The Big 50

Aunt Ellen turned 50. Those candles said "Oh No The Big 50". Fred and Vicki were in town for their annual trip to Copper Mountain, so we spent the weekend up in the mountains.

Chicago

I went to Chicago for the ACHE (American College of Healthcare Executives) Congress. I had a little time to spare and was able to get away from the conference for a few hours on the nicest weather day. Here's the "Cloud Gate" which reminds me of the spacecraft in Flight of the Navigator.

I went to the Art Institute of Chicago; I wish I could have spent more time there but was able to see all the impressionism.


















The only hang-up of the trip was my flight back being cancelled due to "a bird hit the plane" - luckily I wasn't in it when this happened.

Tearah's Baby Shower

I held a baby shower for Tearah. I got the cake from a place called Cake Crumbs that matched the "King of the Jungle" theme. I found the bakery online; their store is in a neighborhood area and seems to be popular with the locals. I think they did a great job with the cake. The games included "What would mommy prefer" (choosing his/her traits), and matching people's names to the meanings using the names of the guests.

Banff Film Festival

I went to the Banff Film Festival at the Paramount theatre. The film festival is held internationally, each location shows various entries. Basically they are short videos highlighting anything having to do with the mountains - sports, culture, or environment.

I saw the following films:

The Ultimate Skiing Showdown (WATCH THIS ONE. 3 min video showing cross-country tricks on the Vancouver Olympic course - cool soundtrack)

Africa Revolutions Tour (kayakers in Africa including Madagascar - I think these guys are a bit crazy)

Deep/Shinsetsu (skiing, snowboarding and noboarding in Japan in waist deep powder through back-country - the noboarding was like surfing in snow)

Hunlen (ice-climbing on a partially frozen waterfall in Canada, not a good idea)

Revolution One (unicycler that goes on mountain biking trails and various other rugged landscape)

The longest film and winner of the festival was Finding Farley. This couple traveled across Canada by kayak with their 2 yr old son and dog to visit Farley Mowat. It also won the people's choice awards - I think because of the cute kid and dog. My favorite part was when after several MONTHS of kayaking they had to take a train across part of the country. The 2 yr old was trying to coax the dog into his carrier but the dog walked off. So the 2 yr old proceeded to get on his belly and shimmy himself back into the crate to demonstrate to the dog what to do. The dog watching this...then joins the 2 yr old in the crate. All you can see is fur then a hand reaches out to close the gate. Also, I couldn't help thinking when I was watching this adventure that the parents are a little nuts - they did end up going through some rapids and that seemed a little dangerous with a 2 yr old. Really? Camping for 4 months with a 2 yr old in diapers? That couldn't have been pleasant. Unfortunately the kid probably won't remember any of it - he did get to see some fantastic scenery. I guess he can always watch the video when he is older.