malaysiablog (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} russellnews) wrote,@ 2008-08-19 01:02:00 |
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Fun Activities So Far
Today marks a full 4 weeks in Calgary, so I thought I'd do a little retrospective on some of the fun things we've found to see and do here:
GOLF
There are several inexpensive golf courses a stone's throw from us, including one that has a total of 36 holes in a most beautiful setting. We haven't played a round yet -- everybody golfs here, so you have to reserve days in advance -- but Luke and I went to the range and hit a bucket of balls. The place is on top of a hill overlooking downtown, a truly breathtaking view. Awesome!
ZOO
The zoo is expensive, but we were able to apply the day's receipt to the cost of a season pass, so Luke and I have gone three times already (Jeff's come once). The first visit was with my old high school buddy, Susan, who just happened to be in town and spent the day with us. Besides the obligatory critters usually found at a big city zoo, they have a botanical garden which we haven't got to yet, a big "dinosaur" exhibit that is basically a lovely walk through a maze of pathways, and a huge Canadian Wilderness area. There's a baby elephant and a baby giraffe -- too cute!
CAMPING
One of the churches we've been visiting (we haven't quite made up our minds yet on where to call 'home') had a family campout in the foothills of the Rockies. There were about 70 people there, half of whom seemed to be younger than 6. It was primitive camping, which I'm not fond of (the flush toilet is man's greatest invention), but the setting was gorgeous. Again, the weather was fine, the river was cold, and the steaks were medium-rare. We made an apple cobbler in the Dutch oven and ingratiated ourselves by sharing it with everyone. Saturday night there was a communal fire and singing (in which some of us had flashbacks to the 70s when the guitar struck up a few Dylan tunes), and Sunday morning we celebrated the Lord's supper around the fire, with singing and prayers. Lovely!
DEVONIAN GARDENS
There is a huge indoor garden downtown that is free to visit, full of pathways, stairs, ponds, plants, benches, and the occasional koi or turtle, plus a few wild finches who've found their way inside. It's attached to a shopping mall, so when you're tired of soaking in a little bit of nature, you can immerse yourself in its antithesis. Clever!
STEPHENS AVE
Calgary has a pedestrian street that runs through several blocks of downtown, full of restaurants, shops, and trinket stalls. It begins near the Devonian Gardens, so after we'd had our fill of cell phone shops and food court treats, Luke and I walked the Ave all the way to the end, to a little park with a pond, fountain, and amphitheater.
C-TRAIN
There's a light rail system that takes you to outlying parts of the city. It's not the best city train I've ever seen, but it sure beats Houston's (practically non-existent) passenger rail system. The downtown section of the C-train is free, so Luke and I rode it back to where we'd parked the car. We only wandered around for 10 minutes or so before we figured out which garage [head-desk]. The 3 hours we spent cost us $21, so we think we'll use the bus to get downtown next time.
MOVIES
There's a cinema near us, and we've been able to take in a few movies (can anyone say Clone Wars?) for the truly amazing price of $12.50 per ticket. For this price, you get old-fashioned non-stadium seating, a picture that is mostly in focus, and all the cinemuck you can carry away on the soles of your shoes. We've joined Blockbuster in self defense.
MYSTERY CHANNEL
This is the first time we've had cable TV in 20-odd years, so currently we are gorging ourselves watching House, Law and Order, and various flavors of CSI. Not to mention the Olympics.
WALKING
To counter the couch-potato effect of cable TV, we've been able to walk the neighborhoods near us a few times. I can't express how wonderful it is to walk for half an hour in the August twilight and NOT be drenched in sweat afterwards.
That's all I can think of for now. As you can see, we've been busy exploring our new habitat, but there's plenty more I'd like to take in, such as Fort Calgary and the Winter Olympic site, before school starts on September 2.
God bless y'all. Come see us anytime!
Today marks a full 4 weeks in Calgary, so I thought I'd do a little retrospective on some of the fun things we've found to see and do here:
GOLF
There are several inexpensive golf courses a stone's throw from us, including one that has a total of 36 holes in a most beautiful setting. We haven't played a round yet -- everybody golfs here, so you have to reserve days in advance -- but Luke and I went to the range and hit a bucket of balls. The place is on top of a hill overlooking downtown, a truly breathtaking view. Awesome!
ZOO
The zoo is expensive, but we were able to apply the day's receipt to the cost of a season pass, so Luke and I have gone three times already (Jeff's come once). The first visit was with my old high school buddy, Susan, who just happened to be in town and spent the day with us. Besides the obligatory critters usually found at a big city zoo, they have a botanical garden which we haven't got to yet, a big "dinosaur" exhibit that is basically a lovely walk through a maze of pathways, and a huge Canadian Wilderness area. There's a baby elephant and a baby giraffe -- too cute!
CAMPING
One of the churches we've been visiting (we haven't quite made up our minds yet on where to call 'home') had a family campout in the foothills of the Rockies. There were about 70 people there, half of whom seemed to be younger than 6. It was primitive camping, which I'm not fond of (the flush toilet is man's greatest invention), but the setting was gorgeous. Again, the weather was fine, the river was cold, and the steaks were medium-rare. We made an apple cobbler in the Dutch oven and ingratiated ourselves by sharing it with everyone. Saturday night there was a communal fire and singing (in which some of us had flashbacks to the 70s when the guitar struck up a few Dylan tunes), and Sunday morning we celebrated the Lord's supper around the fire, with singing and prayers. Lovely!
DEVONIAN GARDENS
There is a huge indoor garden downtown that is free to visit, full of pathways, stairs, ponds, plants, benches, and the occasional koi or turtle, plus a few wild finches who've found their way inside. It's attached to a shopping mall, so when you're tired of soaking in a little bit of nature, you can immerse yourself in its antithesis. Clever!
STEPHENS AVE
Calgary has a pedestrian street that runs through several blocks of downtown, full of restaurants, shops, and trinket stalls. It begins near the Devonian Gardens, so after we'd had our fill of cell phone shops and food court treats, Luke and I walked the Ave all the way to the end, to a little park with a pond, fountain, and amphitheater.
C-TRAIN
There's a light rail system that takes you to outlying parts of the city. It's not the best city train I've ever seen, but it sure beats Houston's (practically non-existent) passenger rail system. The downtown section of the C-train is free, so Luke and I rode it back to where we'd parked the car. We only wandered around for 10 minutes or so before we figured out which garage [head-desk]. The 3 hours we spent cost us $21, so we think we'll use the bus to get downtown next time.
MOVIES
There's a cinema near us, and we've been able to take in a few movies (can anyone say Clone Wars?) for the truly amazing price of $12.50 per ticket. For this price, you get old-fashioned non-stadium seating, a picture that is mostly in focus, and all the cinemuck you can carry away on the soles of your shoes. We've joined Blockbuster in self defense.
MYSTERY CHANNEL
This is the first time we've had cable TV in 20-odd years, so currently we are gorging ourselves watching House, Law and Order, and various flavors of CSI. Not to mention the Olympics.
WALKING
To counter the couch-potato effect of cable TV, we've been able to walk the neighborhoods near us a few times. I can't express how wonderful it is to walk for half an hour in the August twilight and NOT be drenched in sweat afterwards.
That's all I can think of for now. As you can see, we've been busy exploring our new habitat, but there's plenty more I'd like to take in, such as Fort Calgary and the Winter Olympic site, before school starts on September 2.
God bless y'all. Come see us anytime!
