Insta-Honesty & Our First Adventure in Alberta
June 24, 2018
I use Instagram A LOT. Probably too much for my own good. And it's easy to be drawn to pictures that are perfectly posed and vacations that look flawlessly fun. At the end of the day, though, I find I most appreciate the accounts where people are consistently honest about their lives. Where they show you the goofiest parts of themselves and their families. Where they take on projects that are challenging and share their progress. Where they aren't afraid of the opinions of others and simply post what makes them happy. Don't get me wrong, I love a beautifully curated picture of a gorgeous human or landscape just as much as the next person, but the stories behind the pictures are what matter most to me. A few accounts that I think embody this idea are:
- Bethany Ciotola (@bethanyciotola)
- Anna Liesemeyer (@inhonorofdesign)
- Chessie King (@chessiekingg)
- Jenna Rammell (@jennaskitchen)
- The Bucket List Family (@thebucketlistfamily) - ~!@#their VIDEOS tho!@#!...so sweet and amazing that they create these so quickly, while traveling with littles
I was originally inspired to travel to Banff, Alberta because of the pictures I'd seen on social media, but about a year ago, I got the push I needed to book the flights and start planning. My mom's second cousin, Christy, reached out to her after she'd seen my blog posts about our trip to Greece. She mentioned how my "zest for life" reminds her of herself and how "it's just so nice to see as a parent trying to raise 3 of (her) own". I was so excited by her comment because it was the result of exactly the kind of connection I am trying to create by sharing my experiences here. I found out she lived in Calgary, Alberta, about an hour and a half drive from Banff, and couldn't pass up the opportunity to contact her myself and ask if we could come visit!
From the beginning, Christy was extremely helpful and excited for us to
come out and experience the Canadian Rockies. We stayed at her place the
first and last nights of our trip, and she took us mountain biking in Bragg Creek the
day after we arrived. Taylor and I rented bikes from SportsRent in Calgary, and I was so focused on making sure all the logistics were set for the week that I didn't check the fit of the bike they picked for me. We drove 40 minutes towards the mountains and I hopped on my bike - GoPro mounted, snacks packed, bear spray accessible, annddddd then I realized all ten toes couldn't touch the ground at the same time :/ Okay, no problem, just adjust the seat, right? THE SEAT BAR WAS TOO LONG. Omagosh we couldn't push it down any further no matter how hard we tried. This is when we saw the only other people in the parking lot (it was supposed to rain - usually this place is packed) - construction workers. I thought to myself, "Well, maybe if we're the luckiest people in the world, they will be able to cut this metal bar for us. And then, maybe the rental company won't notice we permanently altered their bajillion dollar bike". Yeah, this will probably work.
You guys, THEY HAD A METAL GRINDER. They were super nice (Canadians, eh?), grabbed their handheld metal grinder, sawed off a couple inches from the seat bar, and we were on our way. What are the chances?
We biked the 4-mile Merlin View loop, which featured a steep uphill climb for the first half of the trail (a very quick introduction to the difficulties of breathing when traveling to a place of high altitude). But it was worth it because the views were beautiful and the trails were smooth A.K.A tons of fun on the downhill portion. We deemed it the perfect start to our vacation.
We parted ways with Christy and headed to our Airbnb in Canmore, a small mountain town close to Banff. When I was planning at the beginning of the year, I originally wanted to find a place to stay in Banff, but there wasn't anything reasonable available. We're really glad we ended up in Canmore, though, because it's a lot less "touristy", with cute boutiques, great restaurants, and beautiful parks.
Anyway, that was the end of our first adventure and I'll be back soon with more!
Thanks for stopping by!
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