Vacation

Well, my wife and I managed to get some time away, so we took the kids on a many-hour road-trip to Canmore, Alberta, which is just outside of Banff National Park. We stayed at a little hotel called Mystic Springs, which comes complete with a heated outdoor pool. The goal of the vacation was simply to relax, but that pool kept calling our names. So, the second day in, we spent upwards of 4 hours in the pool, before supper. I came away with a simply horrific sunburn, but that's the price a Nordic-type pays for being outside in the summer. Sunscreen became the order of the day after that.

Highlights of Canmore include a little restaurant called "The Gourmet Croissant", which quite simply has the best croissants either of us have ever tasted. They make them right there in the restaurant, along with an assortment of other items including quiches, galettes, and crepes. The service was great too, with the lady behind the counter giving our son a piece of fresh-baked bread (which he, being extraordinarily fussy, refused to eat). She had noticed that he wasn't eating anything, and brought him a little dessert. One of the fillings for the croissants and the galettes was a chicken curry, which, while mild, was extremly tasty. We ate at the Gourmet Croisaant twice, and would have gone back for more had we not left for home. We're looking forward to going back next year just to visit that restaurant again.

Another highlight was "Le Chocolaterie", a little chocolate shop in the Elk Run industrial area, located beside a place called "The Ammonite Factory". They have an excellent coffee truffle, along with a host of other high-quality chocolate.

It was a good vacation, and included a shopping trip into Banff, a barbeque at the hotel (they supplied the BBQs, we supplied the meat), and a great deal of staring at mountains.

While we enjoyed the trip, it was good to get home, even if we were greeted by an armada of mosquitoes when we opened the car doors, and even if our garden was still under water from the heavy snow melt, large quantities of rain, and very little sun to dry things out. Hmm...