2016 is here, shiny as a new button! The time for recaps has passed but we can’t sever our ties with 2015 just yet! One more recap from 2015 about my trip to Canada in the last week of December and we’re done. Why would anyone in their right mind go to Canada in the dead of winter,? Well, you do if you have family there, or you just like frigid temperatures. My reason is the former because what’s Christmas without family! They said it wasn’t a very brutal winter this year, just a balmy -20 degrees Celsius. Balmy it was, inside the house where we spent most of our time. We watched movies while the kids played, we cooked and savored some amazing food, we talked and gossiped and had the best stay-at-home NYE celebration.
It didn’t snow as much as we expected, but snowfall is just so magical! The locals are probably tired of it, what with having to wear at least 6 layers and scraping the snow off your car even to go to the next door mom-n-pop shop, but for us out-of-towners, it’s nothing short of miraculous! It’s like in the stories I tell my toddler, M, that the moon blows magical fairy dust on the whole world when it’s time to sleep.
I won’t call this post a trip journal because we didn’t really go out as much as we would have liked to, even though we were very close to Banff and Jasper, but I did catch a few glimpses of Edmonton and Calgary in the snow, which I hope you’ll enjoy.
(pic above) The view from our house. Houses and trees under a thick blanket of snow.
(pic above) Bales of hay in one of the many farms. The animals can expect some cold dinner, I’m guessing 🙂
(pic above) A lone animal grazes on some grass the winter has been kind enough to spare.
(pic above) Yellowing grass
(pic above) A snow-capped barn
(pic above) En route to the airport – goodbyes are never fun!
(pic above) Interesting seats at Edmonton Airport. They look like caramel candies, don’t they? M actually tried to lick them.
And finally a (metal) bird’s eye view of home -the San Francisco Bay area, two flights and two full-blown tantrums later.
I’m back home, having spent the first day of the new year traveling. I hope this sets the tone for the rest of the year. How did you usher in 2016? I’d love to hear from you. Do comment.