In Calgary with Theo and Mary Ann

Mary Ann and Theo were amazing hosts, making us feel welcome from the moment we pulled up in front of their lawn in North Calgary. We immediately discovered that Mary Ann is a great cook with a welcoming meal of Salmon crepes, to be followed later that weekend with other creative dishes. One breakfast was fluffy waffles topped with whipped cream with fresh fruit. Wow. We found out soon afterwards that all four of us are primarily tea drinkers.

From the first evening forward, everything was relaxed and cordial from the get-go, even though Theo and I hadn't seen each other since we graduated at Central Memorial High. We picked right up in 2011 on our light humor and informative talks about life in Calgary, interspersed with old memories from the 70s. Mary Ann and Layli developed a nice easy parallel rapport with each other as well with their teaching backgrounds.

Highlights of the long weekend was a return to our old neighborhood in Calgary's Lakeview / Glenmore Park area. We swung by the old elementary, junior high and high school. We fondly remembered a mutual favorite teacher, Mr. Webb, at Jennie Elliot Elementary.

BELOW: The house we lived in: 1968:

 And ABOVE: 26 years later / And BELOW: 44 years later.....

ABOVE: Shows you what a little roofline & porch remodel will do !

Next, we went over to Heritage Park, an amazing "back in time" community set in the late 1800s, which highlights Alberta's rich history. This is a park that opened in '64 that we remembered visiting as kids in the early 70s. We boarded the very same "SS Moie" paddle boat out in front of the park, cruising out onto Glenmore Reservoir, followed by train tickets for the circular route around the historic community on the restored 130-year old coal-fired passenger train.

The next day, Theo drove us out into the Bragg Creek mountainous area, and there, we explored Elbow Falls and then built a hot fire to grill turkey sausage, and then "walked off" the meal with  short hikes along nearby lakes and rivers.

Our concluding meal was at a nearby Indian restaurant, sampling all kinds of classic Indian dishes.

To sum it up, I was amazed at how relaxed we were hanging out together. Layli and Mary Ann shared teaching stories, and they seemed as compatible as life-long sisters. Theo and I kept an easy-going banter going, picking up our old light humorous chatter, and then letting the conversation steer away on random tangents.

The photo below is one I snapped of young Theo on Glenmore Reservoir, on the "SS Moie" using my little Kodak instamatic box camera.

 Here is Theo this summer, looking off from the port side of the very same boat about 40 years later, gazing at yet another sailboat.

 Here are Theo and Mary Ann grinning during our train ride through the past.

 Elbow Falls, in the Bragg Creek area west of Calgary are pictured next.

 Below is a shot of my father on the lower side of those very same falls, some 40 years earlier...

 BELOW: The "SS Moie", ready to take another group out on Glenmore Reservoir.

Below: Looking at beautiful, cosmopolitan Calgary from Heritage Park across the north end of Glenmore Reservoir. There's a revolving restaurant at the tip of the thin tower on the far side. Built by Husky Oil in the mid-sixties, it was renamed the Calgary Tower.

Thank you, Theo and Mary Ann, for your clean, welcoming home and guest room, generous hospitality, and purr-fect long weekend suggestions.

 One of the best moments was Layli getting out her guitar to play some old classic folk songs adding a couple she had written recently, with the rest of us lightly singing along in the living room. A real treat for me was hearing Mary Ann dust off the piano keys on her beautiful upright, and playing a couple of classical pieces, ending with one of my favorites: Pachabel.

We loved our time with Theo and Mary Ann, and the best aspect was observing that calm harmony that they exhibited naturally in their spiritual, trusting, gentle marriage. They must have been as lucky finding each other as we were, though Layli reminds me that God had the guiding hand all along.