The Call of Having a Home is Loud

 Calgary, CA

Hot Pinball Action!

Our Last Packing Day This Year

Today we are in Calgary and packing our stuff up like we do about every month, but that's all about to end, for now.  Tomorrow we head south back to the states (as they all call it here in Canada) with a stop in Glacier National Park for some camping, a stop in Great Falls MT for a tiki/Mermaid Bar, a stop in Downstream State Park Nashua, MT because it's on the way, and a stop in Bismarck ND because it's on the way and it's the capital of North Dakota.  This road trip will get us new counties, a new tiki bar, a new state capital, and some new sights on our way to our next big adventure.

What's Next?

Our ultimate destination for this trip is Minneapolis, MN!  We have an apartment there for a YEAR!  I know crazy right?  

We have been thinking about taking a year to settle in and enjoy community, our own bed and kitchen, and really experience someplace new and we found our apartment while we were in Victoria, signed the lease, and had our PODs container shipped to the PODs facility right outside of Minneapolis.  We arrive on Saturday and unload our container on Monday which is only a week from now.  We are both very excited about this new adventure.

Why Minneapolis?

So why Minneapolis you ask.  That's a good question and we have many reasons.  Here are some reasons in no particular order.

This is the Pinball Map for the greater Twin Cities area.  Each one of those circles is a venue with a pinball machine.

#1    Tons of Pinball and Tons of Tournaments.

The pinball community is strong in the Twin Cities area and beyond.  Minnesota just became a Super State which means that there are more tournaments here than the average state.  It's also close to other great pinball communities within a days drive so I will be able to play pinball as often as I want.  I will be able to walk to LITT Pinball Bar.  They open at 11am every day and currently have 47 machines.  I can also walk to Caffetto Coffee Bar.  They open at 6am every day and have 17 machines.  It will be a lot of fun to be a part of a community for more than a month.

#2     The November Election

We haven't voted the past 2 years and it is eating at us a bit.  Democracy is so important so we are making sure we are settled in time to vote in the November election. 

#3     A New Vibe and Culture

Minneapolis is a part of The Midwest and I have only lived on The West Coast.  There are things in Minnesota that I have never heard of like Pizza Farms.  Yea, that's a thing.  It's a farm you go to and they cook you pizza and you eat it on their farm.  It's also a great music city.  When the weather warms up free music pops up all over the area.  There are jazz clubs, concert venues, live theater, and The Minnesota Orchestra.  

#4     Camping

Minnesota is home to more than 70 State Parks.  That's quite a few but there is also  National Forests to explore.  It also borders Wisconsin which has 50 State parks you can camp at.  There will be a lot of opportunity to road trip and camp during the spring, summer, and fall and even the winter if we are feeling adventurous.

#5     Winter Activities

Minnesota is known for its harsh winters but it is also known for its winter activities.  We will be able to ice skate on lakes, visit snow parks, visit snow festivals, and enjoy all of the things that actual winters provide.  And, when it is super duper cold and the weather is miserable, we will be able to stay home.  When you are retired, you don't have to leave your apartment when it makes sense to stay home.

#6     Plenty of Lakes and Trails to Explore

Minnesota is The Land of 10,000 Lakes and that is rounding down.  Our apartment is close to a series of lakes with bike trails.  There will be plenty of opportunities for long walks and bike rides without taking the van out of the garage.  We plan on buying used bikes when we arrive so that we can take advantage of the extensive bike infrastructure in the area and the organized community rides.

#7     Our Own Space

We will have our own space for the first time in 2 years.  We plan on buying a few pinball machines, upgrade some of our cooking implements, and enjoy our own bed, shower, and kitchen for a year.

We have chosen a high rise apartment building near downtown with a heated parking garage and an indoor dog area for Francis.  We know we are new to the whole harsh winter thing so we are doing what we can to make it easy for us.  We won't have to dig our car out of the snow, shovel sidewalks, plug in our car so it will start in the morning, or even go outside when it is cold.  Our apartment connects directly to the Minneapolis Skyway system where we can walk, shop, and eat.  

The Adventure Continues

We are still going to stay very busy.  Our goal is to keep as active as we have been on the road.  I am sure we won't run out of things to do.  I will still be updating this blog to keep you posted on our life in Minnesota and The Mid West.  There will still be more foodie adventures, more pinball tournaments, pinball road trips, camping adventures, museums, and sporting events.  All of the things we like to do.  We will also find more opportunities to use "You Betcha". 

A selfie with one of the Dala horses in The US.  This one is in Mora, MN.

That's it for today.  Check back in a week or so when we show off our new apartment.  If you missed, This and That in Calgary, check it out and check back nest week-ish.

This and That in Calgary

 Calgary, AB

This and That (as the title says)

We have been going out and doing things the past week.  Calgary is a surprisingly good city for food so we have been enjoying some local eats as well other things.  

One evening we went to Paper Lantern, a Vietnamese Restaurant and Bar owned by the same group as Prosperity Bar seen here in this post.

The décor was awesome.

The food was also really great.  We forgot to take photos of it but here is a photo of me being happy.

Their cocktail program is awesome too.

Their clear ice game is strong.

Our next foodie adventure involved walking across the street to pick up kimbap and then Korean fried chicken next door. We collected these things and then brought them home.  They were both good but not great.  The interesting thing is the Korean Instant Ramen machine.  This place has the first one in Calgary.  I guess they are very popular in Korea.  You can read about them here.

You choose an overpriced cup noodle and then buy add ons like egg, cheese, or rice cakes.

Then you put your paper bowl in this machine and make it the way you want it.

I don't know why you would want to do this instead of buy a cheap one, plus it up yourself with your own ingredients, and then put it in your microwave.

Our next foodie adventure was at LuLu Bar.  It got a "Best Happy Hour" in Calgary award.  The cocktails were half price and apps were cheaper than normal.

Their menu is Hawaiian Fusion and they have tiki drinks.

Donna sips from her lucky cat.

This bao hot dog ranks pretty high on best things we have had on this trip.

I got lobster dumplings that Donna couldn't eat because they also had scallops.  They were pretty good but everything else was fantastic.

The duck was amazing.

And we got a fantastic shaved ice dessert.

Our next adventure involved walking to Peter's Drive In.  It was voted the best burger and best poutine in Calgary.  

The place is VERY popular. We came at an off time and it was still pretty hopping.

They are also known for their shakes.  We skipped the shakes because burgers and poutine are probably enough calories for the day.

There was no inside eating so they had 2 large picnic areas away from the highway Peter's sits on.  It was a nice place to eat.

The burger had a lot of ketchup / BBQ sauce and a regular patty and a small patty.  It was good but not the best burger of this 2 year trip.

I decided that Poutine is good unless you know about Chili Cheese Fries.  

Burger and Poutine!  Get in my mouth already!

That afternoon we headed over to The Hidden Spot to play the new John Wick pinball machine.  They announced it last week and it is already on location across North America.  It was a lot of fun.

For our next food adventure we went Dutch.  We went to the Pfantastic Pannenkoek Haus.  Pannenkoek is like a giant crepe with whatever you want cooked into it.

They have Pannenkoek you can choose from a list, both sweet and savory, or you can make your own.  I chose cheese, sausage, and black olive.  I wanted a breakfast pizza.  It was really good.

That evening I played in another pinball tournament.  It was a lot of fun.  Almost 65 people showed up to play.  I didn't do very well, but had a great time.

The Edmonton game was on while we played.  

It was the last tournament of this series so they had some Stern give a ways via a drawing.

The place was packed tight with pinball players.

I won an extreme water in the drawing.  Liquid Death is really throwing their advertising dollars into the pinball community.

A fun thing happened during the tournament.  A player had locked up the win on a 5 ball game of Volley and had his 5th ball left.  I was standing there and he asked if I wanted to play it.  I said, "Yea, I will roll it for you." meaning that I would get a score so high the score would roll back over to 00000.  I proceeded to roll it with his last ball and he said, "Wow, you did it.  You are a man of your word".

We have about 5 days left in Calgary.  I have 3 days of pinball tournaments during this time.  Hopefully I can play better.  After Calgary we head back to The States with stays in Glacier National Park, Great Falls MN, and Bismarck, ND on the way to our next stay.  Stay tuned for what that stay will be.  It's different than our recent stays.

That's it for today.  If you missed, Hanging with YouTubers, check it out. We walked another cool footbridge.

Hanging with the YouTubers

 Calgary, AB

Ya can't sit around waiting for good weather.

Another Footbridge

Today we walked to the footbridge that is in every YouTuber's Video about Calgary.  I don't have video editing software so I figured I would do a YouTube Video Style Blog Post.

Today I visit the Top 1 Footbridges in Calgary!

"What's up guys?!  Today I am in Calgary and I am counting down The Top One Footbridges in Calgary!  Coming in at #1 is The Peace Bridge! "

(Now this is the part were I just copy and paste from the internet and pretend like I am an expert.)

"Peace Bridge is a bridge that accommodates people walking and cycling across the Bow River in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, opened for use on March 24, 2012.

The bridge was built by The City of Calgary to connect the southern Bow River pathway and Downtown Calgary with the northern Bow River pathway and the community of Sunnyside. This connection was designed to accommodate the increasing number of people commuting to and from work and those utilizing Calgary's pathways. The bridge is reportedly used by 6000 people a day and has ranked among the top 10 architectural projects in 2012 and among the top 10 public spaces of 2012."

"That's the Top One Footbridge in Calgary list for you!  I hope you learned something and it inspires you to live your life to the fullest!"

"Like and Subscribe for more content like this!"

Okay that was fun but but not me.  Back to photos with possible snark.

You can see the bridge there off in the distance.  Our walk was about 2 miles round trip.

It is a really cool looking bridge so I don't blame all of the YouTubers and Influencers for featuring it in their content.

The center lane is for bike and scooter traffic and the outside lanes are for pedestrians.  It's nice that they separate the traffic.

You can see the bridge we crossed yesterday off in the distance.

There were multiple groups of people on the downtown side of the bridge getting that perfect shot.  Some where blocking the bike lane.

Another shot of this cool looking footbridge.  It kind of reminds me of one of those novelty "Chinese Finger Traps" you can buy.

It was cold and raining but we still hoped the ice cream stand was open.  It was not.  :(

I thought this cyclist looked like an old timey poker dealer with a little visor.

We got to walk across another footbridge that didn't make the Top One List.

Donna got to pet a Trilobite sculpture.

The last part of our walk was this staircase.

Oh and I stopped to take a photo of these derpy Bison!

That's it for today.  If you missed, "A Museum, A Walk, and Light Rail", check it out.