We were treated to a luxurious 2-night vacation in the Banff Springs Hotel. There were so many things about this stay that made it glorious:
The Hotel is built like a Scottish Castle with a beautiful view of mountains and valleys.
We embarked on a treasure hunt to find all the special rooms, halls, and information plaques. On this adventure, we also found some of the locations Ben’s mom had been photographed in on her visit as a 9 year old!
A guided hike along the trails around the hotel meant we could check off yet another, nearly private tour to learn about the local flora, fauna, and Banff Springs history.
The outdoor heated swimming pool! The indoor beautiful pool, and the hot tub. We were in the pools nearly 3 times a day.
Con loved the “drawing pads” that had been left beside each bed, and on every desk.
I couldn’t believe that even the sewing kits had pre-threaded needles!
Bath robes, slippers, lip balm, fancy glasses, and delicious teas.
We took full advantage of this “vacation” from our travels to float. We felt a bit out of place when we were leaving and the valet cleaned our crazy dirty windows, so we shoved our bags to the ceiling of our Matrix, as the other patrons handed the valets their tickets and waited as their matching luggage was loaded into their fancy cars.
We felt so out of place in fact, that we threw everything into the car and Ben drove it to a different parking lot to do the full Jenga style pack up. The kids and I walked to meet him at the tennis courts. Pulling away from Banff, we knew we were in for a beautiful drive over the mountains.
We stopped at Lake Louise for a quick family reunion with Ben’s cousin Anna and a walk along the turquoise waters of the lake. A majestic look at a glacier and yet another beautiful homeschooling geography lesson!
The sunset snuck up on us now that it is Fall, and we pulled into Revelstoke in the dark at 6 pm for an overnight. The Days Inn does not compare to the Banff Springs Hotel, but alas, the kids are still thrilled because there is a T.V. After a quick visit with our old camp friend Katie, we tucked in for a long haul drive to Vancouver, over Roger’s Pass and along the incredible river valleys. I could not stop thinking about the people who arrived at the mountain ranges and thought it would make sense to build roads and railways through them.
It was not a clear day, nor was it dry. The mountains had trapped multiple layers of clouds that we passed through both on the way up and on the way down. We could see hints of mountains through the fog, and it was a different kind of gorgeous. Huge kudos to Ben for white knuckling beside the very confident, fast, and heavy transport trucks all the way down the mountains. We made it to Vancouver to enjoy a delicious microwaveable meal of Kraft Dinner for the kiddos (never again will I make KD in the microwave) and Chana Masala and pre-cooked rice for the adults. Ben has been curating a wide selection of microbrews, and he got to select one to relax with after an exhausting drive.
A full day in Vancouver meant we would get to see some old friends, catch up some decades in a few hours, and walk around Stanley Park. We hit Vancouver at the end of October and it was sunny and lovely. COVID-19 means that everything we do with other people has to happen outside, so thank you sunshine on this day.
Halloween, full moon, Daylight Savings Time all in one day… we thought we should add a bunch of sugar. SO we took the kids trick or treating in the candy store and ate it in front of a movie! We certainly missed our lovely neighbourhood’s efforts to find super long tongs and candy slides, you rock Raglan!
Comments