Saturday - May 21, 2016
As is our habit with vacation, we wake up early. Fortunately, the original flight we booked was changed, from a 6:30 am departure (which would necessitate leaving our house at 3:30 am - sacrilege!!) to a much more humane 10:30 am. But that meant we changed planes and we had to scramble to pick our seats again since the ones we so carefully chose months before were useless now as the plane assigned to the trip became a much smaller plane.
One of the items on my mom's bucket list was to see the Rocky Mountains. While I had a vague notion about them (you know, from all those beer commercials about being brewed in the Rockies) I didn't even know where to begin booking a trip. I mean, don't they span like, mucho states? The ones who brew beers? Where it's cold? Sure…
What's funny? We started talking about how the Canadian dollar was still pretty weak and I declared that I wanted to visit Banff. I knew jack about Banff, but one of my best friends went there for his honeymoon and he raved about it. So I figure that Banff is a pretty cool place and hey! It's in Canada, where we can now get more bang for our buck!! Did I know where it actually was? Nope. Did I even know it was in the freaking Rocky Mountains? Hell to the no. I just knew it was supposed to be pretty and it was somewhere in Canada. Yes, I'm totally smart like that. And yes, I am actually licensed to practice law. The government clearly has high standards.
So fast forward a few days (btw, my mom totally shot down Banff. She was like, “I don't know what that is. No.” see? I'm not the only one in my family who didn't know) when I start looking up Rocky Mountains on the Google magic machine. I found that Montana has a Rocky Mountains National Park. I figured that must be where she wanted to go so I showed pictures to my mom and she exclaimed, “that's not the Rockies!” “Uh mom,” I replied, “the park has the name Rocky Mountain in it. How much more Rockies do you want to get??!!” This is when she chose to tell me that she “want[ed] the Rockies in Canada.” “They go up to Canada?” I asked dumbly. “Yes they go to Canada” she answered exasperated, no doubt wondering at the low IQ of her offspring.
So I Google “Rocky Mountains Canada” and what comes up but Banff? “Hey!” I exclaim, “this is where I wanted to go and you said no!” My mom looks me and says, “you never told me it was the Rockies, you just told me it was where Colby [my friend] went. I want to see the Rockies, not just some random place in Canada.” So I show her some pictures of Banff on the internets and she agreed that we must go to Banff. Because those were the Rockies she wanted. So thus began my trip planning saga.
After exhaustive research I decided that we had to go to Jasper as well as it was only three hours away and it's cute, isolated and what Banff used to be before it got too touristy and commercialized. And because it was going to be a drive I opted to build in a buffer day each way in Calgary so we didn't get too tired. These last two sentences just condensed about a week of research, indecision and stress. Deciding exactly what we wanted to see and in what order and whether or not we'd even be able to see it was another few months of agonizing. I had to hammer out a rough itinerary of where we wanted to go and when to be able to book airline tickets (we used our mileage so we had to book early), rental car, and hotels. So in the end, I came up with a rough outline.
Our itinerary looked like this:
Day 1: fly to Calgary
Day 2: drive to Jasper
Day 5: drive to Banff with a stop at the Columbia Icefield
Days 6 & 7: see more awesome stuff in Banff
Day 8: drive to Calgary
Day 9: go home 😩
Yes, it was just that vague until the week of the trip. But you know what? We had a freaking awesome time. This ended up being one of my favorite trips that we've taken. I was worried that my parents and our family friends (Grace and Edward who joined us on our Alaskan cruise in 2014) wouldn't be able to handle too much (my parents complained - loudly and on many occasions - that our Orlando trip this past December was too intense and tiring) especially my mom (she's got a bum back and bad hips) and Grace (she suffers from foot pain and hurt her back badly a month before our trip) and my dad had a decidedly poor showing in Orlando. So I tried to plan each day so we had plenty of time to rest and no one would be throwing shoes at my head. We scheduled 2, at most 3 sights to see a day and we had a pretty leisurely vacation where we all enjoyed ourselves.
So, onto day one. We woke up. My mom got up really early to make us breakfast and I slurped down coffee like a zombie since I had a combined 9 hours of sleep the past two days. It was no bueno. Our ride to the airport was scheduled to pick us up at 7:15 am and then he was going to swing by Grace and Edward's house (about a mile and a half away) to pick them up before we all went to LAX. I packed up some extra odds and ends and we pushed our suitcases out to find Bryan (our ride) already in our driveway and asleep inside his van at 7 am. And yes, my Bendi came with us too. He had a blast - he got to see, and play, in snow for the first time in his life and he got to explore and hike and see sights that were just incredible. But his coming along necessitated a lot more planning (and money) involved, from booking him an airline ticket to finding pet friendly hotels in each city and figuring out what activities he could join us for, pet requirements for Canada, digging around to find his rabies certificate, preparing and packing food and snacks for the week, supplies like poop bags and leash and bowls . Oy. But he was sooo excited. He hadn't know where we were going, but he saw his carrier and he knew he was coming!
So we loaded our luggage, our dog, and ourselves into the car and off we went!
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| someone is very excited about going to the airport |
There was minimal traffic and we checked in pretty quickly. Except for me, because I had to wait in line (the line that was non existent with the most unhelpful bitch who just stood around btw) to be checked in because I had a pet with me. I couldn't use the kiosks because of Bendi, but she refused to help me or any of the other people waiting around and kept trying to get me to use the kiosk after I kept telling her I couldn't. I finally got tired of it and marched myself to an available guy in the elite priority line to get my freaking boarding pass. At this point, I didn't care that I was a peon in the line for fancy people - I'd been standing around and getting tired of the lack of Canadian hospitality! The guy was cool - he printed out my pass and I was on my way in about 80 seconds. Yay for cool guy with the faux hawk. Boo for the lazy chick with her little neck kerchief.
My parents are both Star Alliance Gold and have lounge access with the ability to bring in a guest each. Since I was the youngest and had a dog, I lost out and found a seat at the gate to wait. First, I had to take him out to pee though, because it would be a good 5-6 hours before he could. I looked up the pet relief area online...but guess what? It wasn't freaking there! Because LAX is undergoing a crap ton of construction, it's a hot, dirty mess. Whatever. We skirted behind the temporary fencing and I had him pee in the bushes where the pet relief area was suppose to be. I didn't have him pee on the sidewalk, just in the dirt by the bushes. So he had to be wiped down because he got all dirty. Blech! After he peed, I had to as well (TMI I know) - and btw, going pee in the airport with a pet is a pain in the ass. I didn't want his carrier on the bathroom floor, so I had to hang his bag behind the door and hope he didn't jostle it enough to fall off the thin little metal post held to the flimsy door with one screw. 
The flight itself was uneventful at 2.5 hours and I passed the time reading my kindle and fantasizing about all the days I have off of work. I ended up dozing for about an hour or so because I was tired, but couldn't really sleep well because it's a cramped tiny seat with a dog at my feet. My mom and I sat in one row (of two) with Bendi by our feet while my dad sat behind us. Grace and Edward sat across the aisle from us, so Grace and my mom could chat during the flight.
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| poor little Bendi down by our feet |
When we landed, we grabbed our luggage and went to pick up our rental car. I always book it through Costco because of the ability to cancel at will, their discount, and getting to add a 2nd driver at no additional cost. I booked us a full sized SUV. We waited and waited and waited for a full sized car instead of the Ford Explorer they tried to pawn off on me. Uh, no. I paid for a larger car and we have too much luggage for that. So we waited for about a half hour before they told me my car was available. We drag all of our luggage to the parking structure in the cold and I stand there looking at a white Toyota Sienna. Um… this is not a full size SUV. The guy tried to play it off saying it was the same class. No it's not. If I wanted a stupid minivan I would have booked one. I've rented many minivans before, I know very well how to get one. But I didn't want one, thus I paid more for a full size SUV. I told them I'd wait for the car I booked, but they told me none were available. So what the hell was I waiting over a half hour for? They made me wait for a minivan???!!! My mom and Edward talked them into a discount, but I was still pissed. Really though, if I had to drive a van, this was the van to drive. It was top of the line with every option. Butt warmers, sunroof, leather seating, navigation...I kind of had car envy for all the toys this car had, even if it's not a car I'd ever buy. Unlike most minivans we've rented, the car was all wheel drive and had enough ponies to not plod along when I floored it. She served us well, and I named her Marge.
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| waiting for our rental car. Bendi is still very excited. |
We piled into Marge and drove to our hotel in Calgary. It was past 4 pm at this point and I was ready for a hotel. I wanted to eat a snack and lay down. I was tired. I picked the Marriott in downtown Calgary because they had good reviews, I got a pretty good rate, and my parents, being gold elite with Marriott (a benefit to being Gold Star Alliance members) have automatic lounge access (free breakfasts! Snacks! Drinks! And evening appetizers and DESSERT!!!!) with the ability to each bring a guest. We had 5 people, so as a lowly silver elite (elite. Hah!) I booked a rate that provided for lounge access. So we all had access. Yay! The hotel was nice - right next to Stephens Avenue historic shopping district, across the street from Calgary Tower, and it was newly remodeled and super clean. They also had a Starbucks inside! The part that sucked: valet only for $20 a night on weekends. It's $40 a night on weekdays, and I would've cried if I had to pay that. Alas, we each grabbed our suitcases, carry ons and the dog and trooped out of the car and into the lobby. And bliss! The lobby is small, but warm and cozy. We got our keys quickly and took the elevator to our rooms. The bad thing? The rooms have either king beds, or two fulls. Oh, and no rollaways. So we got 2 full beds. Sorry dad. He had to squeeze into a full size bed with my mom. They have a king bed at home. Oops. But I got a GREAT night's sleep in the super cozy full size bed with Bendi sharing the bed with me!
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| it was rainy when we were there - so we saw a cloudy and wet Calgary Tower |
We wandered up to the lounge and I downed about 3 cans of iced tea because I could. Then we stayed for their appetizers. The waiter told us that sometimes it's super hearty (stew, curry and rice, etc) that it makes a great dinner, but other times it may just be a charcuterie board with meats, cheeses, crackers and fruit. We ended up with a spicy Thai soup with shrimp, egg rolls, and pad thai. Not the most authentic, but not bad at all. Oh, and they also had a charcuterie board with some chips on the side. At around 8 they brought out assorted desserts like small tarts, cakes, cookies, candy, and other baked goods. They also had one of those fancy espresso/latte/cappuccino machines that we made great use of and nice seating arrangements in the lounge. This was enough for most of us for dinner. Except for me. But we'll get to that later.
As we're eating, my mom realized that she had forgotten her sunglasses. And my dad's. Oops. Why is this a big deal? Because there's a lot of snow and water where we'll be going and we could go snowblind! (this is all theoretical. We didn't even know if we'd see snow, but we figured there would be some left somewhere, and it would be a good idea to have them). So I told her that we could just wander to some drugstore and buy some cheapies for the trip. Lo and behold, after walking in the rain from our hotel for about 3 minutes, there was a Winners! For those not in the know, Winners is like the Canadian equivalent of Marshalls or TJ Maxx. We ducked in, bought some cheapie glasses, and went back to the hotel. This walking in the rain for a total of about 7 minutes worked up an appetite, and I wanted something more substantial than faux Asian food for dinner, so during happy hour (in the lounge it was from 7-9 pm and it was 25% off their a la carte menu) my dad and I ordered steak and fries to split. And we (by we I mean me) had dessert. I brought a plate back to the room and split it with my mom. Mmm...dessert.
As we're eating, my mom realized that she had forgotten her sunglasses. And my dad's. Oops. Why is this a big deal? Because there's a lot of snow and water where we'll be going and we could go snowblind! (this is all theoretical. We didn't even know if we'd see snow, but we figured there would be some left somewhere, and it would be a good idea to have them). So I told her that we could just wander to some drugstore and buy some cheapies for the trip. Lo and behold, after walking in the rain from our hotel for about 3 minutes, there was a Winners! For those not in the know, Winners is like the Canadian equivalent of Marshalls or TJ Maxx. We ducked in, bought some cheapie glasses, and went back to the hotel. This walking in the rain for a total of about 7 minutes worked up an appetite, and I wanted something more substantial than faux Asian food for dinner, so during happy hour (in the lounge it was from 7-9 pm and it was 25% off their a la carte menu) my dad and I ordered steak and fries to split. And we (by we I mean me) had dessert. I brought a plate back to the room and split it with my mom. Mmm...dessert.
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| enough to feed my dad and I. Although we did have our share of pad thai, egg rolls and soup |
By this point I was full, happy, and pooped out. I showered, read, and slept like a baby. The next day we make the 420 kilometer (or more accurately, 261 miles) drive to Jasper.
