Ryan

Ryan and I met at my work conference in Vegas about two months ago. We were introduced the second night when I was out socializing with coworkers and customers. My first impression of Ryan was he was very attractive. My second impression was he was very loud. Yet somehow by the end of the night, we found ourselves sharing a late night snack and really got to know each other. Ryan sparked my interest in Vegas, but it wasn't until we finished our first phone conversation (which ended up being three hours long) that I realized what a neat person he is. It took me another three weeks of constant late night phone calls and tons of email to decide that I wanted Ryan in my life despite the distance. Ryan lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

I spent the last four days with Ryan in Calgary, and am so glad I went. We had a fabulous time together and I got to see a lot of neat things. Ryan was an excellent host – all the way to cooking meals and refusing to let me even do the dishes. We took lots of pictures, which I’ll get up at some point (soon).

Here’s a quick rundown of the weekend’s events:

• Thursday – Arrived around 9:45 p.m. Ryan and Hunter, Ryan’s 4 year old son, met me just outside customs. Hunter brought me flowers. The smile on Ryan’s face made all the nervousness disappear. By the time we got to Ryan’s house, it was still light outside, which was a surprise. This time of year in Calgary, it stays light until almost 11 p.m., but I hear the winters are quite the opposite.
• Friday – Slept in (what’s the point of vacation unless you sleep late?). Woke up to Hunter and Ryan whispering in the bathroom. Hunter was being very conscientious about not waking me up. He’s such a sweetheart! When I finally did get up, Ryan cooked us blueberry pancakes for breakfast! Yum. Then Ryan, Hunter, and I spent the day at the Calgary Zoo. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we all had a great time. Took a nap Friday afternoon and Hunter left for his mom’s house. (Hunter spends a week at a time with each parent and the switch occurs Friday nights.) So, Friday night Ryan and I had dinner at the neighborhood pub. I drank Canadian beer for the first time and began to understand Ryan’s liking for rye and diet.
• Saturday – We spent most of the morning lounging around and enjoying my vacation. Ryan cooked another fabulous breakfast – eggs, bacon, toast and hash browns. We first took a nice walk in Nose Hill Park, which over looks the city. It was an incredible view, and I got a good feel for the layout of the city. Calgary is bigger than I realized and I quite enjoyed learning so much about the city from Ryan. Then we did a little shopping, so I could take advantage of the exchange rate. In late afternoon, we laid in the backyard soaking up the sun and enjoying the weather. Saturday night, Ryan took me out for a fabulous dinner at Escoba in downtown. The food was excellent but the best part was dessert – truffles and port. After dinner we joined a birthday celebration for one of Ryan’s coworkers, where much rye and diet was consumed.
• Sunday – We woke up early and drove into the mountains, which are about an hour and a half drive from Calgary. We first went to Lake Louise where we took a lovely hike around the lake. The pictures simply don’t do it justice. Beautiful. After lunch, we drove to Banff. Enjoyed walking around doing a little shopping, but the best part was just sitting on a rooftop porch drinking beer, enjoying the spectacular view, beautiful weather, and great conversation. We had a light dinner at a great little Asian place then drove back to Calgary.
• Monday – My last day in Calgary was very relaxed. Had lunch on an outdoor patio and walked around 17th Avenue, a trendy part of the city. Went to Bowness Park where we dipped our feet into the icy cold Bow River, which runs throughout Calgary. (And feels like the water just came from a glacier.) Ryan’s father, Richard, stopped by later in the evening for a short visit. Ryan’s parents live two hours outside of Calgary, but Richard was in town for work. It was extremely nice to meet him and chat for a bit. I find it really cool to see what a person’s parents are like – it says a bit about the person. After Richard left, Ryan cooked me a wonderful meal, which we ate on the porch at the new picnic table. Time totally slipped away from us and the next thing we knew, it was 10 p.m. (That whole not getting dark thing sure makes the evening weird.) Since my plane was so early on Tuesday morning, we called it a night early…before the sun had even fully set.

All in all, it was a fabulous trip. Having a few more days in Calgary would be fine with me. Alas, real life calls.

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