Joie de vivre

My Mom came to visit! After a few months of me pestering her to come spend time with me she made the trip out to see my life in Banff.

 Mom and I at Emerald Lake

She traveled with her friend Kathy, who is also one of my honorary aunts. They arrived on a Wednesday, both sporting their very fashionable fanny packs. They stayed in downtown Banff at the Mount Royal Hotel.

Our first stop in Banff was my workplace, The Fairmont Banff Springs. I walked them threw the complicated halls of the Fairmont, and was teased  for my lack of direction when I got us lost. In my defense it’s a giant hotel with a Conference Center, two Stanley Thompson Wings, a dozen restaurants, a gym, a spa, Ball rooms, libraries, and 9 floors of guest rooms. 

After I gave them a magnificent tour of the hotel, we continued to the farmers market in town. The farmers market is on the small side, but most things are in Banff aside from the mountains. From the market we walked down Banff Avenue and wandered through all of the gift shops. As they were both tired from their travels, we had an early dinner at Wild Bills followed by a scenic drive around Lake Minniewanka.

 Please Note: The Awesome Hat, and Fanny Pack

The next day my Mom and Kathy met me at my place, and we prepared our lunch. We then ventured up the Sulphur Mountain Gondola, this turned out to be quite an adventure when my mom suggested we hike down the mountain. All was well on our 2 hour downhill hike until Kathy started to cry 10minutes from the bottom and took off her shoes.  My Mom and I did manage to talk her down step by step until we reach the base of the mountain.   

 Top Of Sulphur

 The Hike Down

We then went to the hot springs, after which we drove along the old Banff High Way to Johnson's Canyon. On the drive we saw 5 bears, including a Momma bear and her three cubs.  

 A Bear!

 Johnson's Canyon Upper Falls

Johnson's Canyon was a beautiful hike; it started along a river and lead us up a catwalk between walls of rocks. There was both upper and lower falls in the canyon. The canyon is one of the most beautiful things in nature I have ever experienced. 

After the long day of exploration and hiking we headed back to downtown Banff and ate at a Thai Grill. As to my Mothers out going and nosey nature, she struck up conversation with the family next to us and they shared stories of adventure. I was sure that family thought I was with my two mothers, and I was happy to have them. My mom then proceeded to fall in love with our Taiwanese server and owner of Thai Grill, which was fine by me as he up sold her on the menu resulting in an amazing dinner for me. After dinner we headed one of the chocolate shops and picked up some Bear Claws, which are like Turtles, but instead are made with cashews.

The next morning I awoke early to prepare our sandwiches and pack for our stay at Chateau Lake Louise. My two Moms picked me up and we headed to the Columbian Icefields. We drove through the park along the TransCanada Highway and stopped at Moraine Lake and the ten peaks along the way. Moraine Lake and then ten peaks used to be the picture on the back of the really really old twenty dollar bill. It took about 2 and a half hours to get to the Icefields. We boarded a giant glacier bus, bundled up and headed out onto a glacier. It was a bit chilly when we got off the bus, so we quickly took some cool pictures and waited to go back to warmth. 

 Moraine Lake

 

On The Bus

 

 Glacier

On our drive to Lake Louise, we stopped at a lot of look outs. We saw the Spiral Train Tunnels, Emerald Lake, Takakkaw Falls, and a Natural Bridge. My favorite was Emerald Lake, which is technically in British Columbia. The water was….. Emerald! And the Mountains framed it perfectly; I can’t wait to visit again. The Musoka Lakes are beautiful and gorgeous in Ontario, but nothing in comparison to the colour and surroundings of the water here. The only unfortunate part is that the lakes are glacier fed making them too cold to swim in. 

 Spiral Tunnels

Emerald Lake

 Takakkaw Falls

 

Natural Bridge

We arrived at Chateau Lake Louise around 8pm that night, and made reservations to eat at Walliser Stube. We had a four course fondue meal, and I had bison. It was great meal, and was nice to relax and unwind with my two moms. 

Dinner With My Moms

After a night with virtually no sleep, because my new mom kept me up all night we hiked up to the Tea House in the mountains surrounding Lake Louise. None of us knew or were told that this hike was 95% up hill, and as time passed I became worried of another crying outburst from Kathy. However, she surprised my Mom and I as she powered through. At the Tea House we had lunch, and then started our climb down the mountain.

 Lake Louise

 The Tea House

After the hike we drove back to Banff, and my Moms took me to get groceries. We went for dinner at the Irish Pub and then my Mom’s left to continue the adventure to my Aunt Laurie’s trailer in Red Dear.

The trip way amazing! Something I will fondly remember. I was able to see the parts of Banff I have been unable to because of work and the lack of a car. I was also able to bond and spend time alone with my Mom as a grown up  and develop a relationship beyond our regular mother and daughter. My favorite part of the trip was becoming friends with my Mom.

I was sad when they left, but the countdown is on for my return home. As excited as I am to return home, I glance at the river I sit beside as I write and am assured I will miss the views and scenery here just as I am currently missing home.

My Inspiration

So it seems I'm having trouble writing as often as I had planned to, however my blogs are lengthy and I'd like to think this makes up for it. I've also had some circumstances that have kept me busy. The circumstance being I had to return home to Ontario for a week because my Oma passed away. I've thinking about what to write my next blog on and was having trouble because I don't want to dwell on the fact that she is gone and my grief. I started to write about my days with family  and work, but was feeling uninspired, and it was then that I realized that my Oma inspired me in so many ways, what better topic to write about.

A. Hodge x 2

When I was nine years old, my Oma flew my older brother and I to her winter home on Sanibel Island in Flordia for our March break. She planned every moment of our trip because she wanted us to experience the most we possibly could while we were there. We walked along the beach at sunrise looking for sand dollars,collected coconuts, went to museums, swam in the ocean, and every night after dinner we played Jenga. On the day my Oma had her one on one time planned with my brother she took me to her friend Hunny Boonstra's house. Hunny was a local art teacher and artist. I stayed with her for a few hours and she gave me my first painting lesson. When I arrived home from Florida I started in art classes and art became a passion. My Oma was so impressed that I had taken to art. One day she arrived at my house with  the art portfolio she had used when attending art school in New York, and told me that every true artist needs to keep their work in a portfolio and she gave me hers. I have her to thank for exposing me to something new, for sharing her passion with me, and for inspiring me to create.

When I was 12 my Oma bought me my first journal. I didn't write in it everyday, but started with poems and poems turned into teenage rants about how life is unfair. I used that journal until I was 18, at which point I had filled it and I was ready to write on a more regular basis so I bought a new one. Once that journal was full I kept buying and filling more journals. Now I am 25 and about to enter a career where the majority of the work is writing. When I first got that journal I thought it was a lame gift, I was 12 I wanted makeup or C.D's, but that was never my Oma's style. Every gift had a purpose, and handing me a journal at 12 years old inspired me to write.

Aside from art and writing, my Oma has inspired me to live the life I want to live it. I moved to Banff for the summer because I love being surrounded by beautiful scenery, and spending another summer working part time in Burlington would make me miserable. I thought about what would make me happy, and I did it. My Oma did what she wanted when she wanted to. It could seem selfish at times, but she understood something that a lot people don't. You shouldn't have to sacrifice your happiness for another person's. She was able to live by that philosophy because of her independent life. She wasn't married, she had three grown children, and she had made choices that suited her pursuit of happiness. She lived the life she wanted to live.

My Oma is one of the greatest inspirations I have ever been given. I feel fortunate to have her looks, personality traits, and creativity. 

By now I hope that you are all thinking about the person that inspires you, and realizing how lucky you are to have them.

Until next time!

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Sooooooo... This summer I will be moving to Banff, Alberta!!!!!

I happen to be very excited about that. Currently I am in my bedroom in Burlington putting off finishing my final assignments for the year so I can get the hell of Ontario and on that plane in a week. I am also putting of cleaning my lovely room and packing as I was out last night and do not feel like exerting that much energy. In all fairness I did do some homework yesterday, and I have one suitcase pack so I'm not in the worst shape.

Right now I'm imagining this time next week. Let me show you how it goes.... This time next week I will have said goodbye to my parents, and will be boarding a plane to Calgary. I will have 2 overstuffed suitcases and a giant backpack containing my laptop and anything else I couldn't cram into my suitcases. After a pleasant inflight movie, a complementary juice box and cookie I will arrive at Calgary International airport. From there I will struggle will my large bags and make my way to the Banff Airporter Shuttle. The bus will drop me off at the Banff Springs Hotel and I will make my way across the street to the staff housing aka my new home for the summer!

But right now I'm thinking I should probably start on that homework... and maybe attempt to clean my room.