2008 January 1st - December 31st Toronto, France, UK and environs - Home 👍

 Dateline: 2008 December 31st Toronto, Ontario

This trips travelling map

Just another year, January - December

Totally leveraging my good guy consultant image from my client, I scam a night at the Banff Fairmont hotel for Andrei & I, complete with this view 

The Newts have bought a new pied a tere in France
We fly into Toulouse, about 200Kms away

Of course, we only work that out on the way there
We stop to view this famous city. We would, of course
prefer to be sleeping 

So we envelope ourselves into the Franco culture

And head out to the wilds of  

the E'tang

It's not exactly tropical, but we'll take it

It's spring, so the storks ar out and nesting

The Newt Pad,
complete with vine

There's a HUGE amount of vineyards
around. I rather like this one's Chardonnay
Unfortunately, it's all gone by the time I
come back

 There a monastery that has some
vineyards (of course), and we
head off for a picnic (of course)

 And climb a hill, well, Newt & I do

France is in fact lovely. I can't get enough of it

As if our cup wasn't already overflowing
Down to Leucate for magnificent oysters and Perle

Then, off to UK and stay at Peter & Shem's in Reigate
While I was arriving in Stanstead, Lucy, my favourite Aunt, finally died
She told me she would wait for me, but I arrived 12 hours too late

I hire a car and head off around
UK freeloading, again with a few days catching up

Bournemouth for the Hannis'

Back to Chaddleworth, here the church 
and the folks grave for a quick chat

Heading out, I stop at one of my well remembered
woods. There was always such a profusion of wild
flowers here, Snow Drops, Daffodils. then bluebells 
and finally primroses. Now, it looks like they have all been
stolen 

Turning around, here is the view of my upbringing council house (the right side of the one in the centre)

Heading north, this rime to Sleaford to visit
Sue and the family

 Here James, Ray and Sue

We stay for a night 

Sue babysitting

Not a happy time. Lucy's funeral with
the usual suspects. I can only name Kathy & Brenda

 Back to Toronto, and tiz the year of finding a university for Kayla
We fly out and stay in the UBC residences. April

She's applied to many, here at UBC

Complete with Japanese tea house

The campus is amazingly
AMAZING

We head to Stanley Park for a walk

I just love this place

Vancouver harbour, 

Kayla is in tears after her
audition. 

It did not go well and we are not very happy, especially me who was told by Kayla's music teacher that she was ready for UBC

Stanley Park is HUGE and right in the middle of town
Here at Prospect Point

It's Sunday so we have a subdued brunch at the Teahouse

Cool Dude with attitude 

heads out to Whistler

It's a pretty drive through the mountains

The Olympics are scheduled for Whistler

And I can tell the roads are going to need

Substantial upgrades

But not today

We check into our apartment, but

We are VERY lazy getting out of bed

We arrive at the hill around 11:30
and it's all slush

Of course, 1500 metres up

It would be probably
the best powder on
one of the best mountains ever,

 

We instead 

Head off for some tree to tree abseiling

It's actually quite fun

But I still regret not actually 

Just getting a lift ticket

And skiing

Oh well, another poor decision on my part
I still regret not getting up early and skiing

Looks like we're living out of the car
prior to boarding back to Toronto

And head back to Vancouver for our flight home
suitably despondent after 4 days 

Flip forward to June and "Prom" or something
North American. Kate & Kayla

My major client is addressing major increases in business. We need a solution for Calgary which is expanding big time

They need a far more efficient delivery process in Calgary. Andrei & I head out to analyse and plot. We leave Toronto after our normal days work on a Thursday and arrive in Calgary late local time

We get the car at the airport and I head straight to the office. I want to see the evening operations and this is as good a time as any. My timesheet will also have flying time included as consulting, so this helps to hide some hours

We head to the hotel early AM local time, and back to the office around 9

I formulate a design, tell the manager I could add some really cool goodies (at no extra charge to him) if he can see his way to looking after us. He gets us a night and the Banff Springs hotel, super up market

By 2PM, we are both ready to head out, camping to Banff, but first, the manager treats us to a wonder of Calgary. It's pizza. I HATE!!!! PIZZA

We leave late, Andrei driving. He gets nailed for speeding (Yes, BIG fine).

I drive and we get to Banff, pitch our tents in the campground (be on the lookout for bears)

Around 6pm, we head out to climb Sulphur Mountain, a local hiking spot. After that, a soak in the hot springs, back for a great meal in the local steak restaurant, and finally, bear free bed in our tents

Needs Info

Is actually a fairly easy climb,
but I'm fat

The hike up Sulphur Mountain

Luckily, Andrei is the chocolate bearer (and sharer)

And we have enough water to get us up

It's only about 2 hours

With an elevation gain of 655M
But, the sun is setting or close to it, and it's cooling off. Not jacket insignia

We take a gondola back down and
go to the springs for a hot soak

The springs really stank, of sulphur
of course

We have scored the Banff Springs Hotel. 
Super luxurious and the best breakfast I can remember
We arrive, check in and lounge around trying not to be tourists

The local view is reserved for guests

Banff Springs Breakfast, one of the best
I've ever had 

And another to go please 

And the sun is shining in the morning so we have
these views from our breakfast windows

Of course, we need to check out, but head out
to find a glacier 

Or two, just over the next rise

Andrei has bought these weird
5 toed plastic sandals

We settle for a 8Km hike up a trail

The lower reaches

It's very scenic

Pristine stuff for us

And totally abandoned

And the upper reaches

Andrei is still engrossed
with his web toed sandals

But on the way back to the car, he's caught short with an urgent need for a bog
The webbed toed sandals are pretty thin, so walking is painful, especially
on this terrain. With the urgent demands of nature in his bowels, the sight of Andrei running in his crap webbed, now disintegrating sandals' on sharp rocks trying to make it to the outback washroom in time, was I'm afraid, totally beyond hilarious

I think that we were safely in the car by this stage

We head to the Athabasca Icefield and pitch our
tents at the local campsite

The Athabasca glacier is pretty impressive
and there's a walking tour

Exactly what I'm after

A guided tour of the glacier
Note how far the glacier has retreated in 25 years

The guide has been doing this for years

His tour comes complete

With crampons

And jackets as needed
He has everything in his cab truck

The instructions are very clear

If you step on actual snow, as opposed to ice
you may end up down one of these

He tells us of the bodies that are just
thawing and eventually sliding out after maybe 30, 50 years

At the base that were lost in the 1930's

You have been warned!

These poles were drilled into the
glacier last year

They show the speed differentials
of the top ice compared with
lower in the glacier

The all weather (and terrain) vehicles are also out

But they are far less likely to die than we are

I inadvertently stepped onto a snow patch and
(obviously) didn't die

Here's a one way crevass

But we all avoid a nasty death

Our guide has been avoiding our questions about why this glacier
(and many others) are receding. Here's the culprit.
Soot, from all over the world

We head back, suitably enlightened, depressed, but essentially, still alive

We need to be at work again tomorrow (Monday)
in Calgary. This one the Trans Canada Highway
heading out of the Rockies
Upon cell phone signal, I get a call from Ilge.
She said that Carmen has had several meltdowns
because she couldn't get in touch with Andrei,
so assumed that he was dead

Kayla's friends are heading off in different directions

And back for convocation for her to say goodbye

From Your Correspondent