people/future neighbors, just you wait.

Au Revoir

 (I wrote this in May but didn't post it. Life became hectic!)

 

I haven't been writing because I've been sad. And busy. My husband's assignment here in Calgary ended abruptly and we're being sent back to the states. The snow is (mostly) gone, there are buds on the trees and it's once again a life-affirming act to walk along the river.

And we have to leave. I can't tell you in one blog post what living here has meant to us. We love the urban life style: walking everywhere, living close to work, church and friends. Calgary is built for exactly that. When the weather's bad, you just jump into the Plus-15 (the enclosed walkways that snake throughout downtown) where all the action is anyway. On Friday nights, we meet whatever friends are available for dinner and never have to worry about having a second glass of wine. Our home is a short walk away.

I've gotten into the habit of looking up towards the sky for the Calgary Tower when I'm walking in the city. I have no idea why it makes me smile to see it there. I guess it's comforting to see it rising up like the moon, leading me in the right direction.

My husband and I moved here without the kids. Both of our boys had lives of their own by the time our transfer to Calgary was offered. In fact, we left the dog behind, too. For the first time in a very long time, we found ourselves the only two warm bodies moving through the space we lived in. We developed new routines that involved just the two of us. We took off on weekends and stayed in hotels. We made each other laugh. Calgary has been good for us.

I don't want to go. I like our routines. I like this city. I like knowing our favorite waitress by name and all of the shortcuts through the Plus 15. I love that I can see the mountains from my balcony.

Calgary will barely notice when I’m gone. I was just another magpie soaring through her air. But as I moved through the city, I breathed in her cold crispness in winter and the scent of flowers in the spring. She became a part of me and I’ll never, ever forget her.

The Capital of Alberta

Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, is only three hours north of Calgary, but until last weekend we had never been there. Greg had that Monday off because it was a statutory holiday- Victoria Day. We decided to avoid the mountains for the long weekend because the locals told us it would be a madhouse there.

We picked two outings that sounded fun: The West Edmonton Mall, which is the largest shopping mall in North America and Elk Island, a national park that boasts free-roaming bison. Not super-exciting, but it was something to do and we were only staying one night.

We hit the mall first, after checking into the hotel. The place is huge! It has a movie theater, indoor lake, regulation size hockey rink, restaurants, an indoor amusement park, mini-golf, penguin tank and a hotel. Oh, yeah- and there are stores.

We walked around and  had dinner. We didn't have a room IN the mall (not at $300 a night!) but we were staying right across the street. It was a low-key, pleasant day.

One of their theme streets- this is Europe:

The next morning we headed out to Elk Island. It's not really an island. It's a National Park that's completely fenced in. Bison, moose and elk roam free. It sounded like a pretty sure thing that we'd see some animals. My favorite thing to photograph!

We stopped at the info center, asked for advice on where to go to see these beasts and headed out. After about two hours of driving around and hiking a bit, the only living thing I snapped a photo of was this butterfly:

And the poor thing turned out to be dead. :(

We had seen some bison waaaaaaaaaay off in the distance, so we drove around to where we thought they were, parked the car and started to walk across a field to see if they might be on the other side of a hill (behind a fence). BIG MISTAKE!! We quickly became covered in mosquitoes. Not just a few- we looked like we were wearing mosquito jackets. When we ran, they followed us like a black cloud. Amazingly, I didn't get a single bite. Greg had about ten on his neck- his only exposed skin.

That pretty much ended our enthusiasm for the place. Driving out, we passed a beaver. Whoop-de-do! I half-heartedly took some photos but of course, the beaver can't be seen.    

We drove out of the park, pointing the car towards Calgary on the highway. And wouldn't you know it? Bisons everywhere behind the fences lining the highway! Turns out the highway, Yellowhead Trail, goes right through the middle of the park.

We stopped to take a look at this guy...

...but he gave me a dirty look and walked into the trees.

I guess even animals get tired of the paparazzi.

Baby On Board!

I'm so happy to share the news that my son, Jake, and his wife, Yifei, will be welcoming their first child (and our first grandchild) into the world in August! We found a way to involve all of our friends and family in a project to show this new little boy (yes- it's a boy!) how much we already love him. Please contribute to a "100 Good Wishes Quilt."

Friends and family from China, America and Canada are asked to contribute colorful patches of cloth and good wishes for the baby. 100 patches of fabric will be sewn together into a colorful quilt that contains the luck, energy, and good wishes from around the world. (The photo included in this post is an example of a 100 Good Wishes Quilt) Your good wishes will be collected into a scrapbook for Jake and Yifei.

HERE IS WHAT WE ASK YOU TO DO:
Send a colorful piece of 100% cotton fabric (at least 12" square). It can be cut from a piece of clothing or purchased from a store.  Include a "good wish" note (what you wish for his life). You can send more than one. The notes and a scrap of fabric will be put in a book for Yifei and Jake and the fabric will be used to make a quilt, to wrap the baby in love and good wishes for the rest of his life.

Send your fabric and good wishes to (Aunt) Nancy Meyer at home or at PO Box 142, Harvard, MA 01451.

Thank you!

Three Day Drive From Calgary to Houston

Greg and I wanted to bring the truck back to Texas, so we drove it down from Calgary. I was diagnosed with mono a few days before we left, but my doctor said it would be OK to go as long as I got a lot of sleep on the way. Those moments when I was awake, I snapped some pictures:

DAY 1, April 5th
Alberta-Montana-Wyoming

1pm

DAY 2, April 6th
Wyoming-Colorado-Oklahoma-Texas

5:30am

"Oh give me a home..."

OK, no buffalo, a few deer but A LOT of antelope:

6:30am

Weird land formation:

Denver, 11:30am

4:30pm

Don't let that "Welcome to Texas" sign fool you. We still had whole day of driving ahead of us on Day 3 from the Panhandle of Texas, all the way down to Houston.

Three days of driving. Total hours on the road= 33. Total hours I was conscious= 10

Dog Sledding in the Canadian Rockies

Dog-sledding is all about the dogs. I thought the quiet, snowy scenery would be the star of the show but those huskies steal the spotlight. They LOVE what they do. Before the tour begins and they're getting hitched up, their excitement builds until the barking is deafening.





Our tour had a total of five sleds, with two people per sled. Greg and I climbed in and were wrapped up in something like a sleeping bag. Then a canvas covering topped it off. We were told beforehand to dress as if we were going skiing, so despite the fact that it was 17 degrees F, we were snuggly warm.

The dogs were jumping, barking and straining to take off until our guide released the brake and told our team to go!

The sled bumped along the trail at first, kind of like a boat hitting waves. But soon the path smoothed out and we were able to relax and take it all in.



We stopped eventually so our guide could take a few pictures of us. The dogs wanted him to hurry up!

"Let's go!"

 And go we did!

We went under the arch which divides Alberta from British Columbia, turned around and stopped.

The dogs got a well-deserved break while we got out to stretch our legs. To show my appreciation, I scratched each good boy behind the ears and told him he was doing a good job. One of them jumped up and planted his paws on my chest because after all, we were buddies now.

Happy guys:

On the way back, Greg got to "drive" the sled. (All he did in reality was hold on. The dogs know what they're doing.)



We veered off the wide path and rode through the middle of the woods on a narrow trail.



That was my favorite part. We slid along back there in the deep snow, no other teams in sight. The snow was completely untouched save for the dog sled trail and these tracks that we stopped to look at:



Lynx tracks!! Everyone in the Lake Louise area has been buzzing about a female lynx and her cub spotted a few times near the highway. I wish I could get a photo of them, but the chances of that happening are very slim. This photo of her tracks will have to do.

So back we sped, the dogs occasionally looking at our guide for confirmation that they should just keep going.

Back at base camp, we were given the opportunity to toss each dog a treat of frozen meat. They snapped it up, rolled around in the snow and were completely satisfied.

But I wasn't. Greg said I couldn't take any of the dogs home. hmpf!