Hey, everybody!
You know what time it is…. time for another Alyssa & Clara reunion!!! I’m sad to say that our yearly get-together has come and gone (I am writing this post after the fact), but I am happy to relive every moment as I share another Canadian adventure with you.
A delayed flight & new friends
My adventure started on Friday, July 31st. I woke up at 3am, drove to the airport, found my gate, and sat down to wait for my 6am flight. Not two minutes later, I received a notification that my flight to Chicago was delayed 3 hours, which would result in me completely missing my flight to Calgary.
I was supposed to be in Calgary by 11 am, but the only options available had me arriving no earlier than 10pm.
I was disappointed, but I didn’t want to let it ruin my day. Since I had almost 8 hours until my new flight, I decided to go back home and hang out with my cat, Buffy.
I took the US Park shuttle back to the lot to get my car. On the way back, the driver said, “Welcome home!”.
I laughed and told her about how my flight was delayed, so I was going home for a bit and would come back later. Somehow, we got talking about farming. She told me all about her daughter and how she moved to Tennessee to start her own farm. She even showed me her daughter’s YouTube channel! We were having such a fun time that instead of dropping me off at the car right away, she pulled over so that we could talk longer.
When she dropped me off at my car, the driver (sadly, I didn’t get her name) said, “Make sure you come back before my shift ends at 1:30!” I promised her I would.
On my drive home, I thought about all the ways I could have a great morning, despite being in Ann Arbor instead of Calgary. I decided on getting a coffee from Drip House and a donut from Washtenaw Dairy. When I asked for one sprinkled donut, the man working said, “ONLY ONE?!?!?!”. He almost convinced me to get half a dozen. Maybe next time 😉
Overall, I had a relaxing and enjoyable morning in Ann Arbor. I walked Buffy in his stroller (yes, that’s right… he has a stroller) and called my mom on the phone. Before I knew it, it was time to head back to the airport for attempt #2.
I boarded the plane to Denver, prepared to take a solid 3hr nap. I slept for about 20 minutes. When I opened my eyes, the lady next to me asked, “Do you think they will give me a blanket?! I’m freezing!”
I felt so bad for her! She was so cold and didn’t have a sweater. I wanted to give her my sweatshirt, but it was already a bit sweaty and gross. I guess I should start bringing a backup! After far too long, we figured out that the AC had been on full blast, aimed directly at her 😂. That helped some. And, eventually, the flight attendants brought her a blanket.
Kay and I spent the rest of the flight talking about anything and everything. I learned that she mows her lawn in a checkered pattern (and got to see photos ) and that she goes to Mexico every winter. She loves to wear thick eyeliner and pink lipstick, even though people tell her it’s “a bit much”. “I know I don’t need it… it’s just who I am!” Italy is her favorite place in the world, and the men there are “just GORGEOUS”. I showed her pictures from my previous trips, and she showed me pictures from her time with her son. My favorite quote was, “If you weren’t so young, I’d set you up with my son!”
I said, “how old is he?”
“60!”
We laughed and laughed and laughed. When the plane landed, we weren’t ready to part ways. I had a 3+ hour layover, and hers was even longer. So, we decided to spend some more time together.
At first, we waited for a while at the gate for someone to come pick her up in a wheelchair. Denver airport is huge, so it is a LOT of walking just to reach the next gate. Unfortunately, the staff were so slow getting to the gate that one man waiting completely missed his next flight. After about 30 minutes, Kay said we should just start walking.
Her next gate was in a completely different terminal, so I offered to help her get there. I bet we walked nearly a mile AND took a train to get there! It was a long haul.
We had almost reached her gate when she said, “hey… I know that person!” She proceeded to shout “HEY!” at the lady in front of her. When the lady didn’t turn around after at least 5 shouts, she started RUNNING after her. I was laughing so hard. What is going on?! How could Kay possibly know someone in the Denver airport?! There were hundreds —if not thousands— of people there.
The lady finally turned around when Kay tapped her on the shoulder. I heard her say, “Hey, it’s me! From your other flight!”
Turns out, Kay had made a friend on her flight out to Michigan, too! The friend was headed to the same gate, so she offered to accompany Kay the rest of the way. Kay and I hugged goodbye and went our separate ways.
In that moment, I thought that maybe my flight had been delayed for a reason.
The Reunion
On the way to Alyssa’s apartment from the airport, I learned quite a bit about Calgary from my Uber driver. He had lived in Calgary almost his whole life, so he could answer all of my questions. I learned that the city is WAY bigger than I had imagined. It can take almost an hour to drive from one end of the city to the other, and the population is over 1 million! He also assured me that there are no bears in the city… well, except for that “one park where there have been grizzlies, wolves, and a mountain lion!”
Can’t say I’m eager to visit whatever park that is LOL.
He also had a TON of recommendations, which I saved to my Google Maps. I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to make it to all of them on this trip, but it will definitely be useful for the future!
It was nearly 11pm by the time I made it to Alyssa’s apartment in Calgary.
The second my Uber driver stopped the car, I was practically sprinting out to hug her! It had been over 8 months since the last time we saw each other. We went inside, and she showed me her new apartment. It’s beautifully decorated and very spacious. She even had a guest room all set up for me, with my own bed and everything! Despite us both being tired, we stayed up for another hour catching up. We decided that we would take the next day easy, with our only plans being the Air Force Museum and dinner with her boyfriend.
The Air Force Museum of Alberta
After a relaxing morning, Alyssa and I walked to the Air Force Museum, where she works as the curator (she’s so cool). We walked through the gallery, and I saw the exhibits that Alyssa had crafted herself! I loved the sweetheart jewelry on display in the “Women in the Air Force” exhibit. There were necklaces and pins made from recycled aircraft materials. I got to see even more of those when Alyssa took me down to see the collections…
I also enjoyed looking at the nose art: custom paintings featured on the nose of RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) planes. I didn’t take any pictures, so perhaps you’ll have to visit the Air Force Museum to see them yourself 😉
One of the most memorable exhibits of the museum was the “Great Escape”. There was a room set up to replicate a prisoner-of-war camp, and inside it was a secret door leading to an escape tunnel. To escape, I had to crawl into the tunnel, lay on a board, and use the rope to pull myself along. It was very exciting.
After walking through the gallery, Alyssa took me down to see the collections. It was AWESOME! There were cabinets with drawers and drawers of items that had yet to be put on display. There were weapons, war loot, clothing items, sweetheart jewelry… pretty much anything you could imagine!
Finally, we went outside to see the aircraft. There were several different planes, and Alyssa knew so much about every single one of them! The one you see in the photo below is a CF-18 Hornet. We were able to get this photo of us thanks to one of the volunteers working at the museum. Many of the volunteers are CAF veterans, so they know a LOT about the planes and are very happy to answer questions.
On our way back from the museum, Alyssa and I stopped at a couple of bookstores. The first was a shop that sold exclusively romance books, and the one next door was exclusively horror. I didn’t buy anything because I have a billion books at home waiting to be read, but it sure was fun to visit! I love the idea of niche, one-genre bookstores like that.
Dinner at Masa Mama
Before dinner, Alyssa and I watched most of the Top Gun 2 movie. She had never seen it before, and it’s one of my favorites. We had to leave with 20 minutes left of the movie (the most exciting part) since we had reservations and plans to meet up with her boyfriend, Logan.
The restaurant, Masa Mama, was only a few minutes away from the apartment. It’s a Mexican restaurant that Alyssa goes to regularly, and they have the best tacos. We walked in to find Logan waiting at the table. He is so nice and outgoing! We ordered some tacos and spent the next couple of hours talking. Like the Uber driver, Logan had also grown up in Calgary and therefore had a lot of recommendations for things we should do in the city. He also told us a bit about his experiences camping in the mountains. He is much braver than I am!
After dinner, Alyssa and I got ice cream at Village Ice Cream. The best way to end the day if you ask me!
That night, we finished Top Gun 2 and watched the Mario Bros movie. In case you don’t know, it’s a tradition for us to watch movies together, especially kids movies. In the past, we’ve done Madagascar, Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon, and Ice Age marathons.
We went to bed early that night so that we could be fully rested for the next day’s adventure… a drive up into the Canadian Rockies!!!
Check back to see what we got up to in the mountains.
– Clara