He Said: The last day! only 17 days in, not nearly enough. Today we drove to Banff and tried the Banff Upper Hot Springs. The walk from the overflow overflow overflow parking was almost as long as the amount of time we spent there. It's not very natural. It's just a hot pool with a vaguely weird smell, and the kids tired of it quickly. We went in to town for lunch, shopping, and beaver tails, then it was on the way home. Did I mention Shannon was driving? Spoiler alert - Shannon was driving! I played DJ, making a killer mix that deftly showed my deep, intense knowledge of her, her life story, and the musical montage that forms the backdrop of her life. There was a severe thunderstorm warning and we rolled into some pretty nasty clouds and traffic, but overall it wasn't bad. No giant hail.
She Said: Hot springs were too hot for me. Ryan, like me, started feeling woozy after 10 minutes. Mara loved it and didn't want to go, but after 30 minutes we were done. Almost had lunch there, but it just didn't seem nice enough for our last vacation meal. Spaghetti Factory in Banff was perfect. Although we almost didn't find any where to park and the streets were packed with pedestrians. Yuck. Some biker gang fellas and their bitches from Quebec showed up half way through. 2 large tables full. They otherwise seem like very normal folks. All about middle aged and showing pictures of grand kids. The women weren't in leather jackets and didn't even look like bikers. The men had all the paraphernalia and bushy beards. We tried to explain to the kids what biker gangs were and then found that it just lead to more questions like "What's The Mob?". The beaver tails were huge and gross and expensive and I wished that we didn't get them. Of course the kids loved them but I'd rather have the $20 back. And yes - I was driving. Brad does impress when he sets his mind to it. The music he chose was perfect and did show that he pays attention. I do not have these skills and am a rather lousy gift giver. I have other talents. Like driving safely. I'm glad we lingered in Banff and missed the storm for the most part. I guess the Beaver Tails were a good idea afterall. Good to be home. The kids helped get all unpacked and Brad picked up McDonalds for supper.