A weekend in Calgary

A couple of weeks after we got back from England we went down to Calgary to see Rachel (Reuben's daughter) and her daughter, Julia (Reuben's newest grandchild - and she's adorable) and Steve (who was out of town - so we didn't see him) and Oren (Reuben's son) and his wife Karen.  

I'm sitting next to Karen and Oren.

These pink flamingos don't seem concerned about living in a zoo.

Isn't it amazing what Pepsi will do to get product placement even in my little 'new' blog.

It was a broiling hot weekend. We went to the Calgary zoo but many of the animals were hiding in the shade. I used to like the zoo perhaps because it was a great activity for children but when we arrived I wasn't very interested. Julia was a bit young to fully enjoy the experience and so Rachel left after awhile and then Oren and Karen took off, so Reuben and I walked around the whole zoo which took us nearly 5 hours. Surprisingly we started to enjoy ourselves once we stopped trying to see the animals. It was a very pleasant place to walk around. In one section the designers have created a Badlands exhibit with huge models of dinosaurs....certainly no need to feel guilty about this part of the zoo. I heard on the radio that certain animals such as elephants and gorillas should never be kept in zoos because it is too cruel for them. Unfortunately Calgary zoo has these animals.  

Highway 2 the only way to get from Edmonton to Calgary has now been renamed as Queen Elizabeth Highway but everyone still calls it #2 - no surprise - why do politicians bother? I'm sure the Queen couldn't give a toss about having this stretch of tarmac graced with her name.

 

This is the worst aspect of going to Calgary. It takes us 3 hours. The road is completely straight, there are no turns and no scenery. Don't believe me? Look at the photos. You be the judge. They say that you can't see the end of the world from Edmonton but it's close.