Calgary!

Just back got this morning - what a great trip!

Day I - depart from Toronto on a 7am flight, 4 hours to Calgary. Got there, saw him smile, and that was almost enough. =) Slight delay due to stuck conveyor belt (not my luggage's fault!). Checked out the drum studio he teaches at, 17th Avenue, went to his place for lunch. His mom was so nice. Then headed downtown for some walking around, checking out the different venues he gigs at (theatres, concert halls, hotels, pubs), but mostly we were just getting used to how giddily good it is to see each other. Watched him teach a class at St. Francis high school, dinner at The Keg, back to his place and met his dad. Drinks with Marc after.

Day II - tour University of Calgary campus in the morning, lunch at the Grad Club. Calgary Zoo in the afternoon. Back to his place for barbecue dinner with his parents. I was pretty nervous about this part of this trip, but they were totally cool and gracious hosts. Went for a walk around Glenmore Park, which surrounds a reservior. Rented Ray for a quiet evening in.

Day III - Banff. Wow. I haven't seen the mountains since Hong Kong, and they are just gorgeous. There is really no other way to describe them. Well, maybe majestic, too. Snow capped, with a million trees growing straight as asparagus covering them. So wish I'd done my flight training in Alberta. There was a jazz concert in the evening, so we decided to go check it out. It was so appallingly bad that we left at intermission, though we had a great time making fun of it.

Day IV - late start, 'cuz all that mountain hiking is really tiring. Back to the university so he could play some stuff on the marimba for me. Shopping at Kensington Market, nice walk and talk along the Bow River, and a bit of shopping at Eau Claire Market just before they closed. Back to his place for dinner. Then, 1 hour before we had to leave for the airport, he gets a call from Marc, telling us that Nikki (who leave in Victoria, BC) is spontaneously in town! We had a really fast drive to and a quick drink together; it was so good to see her, especially since she won't be at Cold Lake this summer. To the airport, flight at 0050hr (Calgary time). Arrive 0640hr (Toronto time).

June is going to be a long month. I can't really complain though, 'cuz we'll be spending every spare minute of July & August at camp together!

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sorry about the sappiness of this post. But, seeing him, long distance relationship; I think I'm entitled. ;)