Get-away

Bizkette had been talking about having a belated birthday funtime in Banff. The past couple of dates she'd been suggesting I had to work, so hopefully I'll catch wind of the actual date so I can book it off when it happens.

I love Banff. It's amazing how everything changes just a short drive away from here. All of a sudden you're in the midst of the Rockies, everybody's uber laid back, and they even have a Louis Vuitton shop which I can never get myself to step into. We don't even have a Louis Vuitton shop here in Calgary, or even Edmonton. What's this little town have that us big cities don't?

I don't think I'm depressed, but things could definitely be better than they have been. I need to get out of town just to let loose for a while. I can't get very far, but for some reason Edmonton is sounding very good to me right about now.

I remember the weekend trip Civic and I had over there. Truth be told (no offense to Edmontonians) I think I would get bored quickly if I actually lived there...but West Edmonton Mall and Whyte Ave (to some extent, though our 17th kicks Whyte's ass) were enough to keep us entertained the whole weekend. Whenever I used to go there as a kid, all I'd want to do in Edmonton was go to West Ed. And my cousins would usually oblige me, though you know that if you ask any local around there they'll tell you they usually don't go to West Edmonton Mall. They're sick of it.

But I for some reason, can never get West Edmonton Mall out of my blood. It's not because of my raging shopaholicism. Well, maybe a bit of it is. But I think it's still 'cuz I'm such a kid in so many ways. I love going on the Mindbender rollercoaster...and the Drop of Doom's successor the Space Shot. I went to the waterpark for the first time in my life when I was out with Civic. It was okay, I guess, but it's cool that it's in the mall. Putting Edge was a blast...sure it's just mini-golf, but how often do you get to play mini-golf in black light? And the tiramisu at Death By Chocolate is the most orgasmic dessert I've ever had. Plus, of course, that's where I discovered Julio's Barrio's yummy sangria.

But it's also cool that the place is always changing. Apparently (thanks to my brother's updates...he was just there last weekend) they now have a Chinatown district in the mall. Complete with a T & T Supermarket. Wait till I tell Civic about that. :) Not only that but they have a kiosk in the food court that specializes in deep fried ice cream. A treat that Daisy and I are always in search of. We have yet to find one that actually meets our standards. Plus, this deep fried ice cream place also sells deep fried Mars bars...something Daisy has been ranting on about forever. I still don't think chocolate should be deep fried, but that's just me.

I think I should propose a weekend up north to my friends sometime soon. Granted, most (but not all) of it isn't anything we couldn't do down here...but it's cool that it's all under one roof. If only the city didn't shut down so early in the evening up there. That's something they could work on by looking at our example over here.