Live Long And Prosper

Despite my somewhat late arrival in Calgary last night – technically, early this morning – I managed to get out of bed at a fairly reasonable hour. 8:30. Having not eaten since the not-terrible-burrito at the Philadelphia airport, my first order of business of the day was breakfast. Fortunately, the Lakeview Signature Inn provides breakfast – and a rather comprehensive one at that.

In all honesty, all I really wanted was some cereal. I figured that wouldn’t be too much to ask. And it wasn’t. But I’m not going to lie, I was more than a little happy when I saw Mini Wheats among the selection of cereals. From there I had some granola mix with yogurt and strawberries. Then some eggs, sausage, and potatoes. And yes, I may have gone back for some more Mini Wheats. Seriously, how could I not?

After breakfast I headed over to the Real Canadian Superstore to re-stock my food supply for the road. John had texted me earlier indicating that the airport shuttle might be available to take me to said Superstore. It was. John had also mentioned that he was going to be in the area and could pick me up at 1:00. The plan for the day was shaping up.

From there the day took a somewhat unexpected turn and, before I knew it, John and I were on the road for a small town southeast of Calgary. As is frequently the case with small towns, they tend to be somewhat lacking in sights and points of interests. The town to which we were heading didn’t entirely fit that description. That’s not to say it has a LOT of reasons to visit. In reality, probably just one. But it’s one to which they are clearly committed. The town? Vulcan.

For those that don’t know, in addition to being a small town in Alberta, Vulcan is also a planet (and a race of people) which plays a somewhat significant role in the Star Trek franchise. Now, I’m not going to say I’m not a Star Trek fan but I’m also far from being a Trekker or is it Trekkie? The fact that I don’t know the answer to that probably offends both parties (to the best of my knowledge there is a difference between the two). On the flip side, I also probably know more than I should admit to when it comes to the Star Trek universe. And so, for better or worse, I found myself in Vulcan today.

I say “for better or worse” but it was definitely the former as I found the town of Vulcan rather entertaining – or least, amusing. They have a large scale enterprise-like spaceship on display – I say “enterprise-like” because there is actually no mention of “Enterprise” or its corresponding identifiers on the display. I can only assume this is due to some sort of copyright restrictions.

There is also a Tourist Information Centre which is more of a Star Trek shrine than a resource for tourists. But there are some Alberta tourism brochures available. In fairness, I don’t think that’s what most visitors are there to see. As such, more readily available are a variety of Star Trek memorabilia offerings and photo opportunities. I passed on the former, but may have partaken in a few of the latter.

Unrelated to the overwhelming Star Trek theme of the town is the presence of a Subway. How could there not be? As usual, I took a photo of that too.

There certainly wasn’t a shortage of photos on the day and today’s photo gallery is rather large as a result. Side note: I meant to mention this several days ago but I crossed the 10,000 photo threshold on my camera. No, not just on this trip. Last year’s too. However, the camera was acting up a bit today so it might not be long for this world. Planned obsolescence at work. I had a few temporary issues with the camera last year but they went away. If the time comes that I have to get a new camera I think I’ll finally take the plunge and buy a “good” camera. Something in the micro-4/3 genre. I’m open to suggestions. I’d like a DSLR but I find them to be too big and heavy for cycling trips.

When I woke up this morning, I really didn’t know what the day would bring. I certainly didn’t expect it to be a full-on tourist day. But it was. And it was a lot of fun. In addition to Vulcan, there was a lot of beautiful scenery, the Calgary skyline, and a large piece of art on display downtown. We also made a stop at Spruce Meadows. There were no equestrian activities on tap for the day but it was still interesting to see the site. I have no doubt my nieces would like it there – then again, they’ve been to Calgary so they’ve probably already been!

The day ended back at John and Susan’s for one last night. And, once again, it was another very enjoyable night which included storm photos, beer, the Tour de France, and homemade popcorn – not microwave-style. So good. And normally I’m not really a popcorn fan. I was tonight.

The evening ended with one final photo as I actually remembered to get a group photo with my hosts. And remarkably, Lexi and Parker (the dogs) actually participated in the photo. It’s not so remarkable for Parker, but considering Lexi’s generally skittish reaction to me (and strangers in general) it was stunning when she jumped on my lap as the first photo attempt was taken.

Tomorrow the regular routine returns. The plan is to get to Canmore which shouldn’t be a problem as it’s less than 100 km away. And apparently relatively flat. I find that hard to believe but that’s what I’m told. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.