Jill Browne, from home and away

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

White Spot is way more popular in B.C. than in Calgary, at least with people I know in both places.

I think the menu is the same.

I’ve ignored the Calgary White Spots for years, but I have a good memory of one that used to be downtown, long ago.

When I first came to Calgary it was January and extremely cold. I was on my way to the downtown bus station to head out to Banff, with my skis on my shoulder and a massive backpack with my worldly goods.

A stranger said I looked cold and bought me a hot chocolate at the White Spot. That was it. No come-on, nothing inappropriate, just a kind and friendly gesture.

My Wednesday breakfast partner and I tried the White Spot on MacLeod Trail today. I can’t remember ever being inside.

It’s really a nice-looking restaurant, clean, spacious, calm. The breakfasts, just fine. Bacon, eggs, hash browns, French toast. All good.

A friendly waitress named Della looked after us.

I’d go back. I’d even try it for dinner some time.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

It snowed and snowed and snowed.

To quote Dr. Seuss, “Snow, snow, snow. All that snow has to Go!”

Monday, March 21, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

A week ago I went to the Calgary Zoo for the day. It was bright and sunny, a perfect spring day.

The lions were basking on the rocks. We ran into Kelly, a Zoo educator I’ve known for a few years and found out the lions can bask on the rocks all year round if they want.

The baby giraffe was cute but it was the hyrax that stood out unexpectedly. Usually these little grey guys are few and far between. But this day we saw them piled up on each other in groups of five and six, looking like piles of grey rocks. I guess that’s the point.

Fun day at the zoo.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Ate at Mango Shiva on a Saturday night before the theatre recently. This is a restaurant right downtown, on Stephen Avenue Mall.

The food, very good. Reasonable price, especially compared to some of the other restaurants in the downtown area.

But it took a long time between visits from the server. He was attentive and polite when he was with us.

We almost ran to the theatre!

My advice: by all means, go, it’s a good meal. Just watch the time.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I’ve been going to Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) for years and years with two friends.

The plays are always thought-provoking.

Saw one of this year’s new playRites plays, by Mieko Ouchi. It was a kind of Raymond Chandler detective story with a distinctly Canadian element. Good play. One element went right over my head but didn’t detract.

Nisei Blue, watch for it

I haven’t been to Theatre Calgary in a while. I suppose I could but typically I’ve found ATP satisfies my theatre-going needs.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Would have been a good day to take in a cheap movie if I had only thought of it in time!

Now that I have NetFlix it’s easier to see a movie at home, but NetFlix in Canada has a lot of gaps.

How long are video rental stores and even movie theatres going to last?

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Even though the tall buildings on the north side of the Calgary Tower are crowding out some of the view, it’s still a great ride to sit at the top of the tower and eat your dinner while looking out the window watching Calgary and southern Alberta go by.

I haven’t been up there in a while and the restaurant has changed management since my last time, so I can’t comment on the food.

When I had my last ride, I found it intriguing to look to the southeast, at the Stampede grounds, Victoria Park, and at the almost Victorian-looking brick buildings here and there.

Of course, the star of the show is the view to the southwest and those gorgeous Rocky Mountains.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

If you fly into Calgary on Air Canada, you often find yourself at the “A” end of the terminal. There’s a bronze statue of a cowboy’s head, huge, you can’t miss it.

That’s Sam Livingston. He was one of Calgary’s pioneers, originally from Ireland.

He had a farm in a sheltered part of the Elbow River Valley. The microclimate was pretty good there.

The farm is underwater now. We call it the Glennmore Reservoir.

You can stand at Sam’s house, moved to Heritage Park on the high ground above the reservoir, and look down at where the farm was.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Home: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Primal Grounds, 3003 – 37 Street SW

Looks like it might have started life as a Dairy Queen. Run by a lady who makes soup and sells it at the Kingsland Farmers’ Market.

We didn’t want soup, we wanted breakfast, and we weren’t disappointed. The choice was limited; this isn’t primarily a breakfast place. Limited but excellent: the breakfast bagel was a meal and a half, fresh and nice.

Great latte as the name suggests.

I always thought it would be cool to have a coffee shop in the Provincial Court building and call it Reasonable and Probable Grounds. Another one in the old Court of Appeal building, called Grounds for Appeal of course.

The Answer is:

Owen Sound, Ontario

Clue #1: Billy Bishop, Canadian World War One Flying Ace, was born and raised here. The Billy Bishop Regional Airport is named after him, and the family home is now the Billy Bishop Home and Museum.

Clue #2 said you can jump in the lake. Owen Sound is the town’s name, but also the name of the Sound itself, a long, narrow inlet bringing the water of Lake Huron (Georgian Bay) right into town. Owen Sound is half on the east side of the Sound, and half on the west, roughly.

Clue #3: The Big Canoe, or Chi-Cheemaun, is the ferry that runs from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island. In the winter, you can see the Chi-Chee tied up in Owen Sound.

Clue #4: Prohibition until 1961. Owen Sound didn’t get a liquor store until 1961, long after Prohibition ended everywhere else. Signs of such temperance are no longer evident. The town has the same ration of beer stores and bars as its peers.

Clue #5: This was a pun! Everyone likes the sound of this place so much they want to own it.

Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada.  A beautiful place all year-round.