Humboldt in Edmonton

A couple of weekends ago my buddies Bryce and Glenn came to town. Originally Bryce was going to flat track race in Thorhild but the weather report said there would be rain. Not one to pass up on a good time they came anyways to hang out with Dan and myself.

After some drinks at Julio's, and the Tilted Kilt we hit up the Pint for some table kegs. It quickly became a shit show.

Around this time we got Andrew on the phone and made the announcement of the newest members to the Humboldt Fucking Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Cal "Fucking" Hobbes and Ryan "Fucking" Merkosky. 

The night continued to blur on to the Black Dog and a long cab ride home.

The next day we headed downtown and briefly checked out the Pride Parade - it was pretty gay...heyo!

We powered up again with some specialty jello shots placed into orange peels. They were fabulous...heyo!

All powered up we headed to Dan's and had a great BBQ before heading to the basement to drink OV. Just look at these athletes lined up. Seriously though, we're athletes.

The morning was a little rough but hanging with Dan's girl  Hazel helped wake us all up. Note the model like pose and the goofy pose...the girl has range.

 And she is an artist.

It was a great weekend with the old boys from Humboldt. Drinking too much warm OV, taking one joke and running it into the ground and hanging out in a basement. It was like a great trip back in time..

But, Fuck it all came to an end by noon on Sunday.

Thanks for coming to town and hanging out guys. Thanks to Chrissy and Deb for putting up with us. We'll have to do it again soon.

Bonus picture: The Family Dan from the weekend.

Rugby Couple

Last weekend my friends Kevin and Melinda came down from Grande Prairie to play rugby in Edmonton.  I jumped at the chance to hang out at the pitches all day drinking beer and watching.

Big Daddy Kevin of the Centaurs

Melinda of the Sirens

Melinda was playing Prop and was pretty bad ass in the scrums and lineouts. Very impressive.

Kevin seemed to be playing all over the place. It looked like he got some time in as a hooker, prop, 8 man and in the backs.

Dan and his girl Hazel came out to witness the action. Hazel had the best seat in the house.

At one time - all three of us were athletes.

Kevin modelling both of his teams jerseys on the day. Note: the pink one was for a charity initiative.

It was great to watch the two of them play. Melinda is a natural out there and Kevin is of course a bit of a superstar. Proven by his multiple tries on the day. It's funny - I still remember his first try ever quite well. It was later in his high-school career and he finished a fantastic team effort of rolling rucks and malls that went down the length of the whole field. After that - the floodgates opened.

I'm already looking forward to their next trip to Edmonton and watching both Kevin and Melinda popping in a few on their next time around.

Really?

We found this in the mailbox earlier this week.

So much to love...

Lake Louise (Chrissy Sojourn Part 4)

After hanging around in Banff for a couple of days we decided to head down the road to Lake Louise for a bit of a look see. As we drove North along the TransCanada we started to encounter more and more snow. It made for an ideal setting for a walk around the lake at the Château.

   

 Inside the Château Chrissy and I posed for the now customary pictures.  

 For some reason that I can't fully fathom I really liked this chandelier.

Of course the last and best stop on any roadtrip is going for ice-cream. Tiger-Tiger!

Hanging at the Castle (Chrissy Sojourn Part 3)

No trip to Banff is complete without a visit to Banff Springs Hotel.  The place has always held a fascination for me since my very first visit. I remember driving there with Mom, Dad and Monica many years ago for my cousins wedding. We stayed in pretty crappy motels on the way, so when we pulled up to the Hotel I was completely confused. Adding to my confusion was the name of the valet who offered to park our car - Jesus.
I knew that he wasn't Bible Jesus, as he was obviously Mexican,  but I couldn't figure out why a mother would name their son after the bearded one. For a kid from whitewashed Saskatchewan it was something to see.
There are so many great rooms and spots in the building that it's hard to pick a favorite. But if you made me do so...it would be Stephen Hall. On our last trip to the Castle, Chrissy and I read the paper in that room and posed for each other.

I don't where socks that often, but when I do, they are knee highs and take the place of longjohns (which I never where). For this reason, Christina thought me 'pulling up my socks' was picture worthy.

Only the most natural of poses

Attending the make-believe ball in our hiking gear.

After wandering around the town Christina offered to buy me supper at the ritzy Bow Valley Grill at the Hotel, so we got dressed up a bit and headed out. Part of the agreement for me to attend a ritzy restaurant (which I really don't like doing) is that Chrissy had to goto the Waldhaus Pub at the Castle with me for a pint. She reluctantly agreed.

Serious boozing....

Supper was pretty good. On a trip to the washroom (near the haunted stairs) I ended up seeing this absolutely badass picture. Someone needs to incorporate this snow plow train into a zombie killing locomotive in a horror movie - NOW.

Once again, a visit  to the castle didn't disappoint.  I am already looking forward to the next trip.

Relaxing in Banff (Chrissy Sojourn Part 2)

The second day of our roadtrip found us battling a ridiculously thick fog before arriving in beautiful Banff. It wasn't so long ago since we were in the town but with a great deal on Groupon we found the pull irresistible.

We walked around the town for a couple of days just following the bow river and skirting Lake Minnewanka stopping to enjoy the scenery and take some pictures.

Posing so innocently

Along the river and on to the golf course we came across a few elk enjoying the fresh new grass of the fairway boxes. They were a little skittish and threatened to charge us with a couple of stamps so we gave them their distance.

Distance = Perspective and I took the opportunity to prove that I am the dominant species by pretending that I could consume a full elk in one bite. Take that Wapiti!

Surprisingly the water by the river was quite low. I thought it would be gushing this time of year but I guess the frost and snow in the mountains hasn't had the big melt yet.

I took the opportunity to goof around with the rocks and made a statement in the riverbed visible for Chrissy on the bridge. 

Professing my feelings to all the trolls and bridge dwellers earned me a special trip to the Banff Avenue Brewing Company brewpub. I chose to sit outside and enjoy the best Cream Ale I have ever had.

Christina obliged my outside request in her own manner.

After all the walking we were a little hungry so we ordered some appetizers. We were pleasantly surprised by the appetizers list and completely blown away when it arrived. Here we have "Honey Glazed Duck Confit Sliders with Camembert Cheese" and "Calamari with a Sweet Onion and Wasabit Sauce".  Both were ridiculously good.

After a couple of long days relaxing and eating we needed to unwind....really it's true. We filled up our thermos with some beer and headed to the outside hot tub at our hotel: The Inns of Banff.

Not a bad way to end the day.

Next post: Hanging out at the Big Castle (Banff Springs Hotel)