Top 20 of 2014

It’s funny the differences in culture from Canada to the United States. If you look on my Facebook you’ll see a difference between my friends from the United States and my friends I’ve made abroad. My friends in the States are posting about their office jobs, husbands, and kids. My friends here in Canada and abroad are posting about the perks of travelling, photos of their latest adventure, and where they’re off to next.

I’m not saying one is better than the other. When I was little I told my mom I wanted to travel around the world, but I then that idea faded like most childhood fantasies. Then I grew up and I thought all I wanted was to settle down and raise a family in a nice little house in the suburbs.  But by accident I changed.  I never planned on being on my own, but last year I set off by myself for the first time just to take a few weeks to think about the current state of my life and I never went back.

My mother keeps saying I need to stop and settle down. That I'm Peter Pan. I'm not though. In my previous life I was spoiled and I never did anything on my own including pumping gas or paying a phone bill, not because I have a rich family, but I was sheltered. I'm more grown up, fearless and responsible now than I've been in my entire life.  One day when I settle down, I won't have the freedom or the ability to do what I am doing now. And when my last day and my last breath comes will I regret all the places I never saw, or be thankful for all the beauty in the world that I did get to see? Option number two please.

It is all of this that came into mind on my walk to work today. My mind is a battlefield of in which on one side I want to be home to give my mommy all the things I promised when I was 10, such as a stone house by a river and a house full of grandkids vs. seeing and experiencing the world. Remembering what I've managed to do in one year though reminds me why I'm just not ready to come home yet. So here is my year summed up in 20 highlights.

1. Snow tubing

Mt. Norquay, Alberta

 

2. Dog Sledding

Canmore, Alberta

3. Walking on rivers and lakes 

Lake Louise, Alberta
 

 

 4. Hockey games!

 

5. Montreal, Quebec

It's a spa, on a boat!

 

6. Quebec City, Quebec

 

7. Vancouver, British Columbia

 

 

9. Working on a lavender farm and winery

And learning how to mow the lawn and ride a tractor

10. Tofino, British Columbia

Seeing whales, riding on a sea plane AND attempting to surf.

 

11. Hiking

 

12. Drumheller, Alberta

Where the dinosaurs are

13. Canoeing  

 

14. Camping

And got to hang out with horses

 

15. Petted wolf dogs

 

16. Columbia Icefield, Alberta

And stood on the Athabasca Glacier,
and rode in the only snow coaches available anywhere besides Antarctica

 

17. Toronto, Ontario

 

 

18. Ottawa, Ontario - The capitol of Canada!

 

 

19. Niagara Falls, Ontario

 

20. Went snowboarding

 

 

12 December 2014

Greetings! From my warm and toasty room. I know it has been awhile, but nothing interesting has currently been happening in the Canadian Rockies. It gets warm, it gets cold. All the snow melts, and a week later there's snow up to my knees.

Last week I went snowboarding for the first time ever.

Apparently this is a really great board

I purchased my board off of Canadian craigslist, also known as Kijiji. A new board and bindings would have easily been over $500, but I purchased mine used for $125. When I went to get it waxed the girls at the shop were surprised at how much I had gotten it for. My boots and helmet which were half of the price of gear in the stores in Banff unfortunately did not make it in time to my lesson last Thursday, so I had to rent boots and a helmet. I'm not going to lie, rental gear makes you feel like a dork on the hill.

Anyhow, I woke up early in the morning to catch a bus to Lake Louise which is 40 minutes away from Banff. Although Sunshine Village is only 20 minutes away, the thought about having everyone I know watch me as I tumbled down the hill wasn't very appealing, so I opted for the much quieter Lake Louise.

I had chosen the full day group lesson for snowboarding as it was around the same price as a 2 hour lesson. It turns out I was the only one who signed up for a lesson that day, so I got an accidental, full day, private lesson for half of the price.

I had prepared myself for anything, including a trip to the hospital.  My instructor asked me every time I fell if  I was ok, but only one of my falls actually hurt, the rest just looked dramatic, or were because I had thrown myself down as I didn't really know how to stop.

Although initially the thought of sliding on one piece of wood seemed unnatural and scary, when I got on the hill I was fine. My instructor Shannon was really great and there were no injuries at the end of the day.

Everyone kept telling me to be prepared to be sore. I didn't believe them as my falls didn't hurt and my muscles hurt more after bootcamp, but I did end up basically paralyzed the next day. The following days were painful as it was an effort to even put on my clothes. But at the end of the day I had a good run. I planned on returning to the hill this week, but due to our recent warm weather, most of the snow has melted, and that which remains is an icy death trap. Not conditions for a beginner snowboarder unless she was to go flying and face planting on ice.

The new face of pro-snowboarding? Probably not. 

Aleskimo

Winter 2014

Ontario!

Time is passing by so quickly. Two weeks ago I was in Ontario on a 5 day vacation, and now I'm back in Banff and only 2 1/2 months away from leaving from good. It's a mixture of excitement and sadness building up inside of me. I thought I would be one of those seasonal people and never expected to build a life here, but I have. I'm excited to see what will be beyond the bubble, but scared to leave everything I have.

But anyways, back to my trip. Thanks to my main job I was able to get 5/4 star hotel rooms in Ontario for the price of a hostel. In 5 days I managed to fit in Toronto. Ottawa, and Niagara Falls. 

Here are some of the highlights. 

Toronto

After living in Chicago I found Toronto to be average. It wasn't my favorite. I've been there, and I'm in no rush to go back. Here were a few highlights though: 

Steam Whistle Brewery

For $15 you get a 6 pack, free samples of freshly brewed beer, and a brewery tour. The tour was pretty interesting. Steam Whistle was created by three friends who were fired from a brewery together. Initially they were going to name their beer Three Fired Guys and if you look at the bottle you'll see "3FG" imprinted on the bottom. They also have a green initiative and recycle their bottles and get more uses out them than the average beer. 

Steam Whistle Brewery 

Ripley's Aquarium of Canada

I went to the aquarium on Halloween night. It was pretty amazing I have to admit. If I lived in Toronto I would buy a season pass. The moving walkway through the underwater tunnel was my favorite, as it allowed for sharks and other sea creatures to swim around and above you. 

Jelly fish at the aquarium 

Ottawa 

My only regret was that I spent more time in Toronto than Ottawa. Ottawa is a place I would definitely go back to. From Toronto I took ViaRail which was a bit over 3 hours. The station was conveniently next to my hotel in Toronto and was comfortable and faster than traveling by car. 

Canadian Tire Centre 

Down the street from my hotel in Ottawa was a bus that went directly to the Canadian Tire Centre from downtown Ottawa. The seating was decent throughout the whole stadium, even the nosebleed section looked comfortable. Also the game I went to, Ottawa Senators vs. Chicago Blackhawks was awesome. Go Hawks! 

Byward Market

I went to Byward Market after the game for 24 hour milkshakes and the next morning for some breakfast and early morning photos before I left. It was a really cute area with restaurants and bars, and also proper delis and bakeries which I love. 

"Obama Cookies"

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls a lot of touristy aspects to it, and a lot of money spending, but the Falls are pretty amazing. 

Embassy Suites Fallsview 

This was one of the largest hotels I've ever been to and after working in hospitality for the past year I do have to admit I found the service a bit average. The booking I had made was lost by reservations, and then they ended up charging me the entire deposit after I had long left Ontario and claimed they hadn't put it through and then upon calling back they admitted they accidentally charged my card. They also say they are giving you a falls view room when you book and then when you get there, they say you have a partial view but you can upgrade to a full view for an additional $40. 

But! since they lost my reservations I was complimentary upgraded to a Junior Suite with a full falls view and ta-da! I have to admit the view was pretty spectacular. 

Morning view from the room

Hornblower Niagara Falls Boat Tour

I initially thought the boat through the falls would be a little bit cheesy, but it was so worth it. I got horribly wet and so did my camera and coat despite the poncho, but being right up in the falls was spectacular. 

So that was it! In my last day I went on a boat, taxi, train, and plane and made it back to Alberta in one piece. 

This Week..

This week in Alexis history, I rode by deer and elk multiple times on my way to work, worked two jobs. rode through the rain on one side of the bridge and was hit by snow on the other side, was in an earthquake...

That's right, on Thursday afternoon I was laying there on the couch, reading a book, when suddenly there was a shake. I had assumed it was a giant truck rumbling by, but apparently there was a legitimate earthquake in the middle of the mountains in Canada.

Don't worry. I'm perfectly safe. The fact is most people thought it was a large truck, or rumbling from the train. The quake wasn't long or strong enough to shake anything but the leaves off a tree. It's something I can mark off of my list of things I've experienced though!!


In the meantime I don't have any photos of recent adventures, since there haven't been any, so please enjoy this photo of a wonderful pumpkin:

429 Days

A majority of my blog is about the amazingness of traveling. The easy part is when your feet are going, it's when you stop moving that things become hard. 416 days ago I came to Banff. Nowhere to live, 1 friend, no job, no clue about what to do. And then I built myself a life here. Year one was amazing, everything was new and magical, I made so many friends who quickly became family, and I learned so much about myself and became stronger than I ever knew I could be.

It's year two that is starting to become a struggle. My adventure at the beginning of summer was amazing, but coming back to Banff afterwards has been difficult. Few stay in Banff for more than a season, and all of my friends left at the end of the last one. Settling into a normal routine where nothing is fresh and new like it was the first time around makes it hard, and realizing that if you had to sink into normalcy you'd rather be at home, makes it even harder.

I went home recently and cried for 3 days about leaving back to Banff to finish out my contract. It wasn't until I was home that I realized I missed a lot of the comforts of home, but mostly my mama. If I could have it all I would, but unfortunately you can't be a backpacker and bring your mommy with you everywhere.

So why do it then? Why stay away from home? These are questions I ask myself from time to time. These are questions that make me doubt myself and consider going home. There are times when I am sad to be away from home, away from my family. But then I realized how blessed I am to be living the life I am living. If life's journey hadn't taken the paths it did, I may have stayed in a small town in Midwest for the rest of my life, never travelled anywhere for more than a week, and never taken half of the chances or opportunities I have had since I left on my solo journey in Canada, 429 days ago, on 2 August 2013.

There will always be times that I will be sad, I will be homesick, I will miss my mama. But there are beautiful moments where the sun is shining and I look around me and realize that I am the luckiest little girl in the world to have this as my backyard and to have all the opportunities I have, and I am entirely grateful for it all.

Sulphur Mountain, 3 October 2014

Hello October!!!

Lake Minnewanka 

XOXO Alexis