Happy New Year

Well we had a very busy New Year's Eve full of site seeing and visiting with friends.

We started the day off with breakfast at the hotel, then headed to pick up Neely and Braden up from their hotel.  We took them on a modified "romance tour" as it was during the day at we had a set schedule as we had to be back to the bell center for the hockey game.

First stop, Schwartz smoked meat deli! The best smoked meat I have found in this city.  I think Neely and Braden really appreciated a good sandwhich!

Then headed to Olympic stadium.  The pool area was closed for renovations so we decided to head up the funiculaire on Olympic tower show them the view of the city.

Following that we toured to show them where Adam lived when he lived here, passed by the oratory and then headed up mont royal to the viewing area. 

Dropped the "kids" off and then headed to park the car to get onto the metro (subway) to head to the canada vs USA game we bought tickets for.  Once getting to the Bell Centre we got into a very long line to get into the arena.  I thought we were going to miss the puck drop for sure, the line was long but we did make it with a few minutes to spare.

The game was amazing, we got a little nervous at the end and weren't sure that canada would pull through but they did.  I bought a souvenir program, to be very disappointed that the Canadian team had a poor roster that doesn't even include Lazar, and no numbers to correspond with he players.  During the first intermissions, AA and I went for a walk and saw Craig McTavish.  It was exciting to know that Eric and Neely were watching The game too.  Tried to find them in their sections, but wasn't successful.  

Canada wins:)

After the game we went back on the metro to get to our car to get our outdoor gear for the rest of our evening.  We met Francois (Adams coworker) his wife Christine and their friends Ann and Justin at the petite marche for dinner and then headed to the old port to take in the New Year's Eve concert and fireworks.  There were likely 50000 people at this event.  I was a little short to see the activities but still enjoyed it.  We counted down from 10 ( in French) and then continued to listen to folk music, no auld lang syne.  The fire works show was great. 

Lola's view....

The crew... (Ann went home after supper as she wasn't feeling 100% the following day)

We then headed to the metro , like a large heard of cattle and went ours seperate ways on the metro.

Cars and people everywhere.

Now time for bed.  And we really don't know what we are up to tomorrow, guess we will sleep on it.

Happy new year from Lola and Arizona Adam (where it is actually snowing today, in Tucson that is)

Night, Lola

Cold Quebec Adventures

Well I somehow managed to screw up this mornings routine as well. This time, no alarm was needed but I somehow failed to lock the door to the room. Lola shot awake when housekeeping knocked on the door but I was convinced the door was locked so no big deal. Well the door opened and Gwen loudly said my name which must have startled the housekeeper who did not enter. 

It took some time (3 hrs) for Lola to finally forgive Arizona Adam... With some breakfast at L'Accent, just down the street from the hotel. 

After breakfast, we enjoyed a free coffee/tea from Keurig who had cars setup across from the "patinoire" (skating rink). What a great way to start an afternoon in the cold Quebec winter!

The day was more of an adventuring day - some shopping and some exploring.  Lola bought a new scarf, one that more closely matches her coat, and AA bought a new shirt for work. We then continued to meander through old Quebec and down to Basse Ville (lower town) which had some cool boutiques and nifty streets to walk down. 

Lola managed to find her favourite treat - maple syrup frozen on ice. Later on, both of us had a hot drink at Maple Delights - Arizona Adam having a maple grand marnier cappuccino and Lola having a maple tea. 

After our warm up drinks, we made our way to the parkade and got in the car to make our journey back to Montreal. AA took a slight detour to see if his medevac airplane was in town.  Unfortunately, it was not but the old plane was out on the Tarmac looking like it was getting ready for an evening run. 

Once in Montreal, we stopped at Le Biftheque for some steak. 

We are now nestled in at our hotel, Fairfield Inn and Suites near the airport - a location well known to Arizona Adam. 

What is in store for tomorrow? We know but you will have to wait to find out ;)

AA

QC day 2

Well today started a little later than planned. Arizona Adam decided to use his old iPhone as the alarm clock and set the alarm for 7am. Little did he realize that the iPhone was still on airplane mode and didn't connect to the wifi so the time did not adjust.

At just before 7 Winnipeg time, AA was lying wide awake wondering why the sun was so bright outside the windows... Then it dawned on him (literally). So instead of being at the hill for 9am it was more like 10:30. Oh well, a little extra rest was well needed.

The drive was pretty neat, driving along the St Laurence to a small town called Beaupre which had a huge cathedral and Jewish "cyclorama" (whatever that is...). 

The hill (Mont Sainte Anne) wasn't too terribly busy.  Lineups to get up the hill were small, except for the north side of the mountain which took about 10 mins of waiting before getting on the chair. The conditions were passable, described as "spring conditions" which we would agree with. There was some loose snow on top of the packed ice.  This caused for more than one "whoa!" And arms flailing to keep upright. 

The views seen from the top of the mountain are pretty spectacular. With the south side facing the St Laurence, you could clearly see Ile d'Orleans and other small islands (such as Grosse Ile). Here are some pictures from the observation tower at the top of Mont Sainte-Anne:

We lasted longer on the hill than we expected. We made it until 3:30 before finally packing up and making our way back to Quebec.  On the way we stopped at a grocery store and got some drinks and snacks for later tonight while we watch the world juniors (and jets game on the iPad). 

Once back at the hotel, we made our way to the heated pool to loosen up from a day on the slopes. However, with the temperature being 15 degres cooler outside than yesterday, it was no wonder that the water felt colder. So, we then went to the sauna to warm up a bit more.

After the pool and sauna, we showered and then went to Portofino for supper. Lola had gluten free pasta with muscles, clams, shrimp and scallops in a tomato sauce. Arizona Adam had chicken Alfredo.  

With dinner completed and the bill paid, it was time to wander around the city. First stop was at Simons, one of Lola's new-found favourite stores in Quebec. Unfortunately the store was closed.  From there, we made our way to the Ferris wheel that we can see outside the window of our hotel room. The entire "grande aller" is closed to vehicle traffic, most likely in preparation for New Year's Eve, and there is a Ferris wheel all lit up.

We then continued down the grande aller to a bar that we went to a few years ago when AA was in QC for a set of project meetings. The bar was closed, not that we were interested in going inside for a drink, not when the hockey games were set to begin in less than 15 mins. So, we made our way back to the hotel room and are now enjoying both of our teams up on their opposition in the second periods. 

Hopefully the cold weather passes soon back home. I knew we were having it too easy this winter...

Arizona Adam (Aka Adam incase people forgot...)

#quebecvacation, flying, driving and skating

We had a full day of travel but made sure to have a little fun along the way...

Blair and AA talking away on our way to the airport.

Our flight was pretty uneventful, pretty typical, adam watches movie, falls alseep, Lola gets hocked on some show, Total Diva's, and ends up shedding a tear. The flight was pretty quick, and we arrived in montreal a little earlier then scheduled.

Was a little bitter sweet to leave Winnipeg where the sun was actually very bright this morning.  But we were leaving -30 for about 0 :)

As we were taxiing away, what rolls in, chartered flight with likely the Winnipeg jets arriving back to Winnipeg from the Minneapolis.

So we left snow in Winnipeg to arrive in montreal to have no snow and much milder temperature

Winnipeg

Montreal

We got off the plane, got our bags and headed to the car rental location.  Adam is a blue chip member so we get to go outside directly to the outside desk.  This Express way wasn't so express.  The guy at the desk didn't know how to get a second driver added to the car and then tried to charge us.  Eventually he gave adam keys to go get the car to load up our stuff, but I stayed to try and get my information entered.  Eventually a man came to help, took one look at my last name and a smile came on his face.... "Where is Mr Coolidge, he was here about a week ago:)". We go the car all figured out and headed for a quick lunch of montreal smoked meat before heading to Quebec City.

The drive uneventful.  Lola fell asleep, and adam got us there.

Tunnel under the st Laurence river.

Arriving in Quebec City, we headed to the heated outdoor pool quickly because it only was open till 7, so we only had about 20minutes, but it was fabulous, reminded us of the hot springs in Banff.

Then headed to a favorite pub of ours that we have been to 2 times.  

The food was great, but adam and I both couldn't finish.

We ended off our first day with a skate at Patinoire de la place d'youville.

We plan on snowboarding tomorrow.  Time to get some sleep, and rest these legs.

Night, Lola (Gwen, if you have forgotten who Lola is)

IIHF and a little extra...

Well we are off on another adventure.  A familiar place but an unfamiliar event. 

We are currently waiting at the gate to board with a Tim's in hand and luggage for weeks according to Blair (who was so generous to give us a ride to the airport this morning)!

This weeks is supposed to consist of a little outdoor activity (snowboard and skates onboard the plane), 3 world junior hockey (#gocanadago) and a little site seeing in Quebec City and Montreal!

Well almost time to get on the plane! Hope you all had a good holiday season and I am sure you will hear from us soon!

Lola

Home time and (almost) game time!

Time to go home. It's been a quick trip. What was supposedly 7 inspections in two days turned out to be...1. Oh well, got my inspection done and lots of other work. Now I need to continue to work on brainstorming for te strategic planning meetings tomorrow and Friday...

I ended up killing most of the afternoon at the airport in the lounge 

I gave Doug my rental car when he arrived at 1:30 so instead of trying to figure our logistics to get to the airport from somewhere else, I grabbed lunch at Moes deli and then got some work done in the lounge. Good thing for free lounge passes from all the travel I did last year. 

Well time to board. Ttyl. 

AA

Heading for warmer weather

It feels like only yesterday since I was in the airport returning from Montreal. Well, I guess it was more like 4 days ago since I was in the aiport. Alas I am here again with flights (including a return!) to and from Montreal. 

This time it seems less planned and more undefined (yes, I am intentionally being redundant...). The schedule shows 7 inspections in 2 days, my guess is that 3 will happen. As tiring as it is to travel outside of work hours, I'd much rather do this than waste 4 hrs traveling during work hours and getting further behind. 

It's not so bad flying after hours - you can still relax and watch a movie, read a book or catch a few zzz's. It just sucks having to leave home and getting in late only to get up early and hit the ground running. Luckily I have lots of practice...

Maybe I'll have some spare time this trip to get some Christmas (or birthday) presents. However I need to make sure that I don't exceed my carry on liquid allowance so that I don't need to check my bag - my return flight is scheduled to get into Winnipeg just over an hour before puck drop at the MTS Center for our next Jets game. 

I'm not worried though, when was the last time my personal life was affected by work travel... Hmm, Maybe I should be worried...

Giraffes, Grand forks and the Garage

[Originally supposed to post on 20 Oct 14, now for your reading pleasure ;) ]

Well today was our last day in Arizona. We started the day with buffet breakfast at the hotel. Adam had a custom made omelete and I had fried eggs plus, bacon and hasbrowns! 

We then headed to the Pheonix Zoo. During the first half and hour of walking around Lola wasn't too impressed with the zoo, the big horned sheep were not on the mountain, the tiger wasn't out and the lions were lying on their backs with legs open (very wierd for a lion to lye). We kept walking to see the Rhino and flamingos. Once we got to a point, the giraffes were much closer than the first time we past. They have 4 giraffes and a very large area for them. At this point wasn't really that impressed with the zoo, but then AA said we should go back to the other side of the giraffes and we could feed them. They only could be fed between 10:30-11:30. It was about 10:40 when we got there, paid our $10, and got to take a photo with the one giraffe and then got to feed another. The tongue reaches up to 18". What a super cool experience. And after that.... The zoo got so much better, the tiger came out, the lions were posed in a beautiful position, and the elephant moved to see it better. I really like all the African animals, as well as all the tortoise that were in the next section. They were so big, and their heads were so small, and they moved so slow!

Sorry zoo pictures will have to wait as we didn't take any on our phones.

After the zoo, AA and Lola went back to the hotel to cool off, shower and pack the car to head to the airport. On our way we stopped at Denny's for lunch. 

At the airport we got to the check in point to find a large line. But luckily they were checking bags in based on flight departure so we didn't wait a long time. The Mesa airport isn't large so didn't take too long tho get through security. But Lola's side braid had to get patted down after the body scanner because I guess my hair is too thick. Good thing I wasn't hiding anything in there.

Boarded the plane, and we were off about 10 minutes early. The take off was rough, we were going through a storm

brewing. We turned right, then left, then right and left again. The lady behind is was breathing very heavy, thought we were going to have to hand her the barf bag. He daughter beside her also wasn't coping well, and began to cry. But once out of that the flight was pretty stable. We watched frozen and then AA had a little nap before landing.

Storm brewing as we boarded the plane

Landed in grand forks, and AA took off his cowboy hat and boots that he had to wear as with his boots in the suit case we were too much over weight. Lola kind of likes the cowboy in AA and doesn't mind him in that outfit, now to get him a horse... Reunited with the Passat, we are happy to have our car back. Our Toyota Corolla didn't quite cut it for comfort, power or radio.  We put over 700 miles on our rental for the week.

Can you find the cowboy? Doesn't blend in as much in grand forks....

We grabbed a bite to eat a few things from target, fuelled up the car and now on our way back to our home.

Border was quick and highway empty. I don't think we have seen a vehicle close enough to tell you the colour yet. 

We had a great week, full of new friends, new adventures and lots of food! Lola has sore feet from all the activities and AA is excited to eat home cooked meals. Maybe tacos tomorrow to ease into Mexican withdrawal.

We can't wait to get into the garage with our car and sleep in our own bed. 

Back in Winnipeg. 

Lola

The Day After

Today was a nice relaxing day. We (Lola, Catherine and AA) got up and ate a small breakfast at Katie and Jason's. We cleaned up, packed our bags and loaded the car so we could leave straight from the ranch. Catherine was still staying another night so she just needed her stuff for the day. 

We got to the ranch at 10:45, ahead of everyone.  Lunch was being catered by a family friend who owns a few taco trucks in Tucson. So Lola and I helped setup tables and get ready for guests to arrive. 

Overall there were about 40 people who came for lunch of beef and chicken tacos and Sonoran hotdogs (a hotdog in a bun, baked beans, onions, jalepenos, mustard and mayo).  There were a few tubs of eggees (basically flavoured shaved ice) and a left over keg of beer. 

At about 1 o'clock we said our goodbyes to everyone we had met and made our way to drop off my tux at the store before going to Phoenix. 

On the way, we made a pitstop at Costco where Lola finally got her super duper paper cutter that she first saw in Seattle back in September. She was pretty excited!

After an hour and a half drive, we made it to the Phoenix outlet mall. Lola bought a new pair of running shoes and Arizona Adam bought a t shirt. We don't have much room in our suitcases to bring stuff back. 

After a short stop at the mall we got to our hotel, checked in and then went for dinner to a steakhouse called Lone Star steakhouse. Now, we are back at the hotel, Lola is talking to her mom on the iPad. 

Tomorrow we will either go to the zoo or to an aquarium, we aren't too sure yet. Our flight leaves phoenix at 3pm and we arrive in grand forks at 8:20 where we will then drive back to Winnipeg. 

Hopefully Lola finishes up soon so we can go to the hot tub for a bit. Hopefully there is still some warm weather when we get back so that we can acclimatize to the fall weather once again. 

Lola's day!

Well my day didn't start off the same way as Arizona Adam....

Cathrine (my partner in crime for the day, and Katie's friend from Kentucky) had the task of picking up the flowers.... Taking the cake flowers to the reception hall then bringing the rest of the flowers to the church.  We drove Katie and Jason's SUV to the Safeway at Sunshine and Swan.  Get to the desk and the lady's there asks if we are at the correct store.... We are like yes. She couldn't find the order.  Call the bride, yes we are at the right spot.... Still can't find the flowers.  The worker calls the manager, Gail, at home.... She screwed up and thought the order was for Saturday.  Cathrine and I are freaking out a little but trying not to be too panicked in text messages to the bride. Safeway worker says they will be done in half an hour.

Catherine and I go to the cv pharmacy next door to buy markers for the guest book picture frame, go to Starbucks to get some pick me ups, and then back to safeway.  It is now 9:15 and the flowers were just started.  At about 9:30 the lady trying to fix Gail's mistakes asked us to go wait in the waiting area by Starbucks because we were making her nervous.  Well I was nervous the wedding was going to be late because we couldn't do our simole task of delivering the flowers to the wedding.  At about 10 we couldn't wait any longer.  Went back to the counter and Gail was there frantically trying to finish.  We got out of there had to take all the flowers to the church including the cake topper ones.  We made it at about 10:40 and the wedding started at 11.  Not bad,,, I was nervous is all morning,,,,

Our cute little ring bearer was so happy when we got there, and I think the bride too.

Our selfie when he came to help us carry the flowers in. Catherine, rowen and Lola

The wedding was nice.  Here are a few photos I took.

The cutest ring bearer.

The ladies with their flowers:)

The wonderful couple.

My cowboy husband

Adam even drove the Shelby around to the front of the church so the bride and groom could leave in it:)

Cathrine and I collected all thee flowers again and headed to Katie's parents ranch.  We got there and we both seemed to be the go to girls.  I helped put out drinks, collect members for pictures, delevier messages between the bride and the bridesmaids, clean up the table, move food outside. Oh and the food order was not done either... So they got what they could... And cut the sandwhiches smaller...

Aa and I out at there ranch after all the fires were put out.

We then headed to there reception, with the flowers once again... We finally found the right person to give the cake topper flowers too, and set the guest book frame and markers and then got to enjoy the rest of the evening,

Cathrine and I at the beautiful skyline country club.

Final destination for flowers, happy to not have to worry about them.

The wedding cake.

The photo booth.

All and all it was a great day.  We were home by 10... One of the last people to leave.  I danced up a storm and got many complements as people left.  I am sure people will still be talking about it tomorrow...

Well AA is already snoring beside me in bed, so I guess I should go to bed too.

Good night from my cowboy and Lola!