This time of year I ’should’ be writing about something relevant like exam tips but something else ie. life had stepped up to the mark and stolen the lime light! Last Friday I was a world away in the best place on earth, apart from Margate, in Canada!!!! This trip was like no other and I want to share some of the best bits, a potential child abduction, a mountain rescue, a purse and mobile left in the wilderness, and fresh bear tracks! Just your usual run of the mill holiday……NOT!!!!
It adventure all began the at Heathrow Airport. We were travelling with my dear friends, god son to be and my daughter. At check in the children were trying to run each-others feet over with trolleys, when I handed over my passport and my daughters to the checkin desk (Ha big mistake!!). The guy looked at the names which were different, even the passports were from different countries and he then asked for a letter from her father giving consent to take her out of the country and her original birth certificate. OOPS….in all my flights to Oz this was the first time I had come across this request. With an hour and a half till the flight closed, there was no pressure, I was madly phoning my ex, my mum and everyone else in between.
After numerous phone calls my daughters father managed to find the certificate and write the letter and fax it off, what a legend! Not quite the relaxed start I had anticipated but it all worked out. How was I to know Canada has one of the highest rates of child abduction in the world!!!
The flight was then pretty much uneventful compared with out exciting start. We stayed in a place called Baker Creek in Alberta which was about two and half hours west of Calgary. The chalets were made of wood, traditional designs, and nestled into the base of the mountains with a creek meandering through. It felt like coming home and I have such fond memories of the place. I cant recommend them highly enough.
Now on with the juicy bits. We spent the first day mooching around, eating at a cafe and discovering snow which swallowed your legs when you tread upon it. We had the most awesome snowball fights and it is amazing how much speed you can gain from hurtling yourself head, shoulder or feet first a snow covered hill!! We even had a train driver toot and wave carring over 100 carriages as the snow balls flew by the track.
The next day we drove in anticipation to Lake Louise ski resort, hoping all three of the skiing lessons at Folkestone had payed off. After and hour or so of flapping, getting five people kitted out for the snow we hit the slopes. My daughter and I were mastering the nursary slope with style when my friends moved up to the intermediate slope in preparation for going up the mountain. We on the other hand were restricted to the nursary when my daughter refused to ride the lift up. So after another hour or begging my friends who were now well practised suggested going to the top!!! Sure I said, doing the green slopes how bad can it be?????????
Well up the top we all trooped out of the Gondola feeling we could take on the world. The first few turns were a breeze and then we turned the next corner to find no more gentle slopes and instead a steep drop! Oops, aghh ooh not good. All I could say was ’snow plough’, keep ’snow ploughing’ straight down. I was doing ok until my daughter flew past arms flailing yelling ‘I can’t stop’. By this time neither could I and I was not having fun anymore! All I could hear was her fathers voice saying ‘keep her safe for me’ and this was not frankly speaking the case right at this precise moment.
To be continued……
