Home time

Today is finally the day i go home. I'm sad, naturally, but also really really excited to see my family again. I'm gonna be super busy over the next few weeks which will be a good distraction i suppose as i have to sort out like everything! Car, phone, internet and of course, somewhere to live. I'd like to have it all done before i start back at work too. My sister is throwing us a big party at hers this weekend but i also have loads of others wanting to see us before then. Understandable but i just hope I'm not too jet lagged when i get back to blighty. I've been running on around 6 hours sleep since we left NZ so hopefully a little shut eye on the plane will suffice.

Since my last blog entry we haven't really done much except travel about. Whilst in Banff we decided to explore the local penis themed lakes. They have Lake Minnewanka and Lake Johnson just outside the town. Both were really pretty and had already started there spring thaw. We also drove up to Lake Louise which, although being still really frozen, was stunning with it's sheer dramatic mountains rising from the waters edge. I had seen it before on a miserable drizzly day but this time it was far more impressive. People were venturing out onto the ice but i decided to stay on land. We also explored the bow valley parkway which i guess was the original road from Calgary to Lake louise. It was very twisty and windy but nice and quiet and still had a feel of being off the beaten track. We saw a few deer and i think i saw a wolf but Kates bear watch was unfruitful. She was very optimistic as a large male grizzly bear was seen there a few days before. The males are all awake now and desperate for food so they hug the train tracks as a lot of trains leak grain. A local told us a story of a bear that hoped onto a slow moving train but couldn't get off and rode it all the way to Manitoba. Imagine the train workers in Manitoba when that train stopped. Apparently it caused a bit of havoc in the city. Cool huh?

We left Banff on the Easter Saturday. The town population had swelled somewhat for the Easter weekend but it was still cool to have one last shop. The coolest thing about Banff for me was that not only is it a stunning place but it snowed every day we were there. I do love Banff but could never live there. They make it near impossible to move there as it's in the national park and they have a shed load of restrictions. It'll still be a desirable holiday spot for me though. We also saw pop legend Pete Waterman there.

From Banff we headed out of the rockies to Calgary. It marked the end of Kates bear watch once and for all. It was pretty sad as we passed the last mountain and she said "ah well, that's the end of bearwatch." Number of hours spent looking for a bear? Hundreds. Bears seen? Zero. I told her we needed to be there later in the year and the fact that we saw a crap load of other animals made up for it. After being in Banff, Calgary and Edmonton were pretty much after thoughts. They were only really places to stay in to kill a little time until we flew home. I was keen to go back to them to just create some new positive memories about them. Calgary is very similar to most north American cities. It is famous for the Stampede which is a huge cowboy related festival that happens later in the year. Other than that there isn't a lot more else to see or do. It has a really pretty island park in the middle of the city but it is over populated with eager joggers all hours of the day. There are a few remote spots where you can relax and feel serene though with the huge city scape over looking you. It is a very clean and modern city. It has it's fair share of trendy areas and shopping havens but if you ever go there over an Easter weekend, bear in mind most of it will be closed.

So i now sit in my Edmonton hotel. I thought i was gonna be here a little longer than we are so had arranged to meet a friend who lives here and also to meet a friend who lived just outside the city in a town called Leduc. Either way i had to message them and tell them i had cocked up but I'm sure they will be fine with it. So Edmonton is a pretty nice city if you like shopping, like we do. It has the WEM (West Edmonton Mall) as well as other huge shopping areas. We got into town a little early yesterday so decided to check out the WEM. I think it was at one point the largest shopping mall in the world and due to the horrendous winters they have here it caters a lot more than just shops. It has an ice rink, mini golf, cinema, theme park, pirate ship complete with sea lion show and a huge indoor waterpark. You could quite easily spend a whole day there. We had a quick whizz around the shops not really looking for anything in particular and had a nice lunch. We then checked into our hotel, played a little online poker then decided to finally go to the Keg. We have often looked at menus and adverts for the huge steakhouses that have been scattered along our route on the Canadian leg of our trip. We have always decided it looked over priced but as it was our last night we thought we'd finally have one. Oh my god it was such a nice meal! We sat at the bar while our table was prepared, had a nice glass of wine and felt quite civilised for the first time in a long time. Our food was amazing! Kate had a baseball topped sirloin, a steak so thick they can only cook it medium rare! Perfect as any steak cooked more than that is a waste in my eyes. I had a huge slab of tender prime rib. Ah man it was so good - drools on keyboard. I still have a food baby from it! I'm gonna be digesting that for weeks! It was a good way to sign off from our trip for sure.

And now it is all coming to a head. All i have to do now is load up the car, drop it at the airport and wait til our flight. I checked in online last night which was genius as we got to choose our seats. I of course nabbed the ones with the leg room but we will see as i know it's not guaranteed. It has been such a weird few days. Sometimes i just feel all the energy leave me and a monumental sigh leaves my body but then a few minutes later i am giddy with excitement. It is a real roller coaster of emotion. I am super amped about seeing all my kin though and can't wait. I am of course a little down about this all coming to an end and the prospect of reality and responsibility.

I have always loved Canada and it was always the the first place i saw myself emigrating to but this time my opinion has changed. Yes, the skiing was awesome considering the low snowfall they have had, and yes the people are amazing but it just doesn't feel as homely, as spectacular as it once was. It isn't New Zealand. It just isn't Queenstown. I think we lucked out so much with that place and i find it really difficult to find reasons not to go back. I think i will have to think long and hard about it. Before all that though i want to go home and see my family and to do all the things i have missed so much on this trip. I always wondered how i would cope with all this travelling. It was simple really. Yes the last week or so has been an effort in comparison but before that it was effortless. Yes, we didn't quite take the traditional backpackers route. We didn't stay in too many hostels or live off pot noodles but we are successful 30 year olds and didn't need to. In a way i am glad we waited until now to travel. It allowed us luxuries we probably wouldn't have had if we had tried the same trip 10 years ago. It certainly enhanced our experience. I think a lot of reflection will occur over the next few weeks, some of it to guide future decisions but most of it to try and reinforce the memories of a really special time in my life. I will let you know how i get on, as ever.

Peace

D

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