Road Trip to Calgary

We're very particular with our beer sponsors. So that no one beer company hogged all the limelight, we allowed Alexander Keith's to grace our presence on the 2nd night.

You should have been here. I gave you an iron-clad excuse to flee to Calgary

 

Oh, no big deal. The way I was playing, it was just as well

 

Day 2 started with a visit to Tim's. Someone groaned this was the third time he had gone there. True, but we needed a quick bite before our long drive out to Lake Louise. It was a beautiful sunny morning in Calgary although the temperature had yet to reach double digits.

As we headed up into the Rockies, clouds and fog were slowly but surely shrouding the peaks, giving them a mystical aura. It was about 2 hours before we reached our destination. It was cold and I was in shorts, not the best combination.

A short walk around the corner afforded us the majestic view of Lake Louise, with the Victoria Glacier towering over the far end of the lake barely visible because of the thick fog. Lake Louise is known for it alluring teal colour but it was a little muted today due to the lack of sun. Then the usual taking of photos around various parts of the lake before stepping into the magnificent Chateau Lake Louise. The Chateau is as much an attraction as the the lake with its beautiful period decorations and mounted animal heads. No detail had been spared.

A quick 1/2 hour drive took us up to Moraine Lake, which is of course famous for being on the back of the Canadian $20 bill. Then it snowed. Not good for us fair weathered Vancouverites! Luckily we were smart enough to bring jackets. A few of us went down to the lake while others climbed up what seemed to be a big pile of rocks to get a view overlooking the lake. Framed by several peaks, the lake took on an even more dramatic aura as the cloud and fog swirled through the mountains. After a while we had had enough of the cold and retreated back to the warmth of our cars.

After gassing up, we headed across the highway to the Bow Valley Parkway, a beautiful scenic route that took us to Johnston Canyon. Already a few hundred metres lower, we were grateful for the difference in temperature. And no snow either. It's only a small canyon with rushing water and the smell of clean, fresh air. A 1 km paved path on one side led us to the Lower Falls. The unique thing about this waterfall was you could go into the rocks beside it and peer through a hole right up and personal with the water. It was a popular spot with people jostling for positions to have their pics taken.

Then it was time to make our way back to Calgary for dinner and our evening session at Sunridge. Ah, the demands of the (not so) rich and famous.

 

Driving out of Calgary towards the Rockies

 

At Lake Louise

 

Moraine Lake portion

 

Johnston Canyon leg

 

What's my beef?

Angus... prime rib.

After dropping one of our cohorts off, the remainder of the group met up for dinner at the Smuggler's Inn. KKLam had eaten there before and remembered it to be pretty good.

The place is so popular they don't take reservations. And so it was the case; there were no tables left so we sat 6 abreast at the bar. The order 3 x 15 oz prime rib, 1 x 12 oz prime rib, 1 x New York, 1 x seafood (not a beef eater). All the steaks were medium-rare, juicy and tender. Add to that a free salad and soup bar and there was a lot of food to be eaten.

KKLam gobbled down his 15 ouncer like a hungry dog. **** and KKBird comfortably finished their 12 ouncers. I barely completed by job. 15 oz was almost too much to handle. Ron, however, succumbed to the meat.

We were watching World Cup Rugby and the CFL (BC v Calgary) on the large screen in front of us when the bartender informed us the Calgary quarterback, Henry Burris, would be bringing his linemen for dinner here in a couple of weeks. The last time, the big boys ordered 64 oz steaks and most finished them! Imagine the thickness of one of 'em. Henry only orders 24 oz... wimp!

With our bellies full and appetites sated, we rolled (literally) in Sunridge, not sure if we should just pack it in.

 

Dinner at Smuggler's Inn

 

Day 2 Evening session was a low key affair. KKBird and Mrs KKBird decided to sit it out. I don't even know why I bothered as I felt I was carrying half a cow on the court. We all went relatively easy to try to work off the massive dinner. The place was pretty empty so it felt like we had it all to ourselves.

 

After playing we all relaxed with a few beers and, would you believe it, more food. We presented Richard's wife a gift and he promptly snatched the bag off her, believing it suited him better. We watched the China Masters till 3:20am, which finally concluded a long and busy day.

 

We all woke up a little later after the late night. After sitting around drinking coffee, we headed for "The Forbidden City" restaurant for Dim Sum. At 11:00am, the place was already filling up rapidly. The food was decent. At the conclusion of the meal, Richard tricked us by paying behind our backs. The usual arguing over who pays ensued but we didn't win the argument this time.

Back at Sunridge, we got changed into our badminton gear for the afternoon session. Richard introduced to some young and fast players, which proved to be more than a match for our aging bodies. I forgot to take pics of this session, which may be just as well, as it would have shown us picking up shuttles off the floor.

Speaking of shuttles, due to the dry nature of Calgary, shuttles had to be constantly steamed to keep them from disintegrating. That didn't seem to help much as shuttles fell apart at an alarming rate. No wonder plastic is the king in Calgary.

Slowly but surely, one by one of us fell by the wayside. We had planned on a late dinner but it was looking like this wasn't necessary. By 7:30pm we were all at the local Red Lobster waiting to be seated. Endless Shrimp was the order of the evening and a few of us piled it on until closing time (10:00pm). Once again Richard tried to pull a fast one on us, shamelessly sending his wife to do the paying. This time we managed to reverse the charges and eventually got the bill settled to our satisfaction.

 

I want to mention I had a very nice chat with BC member nbonkowsky while at Sunridge. He's a very nice chap who's also a very talented player.

Finally, cooler (yes, cooler) returned my call this morning at 1:00am while I was watching the Japan Open final. We chatted for about 20 mins; it was a pity we didn't connect in Calgary. Maybe next time.