We're On!

I've been texting and emailing Michelle all week, since our first date last Friday, and I think things are on.  We're on!

Tomorrow we're going out for dinner at the 2nd Avenue Grill.

Grass!

Finally ... grass was laid down at my place today!

Slowly but surely, my place is starting to look like a real home!

On another note, I went out for breakfast with Eric this morning.  His mom's in town and so she treated us for the occasion.

I was surprised how convinced (dogmatic?) she felt about certain theological viewpoints.  I had to contain my tongue.  I wanted to engage and counter (perhaps with equal dogmatism) but thought it wiser not to.

When she asked me what church I attend, for example, I didn't mention to her that I'm attending a RC church, and that I'm entering the RCIA program within the next few weeks.  That would've opened up a can of worms that I'm not really interested in discussing, at least not with someone that "has all the answers".  I've been on this trajectory for 5+ years now, and any conversations at this point about how "we're right" or "they're off" on such and such matters are superfluous to me.

I went on a date with Michelle last night.  Oh my God.  I can't mess this one up...

A Date

I have a date tomorrow night.  Coffee at D'Lish.

Banff

I just came back from a weekend camping and hiking trip to Banff with my great friends Marty and Ruth.  I left early Friday morning, and returned late this afternoon.  I stopped in Calgary both, on the way there and on the way back, to eat some lunch, as well as taking a peak into MEC.

The above picture was taken by Marty.

We had a nice campsite, slightly outside of town and away from all the action and noise.  I didn't sleep so well though, even though I have a decent sleeping pad.  Next year I'll have to get a better one!

We brought along much of our own food.  I brought meat from BCW, and they brought rice, pasta, and veggies.  

Now as far as hiking is concerned, my goodness, I'm not sure there's a more picturesque place than Banff.  The scenery is simply stunning.

We hiked on Saturday and on Sunday, but ironically, we didn't stay in Banff to hike.  We drove to Lake Louise on both days (!) (all pictures depict the Lake Louise area, not Banff).  On Saturday, we began around noon, hiking up to Lake Agnes Teahouse, and then continuing on to Devils Thumb, eventually connecting with the return stretch of Plain of Six Glaciers, taking us back to the beginning point at the Fairmont Chateau.  In all, we did about 14kms.  Along the way, we stopped numerous times if not for snacks, certainly for picture-taking.

On Sunday we did the Moraine Lake trail, a short trail of 3kms leading us to more amazing vistas.  The second picture above is of Moraine Lake.  Marty took that picture lakeside, while enjoying a sandwich lunch!  I, on the other hand, picked a large rock overlooking the lake (picture below) for my lunch spot.

As always, we had amazing conversations.  Ruth and Marty view the world very differently than I do, and yet, we have very meaningful conversations.  We agree to disagree on fundamentals, but what I appreciate about both of them is that they're engaging conversation partners, open to hearing another's point of view, and they are interested in finding meaning and significance in the lives that we live.  They have an admirable commitment to simplicity of lifestyle, and a joyful, amicable spirit.  And their love for each other is truly exemplary.  I'm blessed for having them as friends in my life.  They are an example to follow.  Below, we're eating lunch at Lake Agnes.

We've decided to do this again, if not later this Fall, than certainly next summer.  Maybe next time we'll camp near our hiking trails!

Grasslands II

Last year around this time I went camping at Grasslands with some of my hiking friends from Regina, and it turned out to be one of the best trips of the summer for me.  Here's a walk down memory lane.

After such a good experience last year, I decided to go there again this year,  but this time with Eric.  Pavel from Regina joined us also, for the second day of hiking.

On the first day of hiking we hiked to Zahursky's Point, much like last year.  Actually, we added about 3kms to this year's loop, so it took us longer to do the hike.  And the mosquitoes were out in full force, my goodness....

On day two we did another loop, and much like last year, found ourselves "lost", miscalculating directions and distances.

I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm not a very good camper.  I like tenting: setting it up and sleeping in it; but I don't like the food portion of the experience.  Too much work goes into drying my own food (that's why I've never done it), and the packaged food that I've had is less than tasty.  I'm also not particularly good at starting campfires.  I love the hiking, I love the scenery, I love the company, but at the end of the day I wish all hikes led to small towns with albergues, like the Camino did in Spain.

In the end, we hiked around 30kms in 2 days, leaving us physically tired (but not exhausted), slightly burned by the sun, and with plenty of red welts from mosquito bites.

Eric drove his old Beamer, so the route he picked was via Moose Jaw on the way there, and via Swift Current on the way back.  A nice loop, about 800kms in total.

Ribfest

Never been to a ribfest before, but I didn't have any plans for this evening and the weather was just too good to stay indoors, so I walked the 20 minute stretch to Exhibition Park and stuffed myself full of ribs.

Over the past few years I've eaten lots at Tony Roma's and have become accustomed to their bbq sauce, thinking that it's pretty good, but after tonight I see the light.

Trips to Tony Roma's will be very limited from now on.