Spring Break 2022 - Alberta - Day 4

 We got our aching muscles out of bed and off to the ski hill this morning.  AK was pretty tired from the day before, but was super excited to get on the hill again.  "I am good at skiing".  Today LK and JK stayed in town to enjoy some shopping and just hang out together, as they both didn't want to ski today. We made it to the hill at around 9:00, parking in the 3rd lot today.  AK was so excited to show her skills to us as we skied from the parking lot down the base before her morning ski school started. 

While AK was in ski school, EK, AA and Lola headed to get some runs in.  It was sure a different day out there compared to yesterday.  We could see the views of the mountains from all sides unlike yesterday. To our surprise, and less snow, we had an easier time getting down the hill, taking us only about 9 minutes a run rather than 16 yesterday. We had a great morning of skiing. Even finding AK in her lesson a few times as we travelled by her. They were blasting at the top of the mountain for Avalanches, which was neat as you could see it, and the sound was seconds later.

 

We got AK at lunch time as she was only in a morning ski school today. We headed to the truck to eat our packed lunch.  That was the thing to do, as we got to the truck we passed many people with their bbqs, making hot dogs and hamburgers on their tailgates, lawn chairs and coolers. 

We enjoyed our lunch, but lola and AK got a little cold towards to the end so they headed and ate the remainder of their lunch in the cab of the truck rather than on the tail gate.

After lunch the 4 of us headed back to the hill to take AK to the top of the mountain.  She hadn't been that high, she was so excited to get to the top to show us her skills.  She did so well even on the blue run that we accidentally went on right at the top of the hill.  She loved to "chase" AA down the hill.

A few more runs and then we finished for the day.  The adults legs were getting pretty tired.  Returned the rental skis and headed back to town to see how JK and LK were doing.  AK had a good nap on the way back. The views were incredible as the clouds were cleared and the temperature was sure warm.

Oh and today we saw deer right by our hotel as we got back from skiing.

We headed to the swimming pool, to try and ease our muscles and LK has been asking since yesterday.  It wasn't too busy and the water felt warmer than the day before. We then tried out the outdoor hot tubs.  The adults enjoyed it, the kids thought the water was too hot.  

Cleaned up for supper, and headed to Evil Daves.  It was walking distance and the kids really had a good time outside. We had a good supper and then headed for a short walk back to the hotel along the path along the railroad tracks.  Back at the hotel we played some Mario Party, had some ice cream and then headed to bed.  We are all pretty tired and sore today.

We had a great day, but happy to not have to put our ski/snowboard boots on tomorrow :)

Spring Break 2022 - Alberta Day 3

Today was a busy day.  At least for the adults it was.  The day started off with breakfast in the hotel room with the kitchen.  It was simple but it was good.  All AA needed was some coffee and carbs.  We loaded up in the truck and car and made our way to the hill.  Road conditions were a little snow covered with the overnight rain turning into 6 inches of snow.  AA was excited to hit the slopes!

Once at the hill, Lola took the big blue beast and drove it up to the parking lot so we could ski out at the end of the day.  She was nervous driving the 4-wheel drive Toyota Tundra while AA brought the rental Camry up and parked beside her.

AK and LK were enrolled in ski school in the morning, starting at 10am.  Everyone got suited up with the ski gear and was ready to go well before the start of school:

With everyone settled in, 75% of the adults made their way up the hill while 1/4 stayed at the chalet in case the kids needed a parent.  They didn't.

It had been 8 years since the adults had been on the slopes... and it showed for some of them.  AA's legs were on fire within the first 10 mins of snowboarding and Lola wasn't far behind him.  Luckily, no skis were lost on Day 1 so that was a plus.

After a couple runs (perhaps 4-5?), it was time for lunch.  LK was done private lessons and joined the adults on the patio for their bagged lunch (and purchased BEvERages so that they could sit at the tables, outside).  Then, the crew moved inside and managed to secure half a table so that everyone could warm up.

The afternoon was filled with more snow and a couple more runs while LK enjoyed her alone time with her Mom.

At the end of her ski day, AK impressed everyone with how well she was able to ski after spending the day in ski school.  So much that Mom resisted to believe AA when he said that the little kid skiing with the instructor was her kid.  She eventually believed him.  

75% of the adults (+1 kid) did the short ski-out off of the kids chair to the parking lot.  AK was disappointed that it was so short (likely because she was pretty excited to show everyone how much she had learned).  

Tomorrow will be another day at the hill for part of the crew.  It looks like it will be a warm one on the slopes and this time the crew will definitely need to put on the sunscreen.  Hopefully the adults legs will be well-rested and ready for another day of carving down the hill.  We aren't too sure that will be the case...

AA

Spring Break 2022 - Alberta - Day 2

It rained and snowed most of the day today, but we made it to Jasper (our destination).  Thanks to AA and his long stays for work, he had lots of points to get us the 2 rooms for free, plus a free buffet breakfast for the 4 adults. Amelia walked into the breakfast buffet this morning, and said her dreams came true, as there was so much food.  All of us ate for $13.  

We headed on the road, with the blue truck in front and us following behind in our Black Camry.  The car is ok, but there is sure a lot of road noise. First stop was to get gas for the blue truck, then off on hwy 16 we went.

We stopped in Hinton for Lunch at Smity's and then did a group grocery shop. Don't forget about the stop at the liquor store. Lola entertained the kids in the mall entrance while the other adults looked through the selection.

The drive was snowing and raining majority of the way, so the wow factor of the mountains wasn't there. All of a sudden we were in the Mountains. We stopped at the side of the road when there was a group of Bighorn Sheep at the side of the road, just grazing.  They were pretty neat. Lola read in the Jasper National Park pamphlet that the females have skinny pointy horns while the males have the curly thick horns.  We surprisingly saw the male a few 100m down the highway.

Once we got to Jasper, we headed to buy our lift tickets in town, and then settled into our hotel. Kids were most excited about the large closet that connected between their room and the hallway.  Our travel family got a 2 bedroom suite with a full kitchen and AA and Lola just has a normal hotel room across the parking lot. It is pretty perfect.

Lola made supper of meatballs, spaghetti and garlic bread.  That was the most quiet time of the day, as people were hungry.

After supper we headed for a little swim in the pool.  The water was a little colder than yesterday, so it took Lola a little bit of time to get into the pool. But it was still good to get our body's moving from the 4 hours in the car today.

Once we were done in the pool, the kids went to bed after showers and a snack, and the adults prepared lunches for the next day and we went to bed early. 

Tomorrow is our first ski/snowboard day!

Night.

Spring break 2022 - Alberta - Day 1

After 761 days.... Lola finally got back on an airplane.  Covid 19 has been a long 2 years of staying close to home, and vacationing in Manitoba. AA has travelled for work a few times, so he been on a few planes since the pandemic started. We planned this trip with our friends back in the fall in hopes that the pandemic wouldn't stop us. We were happy that we were able to make this step forward to getting "back to normal"

Waiting for our Uber to pick us up!

Lola was a little anxious about getting to the airport but we made it in plenty of time. The Uber picked us up and we headed to the airport at around 10 am.  Our final destination for the day was Edmonton but with a short stop in Regina on the way.  Pre-Pandemic, we would have been able to just sit on the plane while people got off and others got on, but since of covid and the cleaning that is now done, we had to get off the plane for a bathroom break and to stretch our legs, and right back on we went. 

 Manitoba

Saskatchewan

Alberta

Both flights were pretty uneventful, with us enjoying our packed lunches, and of course AA found some time for a cat nap. Regina looked like it had less snow than both Winnipeg and Edmonton.

Our friends drove, and beat us to the hotel. We had to wait a long time at the rental car counter, as the 2 people before us, had a lot of questions about returning their cars.  We got to the hotel where 2 little girls were pretty happy to see us!

AA being a Diamond member at the Hilton, got us a rooms with points, and we also got upgraded to a King Suite, which was nice so we could hang out in a different room while the kids went to sleep.

We went for supper at a Hawaiian Style restaurant, where we enjoyed the food.  The adults has Poke bowls, which were a little spicier than expected. We then headed to a grocery store, where the Kings followed us, AA wasn't following the GPS very well, so we ended up missing the turn, and having a larger detour than expected, but finally made it to superstore.  We got a few things, and then headed back to the hotel to get in a swim. The pool was a little busy, but we still had a good time, and even Lola got in! The kids loved to splash and jump in, and it was nice to get our bodies moving from sitting most of the day. 

Once we got back to the rooms, and cleaned up from the pool, we had some snacks and drinks and the kids went to bed. The adults watched some curling, talking about the plan for the next day, and now heading to bed. 

View from our hotel room on the 9th floor.

We are heading to our final destination tomorrow, where we can fully unpack our suitcases and be surrounded by mountains!