Our Trip to Alberta - 2019

Pat and I had a couple of items of personal business which necessitated a trip to Alberta. Beforehand my mindset was that this would probably be my last trip to Alberta. Both of Pat's parents are gone and other relationships were fading. Lakeside is now my home with lots of friends and activities. And because of My Great Mexican Misadventure, we lack the financial resources to travel as much as we would like.

Tuesday, September 10

This was a long day of travel. We took a taxi to the airport for the short flight from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta. From there we had a direct Westjet flight to Calgary, avoiding travel via the United States. We were impressed with how quickly we were processed through border control. By about 10:30 we arrived by taxi at the Bed and Breakfast we had selected.

Wednesday, September 11

After a nice breakfast and pleasant conversation with our B&B hosts, we headed towards the Calgary downtown. We were staying in the Inglewood district which was walking distance along the River Walk. We were surprised by the number of construction cranes because we had heard about recession in Alberta. There also were newly completed high rise buildings in the East Village district. And then we had our second surprise, the new Calgary Public Library.

 

I had known that a new library had been planned but since moving to Lakeside I have paid little attention to developments in Calgary. And since moving to Mexico in 2012 I have been buying ebooks. I had assumed that libraries would fade away and become obsolete. But Calgary has demonstated how libraries can remain relevant. The Calgary Public Library is a magnificant space, a marvel of architecture and engineering that is truly world class. We followed the grand central staircase to the top and were very, very impressed.

 

Another new thing we immediately noticed were the scooters everywhere and we later learned that this was their first year in Calgary. Users connected with the scooters using an app on smart phones. It seemed that they could be left anywhere.

While Pat did some shopping, I went on a walking tour. I went to the Alberta Wheat Pool building where I worked for over eight years, now an office building with multiple tenants. I visted the coffee shop once owned by my work colleague and friend, John Jung, and learned that he had retired. Next I went to the YWCA building where I worked for two years. The building was closed. From workers on site I learned that it had been sold to developers with plans for a hotel and two office towers. Later I had a look at the financial statements of the YWCA on their website which showed over $22,000,000 cash on the books. When I worked there the organization had operating fund deficits and much financial stress which caused me personal stress.

Later in the afternoon Pat and I met with HSBC to do some personal banking which we could not do by phone from Mexico. Earlier in the year, we sold our RRSP mutual funds in order to eliminate market risk. I had become uncomfortable with the market volatility and I was nervous about possible recession. We needed to reinvest our cash position in person. We updated our investment profiles to reflect our conservative stance. And we picked up new credit cards as mail service to Mexico is very problematic.

In the evening we met Abe and Valerie Korbage for dinner at a restaurant. These are good friends from our days together in a church which I now describe as a benign cult. That is a story that I tell as Part 1 of My Spiritual Journey. 

In some ways Abe and Valarie are like Pat and I, average and ordinary people. Yet in other ways they are remarkable individuals and a remarkable couple. We have known them for over thirty-five years.

I knew Abe when he was a single young man working in a warehouse for $8 per hour. He wanted to marry and start a family and knew that would require higher earnings. His solution was to start a small business but I did not see his potential as an entrepreneur. He proved me wrong and his flooring business, Classic Carpet Service Inc., is still going strong.

The other big part of their lives is truly amazing. After having three biological children, they began adopting more children, all with special needs. They were mostly home schooled by Valerie and their development exceeded expectations. I once encouraged Valarie to write her inspiring story but that did not interest her. I can only wonder how many such stories go untold by good people seeking no recognition.

Thursday, September 12

This was a day down memory lane. First we again walked along the Bow River to the Eau Claire district. When we left Calgary in 2012 there were several projects still under construction but now they were all finished and looking very attractive. 

I had forgotten what a beautiful city Calgary was. There had been no frost yet so all the flowers were still in full bloom. Most of the leaves were still on the trees but had begun to turn color. The grass was still green. And as the picture shows, the weather was great.

Pat and I hopped on a C-Train to North Hill and Capitol Hill where we lived from 1994 to 2012.

Pat wanted to have a look at the house we once owned, located at 1743 21st Ave. NW. It looked much the same but the trees and shrubs needed trimming. The picture shows construction on a property once owned by our neighbours, Don and Heather. This kind of redevelopment is common in the inner city of Calgary. Old houses are removed and often sold to farmers. A single lot with a fifty foot frontage is subdivied into two lots 25 feet wide. Two story houses are built on narrow lots but still providing ample living space. Our house was on a corner lot, plus it had twelve feet of easement giving us a more spacious feeling than others.

 

	On left is Weeds Cafe, where I often went for coffee, often a Jump Start, still looking very much the same. Beside Weeds is Edelweiss Village, a German boutique store.
	A few blocks from were we lived was something definitely not there in our time. Canada legalized the recreational use of cannabis in 2018. This fullfilled a campaign promise made by Justin Trudeau who became Prime Minister of Canada in 2015.

After our walking tour of Capitol Hill, Pat went shopping at North Hill and I met my friend Al Hubbard for lunch. Al and I were work colleagues at Alberta Wheat Pool in the 1980s and formed a friendship that long outlasted employment. We easily picked up where we left off five years ago and we talked for about three hours. While I continue to enjoy very good health, Al has not been so fortunate. Years ago he developed a rare progressive nerve disease and began losing feeling at the tips of his fingers and toes. His condition has slowly deteriorated and the disease has had considerable impact on his lifestyle. It is saddening to see my friend this way but he has an amazingly positive attitude and makes the best of his life.

Late in the afternoon we took an Uber to Airdrie for dinner with my nephew, Rene Greener, and his family. Rene is the oldest child of my favorite sibling, Nikki. He moved to Calgary in 1995 and we have had a good connection ever since. His life in Calgary has been very interesting but that is his life and his story. In 2011 I worked with Rene part-time as part of Pinnacle Search, a small chapter in the story of my career.

Friday, September 13

Pat and I went our separate ways today. Pat was meeting her friend Jo for lunch and I was reconnecting with a former work colleague who I had not seen for at least a dozen years. However, we had remained connected as facebook friends.

Rhonda Frizzell and I had worked together for three and a half years at the Springboard Centre. From time to time over the years Pat, who lurks on my facebook page, would bring an interesting post by Rhonda to my attention. I contacted her before our trip and she graciously accepted my offer to meet for coffee. It was like meeting an old friend and we had a great conversation for over two hours. Of course we reminisced about our time as work colleagues. She talked about her daughter Jalen who I met once many years ago. I learned that she had written a book which she expects to be published next year, a book I hope to read. Rhonda is now in the process of moving to Toronto to begin a new chapter in her life. We decided to stay in touch and speculated about her visiting us in Lakeside.

In the afternoon my good friend Dusan Milutinovic picked me up in Inglewood and we headed to a resturant near Chinook  Centre. This is another highly valued friendship that started in the early 1980s at church. After about an hour we were joined by his brother Mike and our mutual friend, Jim Kotow, all of us former members of the same church. Dusan and Mike are two of the most intelligent people I have known, both with remarkable minds. Jim is an avid reader, well informed and very thoughtful. Inevitably our conversation had an intellectual flavour, very stimulating and enjoyable. Mike and Jim are conservative in their thinking while I lean left but we respect each other and get along fine. 

In the evening Pat and I strolled through the Inglewood Night Market and ate at a food truck. I very much appreciated being part of a crowd of mostly young people even though they were all strangers. One of the negative aspects of life in our retirement community is the lack of opportunity to be around young people.

Saturday, September 14

Again, Pat and I had separate plans. Pat was meeting Sally Hindemith for lunch while I was meeting another former work colleague, Hong Chu. I later saw Sally at our B&B and we had a pleasant, short visit. Also a former church member, I first met Sally in the early 1980s when she was sixteen. Years later, I had the opportunity to hold her eight hour old baby in my arms, a very unique experience for me as I have never had children of my own.

 

 

 

I hired Hong Chu in 2008 when I was CFO at the Mental Health Commission of Canada and she proved to be one of the best hires of my career. Subsequently, Hong made an effort to stay in touch, sending me greetings every year at Christmas. She really appreciated me contacting her to arrange this time together and she came with gifts, a couple of T-shirts and a piece of moon cake connected to a Chinese Festival. She had reserved a table at River Cafe on Prince's Island, one of my favorite restuarants in Calgary. This gave me one more opportunity for a lovely walk along the Bow River.

 

 

 

 

Sunday, September 15

This was a transition day. We checked out of our B&B but booked it for our return to Calgary later in the month. By this time we had gotten to know our hosts, Valinda and Helmut, who chatted with us over breakfast each day. We liked our meals and the location was great. And I generally feel better mentally in familiar surroundings so changing accommodations did not make sense.

We picked up a rental car and were soon on our way to Edmonton to stay with Pat's sister, Linda Goodsir. I have known her since she was seventeen and she is like a sister to me. And she is a great host, preparing too much food which we ate too much of. She had made three dozen rum tarts knowing that was a favorite treat for me.

That evening her son, Conrad, and Pat and Linda's sister, Dianne Kottke, joined us for dinner. Of course I have known Conrad since birth but when he was young I never imagined the good conversations we now have. These began during our trip to Alberta in 2014. We now share an interest in the deep questions of life. He also has particular experiences which he shares freely. He verbally expresses himself very well, putting into words subjective experiences which words cannot fully capture. But again, that is his life and his story so I will keep his experiences private. 

Monday, September 16

The highlight of this day was dinner at the Continental Treat, a  generous treat by Linda at one of her favorite restuarants. We were joined by Rhona and Conrad, our niece and nephew. I continued to enjoy talking with Conrad and I liked his curious mind and openness to learning. We had some disagreement on global warming but he was interested in what I had to say and he indicated his desire to do more research into the science. Rhona, on the other hand, was more reserved and less forthcoming about what is going on in her life. Fortunately, she has a good relationship with her brother which we hope helps.

 

 

Tuesday, September 17

Ken and Maureen Korzan joined us for dinner at Linda's place. Once again we were with friends from our church days, enjoying friendships which survived the collapse of the benign cult to which we once all belonged. It continues to be therapeutic to rehash our shared experiences.

I first met Maureen in 1970 and we even once had a date, a church formal dance. Now we talk about her son moving back to Edmonton in order for his children to be close to a good university. The years seem to have passed very quickly!

Maureen has recently retired and I hope Ken and Maureen will visit us in Mexico.

 

 

Wednesday, September 18

We drove for about an hour east of Edmonton to Vegreville to visit our friend Irene Seniuk, whom we first met in 1973. She insisted on preparing a meal for us all because she lives alone so this was an opportunity for her. Irene is a good friend who has twice visited us in Lakeside. She really likes our area and would have come again last year but could not because she had fallen and broken her hip. She has recently retired and hopes to vist us next January.

Later in the afternoon her son, Zane, with his wife Kelsey and his four children, dropped by to see us. He was adopted by Irene and her then husband Terry in the early 1990s. He came to Canada as a baby in the aftermath of the Romanian Revolution of 1989, quite a story.

Thursday, September 19

With Pat and Linda away to visit with a childhood neighbour, I had a quiet day which I much appreciated. I spent my time reading Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? by Bill McKibben. This is the October book selection for the Ajijic Book Club and I achieved my goal of finishing it during this trip.

Friday, September 20

Five years ago I reconnected with Lowell Ross. I had met him in Vancouver in December, 1969 and he was the reason I ended up in Edmonton, something I have long been grateful for. We again had a lunch planned and he warned me ahead of time about hard times in Alberta necessitating cheap tranportation. He has much fun with his little truck and enjoys the attention he and it get. And he has a purpose which he shared with me again as he did five years ago with a different vehicle. He has a clever spiel using an analogy of saving and restoring an old vehicle with Christian salvation. Lowell knows that I am now an unbeliever and I listen politely. I do not find his soft approach to witnessing offensive.

After our buffet lunch, which Lowell thought was great but I less so, he had a surprise waiting for me. He carefully gauged my interest in seeing Garth and Karen Leach again. I had visitedthem  five years ago. Let's go, I said enthusiastically. After a temporary stay with Lowell, in January, 1970 I secured room and board with Roy and Bernice Leach, Garth's parents. He is younger than I am and was still in high school at the time. He married Karen when they were both 19. He later launched his own business building residential housing and did very well. He has all the toys many men desire. He has a custom made camper trailer which he uses for weeks in the bush during hunting season.

I also had a lovely visit with their daughter, Ginger, who unfortunely suffers from schizophrenia. She is a good artist and I enjoyed seeing her paintings. She thanked me for being nice to her but that was unnecessary. After twelve years as a volunteer with the Canadian Mental Health Association and three years as CFO of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, I was not uncomfortable around people with mental illnesses. Not fearing them goes a long way as does treating them with respect.

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday, September 21

We met Pat's youngest sister Lil and her husband Gord for breakfast. And again because we are facebook friends and because Pat lurks, I am familiar with the course of Lil's life. She has a caregiver personality and is quite different from her three sisters. She devotes her life to dog rescue and we encourage her to slow down and look after herself. We hope that Lil and Gord will visit us in Mexico some day.

Later in the afternoon Irene dropped by again for a short visit. Her daughter Natasha also came with her child Valo. Natasha was also adopted and also came from Romania. I will never forget the Labor Day weekend in 1980 when she arrived. Five years ago I shared with Irene and Natasha that Pat and I had passed on an opportunity to adopt her, circumstances neither were familiar with. I was disappointed in our visit on this day as Natasha talked constantly, almost obsessively, and I found it difficult to enter the conversation. But she will always be special to me and it does not bother me that she is covered with tattoos.

 

Sunday, September 22

We had no scheduled activities today so Pat and I headed to downtown Edmonton. We parked on the south side of the river and walked the rest of the way. Downtown seemed like a dead scene so we decided to go to the Old Strathcona district instead. It was definitely more vibrant and once again we enjoyed being amongst young people. 

Monday, September 23

Linda and I headed to St. Albert to visit a long time family friend, Jim Kidd. On the way we dropped Pat off at Kingsway Mall where she was meeting Irene Seniuk for an afternoon of shopping. Jimmy is now in a nursing home and in a wheel chair. He was noticeably older than when I saw him eighteen months ago at the funeral of Pat's mother. We had a good visit for about an hour.

Tuesday, September 24

This was transition day with the drive back to Calgary. We had booked Inglewood Bed and Breakfast again for our second stay. We were very pleased with our first stay and I am more comfortable when I am in familiar surroundings.

In the evening we had dinner at a Chinese restuarant with my friend Dusan and his girlfriend, Sherry Wong. The conversation was very interesting. Sherry left China in 1988 and travels back to China for visits with family, some who are now wealthy. But Sherry has no regrets. We appreciated her insights but they were discouraging to her. In her view China is in a moral decline, very materialistic and very corrupt.

Earlier this year she was able to travel with relatives in Europe, travel which included a private jet and first class accommodations. 

Sherry seemed very reluctant to consider travelling with Dusan to visit us in Mexico. But Dusan has come once and I hope he comes again.

 

 

 

Wednesday, September 25

This was a day that I had looked forward to for a long time. When asked about what I miss about Calgary, I often answer: Banff. I love the Rocky Mountains. Often anticipation exceeds expectations but this day was everything I had hoped for. We were surprised at how busy Banff was and also at the many Japanese tourists.

We parked in the centre of Banff and then headed to the street market we had noticed. It included arts and crafts and food. Pat bought a pepper grinder, something we had been looking for.

We walked to the Banff Springs Hotel for lunch. It is expensive but totally worth it because of the atmosphere and the views. A glass of wine was $17.00 and the lunch was exceptionally tasty.

Pat wanted to check the shops, something she has done many times. I went for a stroll through the Cascade Gardens and then a walk along the Bow River. After that I went to our rendezvous point, a coffee shop. Late in the afternoon we headed back to Calgary and stopped for dinner in Kensington, a favorite district of ours. All in all, it was a very good day.

Thursday, September 26

As our trip was winding down, I took the afternoon for a second visit with my friend Al Hubbard. He expressed his appreciation for me doing so and shared that he does not go out much anymore. We talked for four hours and shared personal details of our lives with each other. Al is a very private person and his life is not my story to tell. I am hopeful that his health will not deteriorate further too quickly and that I will see him again on my next trip to Alberta.

In the evening Pat and I went out for dinner in one of the fine restuarants in Inglewood.

Friday, September 27

 

We became aware of a winter strom warning for Calgary!

For our last activity we drove the short way to StudioBell because the weather had turned and it was raining. Studio Bell was built after we moved away from Calgary in 2012 and we were impressed. We spent several enjoyable hours seeing everything.

In the evening we ate at Without Papers Pizza, another enjoyable experience.

 

 

Saturday, September 28

Our travel day did not start as planned. Our intention was to get up at 4:30 am but Pat made a mistake and her alarm went off at 3:30. But the rest of the day went smoothly.

The forecasted snow had started and I had to sweep an inch of snow off our rental car. I also had to scrape ice off the windshield. This taste of winter was good for us, reminding us of one reason we had moved to Mexico. The snow was melting as it hit the pavement so driving was not a problem. There were no lineups at the airport so we got through checkin and security. Then we did what we do a lot of on a travel day, wait and wait and wait, which makes for a long day.

Reflections

I have now been home for over a week, giving me time to reflect on my trip.

In the months and weeks before the trip, I had in mind that this could well be my last trip to Alberta. But I enjoyed the trip more than I had anticipated. Now I am hoping that our financial resources will allow us to go to Alberta again in three or four years.

Sometimes I describe retirement as an endless vacation. A trip is now a vacation from vacation. Being away from the challenges of daily life in Mexico was a welcome break and very refreshing but, much like a vacation from work, the benefit does not last very long.

I am very grateful for all the visits we had. Spending some time with people with whom we have a shared past, some as far back as 1970, was special. That these relationships have survived all the changes over decades is remarkable.

We had heard about a tough economy and recession in Alberta. But we saw a lot of construction everywhere and the restuarants were buzzing with activity. We heard of empty space in office towers but Alberta still felt vibrant to us.

Pat loved her shopping experiences and I asked her not to give me the total until after the trip. It was considerably more than the estimate I had in my head. Partially in jest, during the trip I told Pat that in regards to her shopping I was her enabler.

We watched almost no TV during our trip and I did not miss TV. I did scan news headlines while drinking my morning coffee. Now I am again caught up in the drama of the Trump Presidency and other world events.

I did no running during the trip. Pat and I did try to walk whenever we had the opportunity. Now home, we are back into our routine of morning walks and I am also back on my treadmill.

And I have bought my ticket for My Trip to Nova Scotia.