Skipping the border for a day

Having already gone east with Laura and conquered Saskatchewan, it was time to pop west into British Columbia (BC) for a day. It was June and I had not been in the province since my first few days in Vancouver and Victoria when I arrived in Canada in January.

Marc the ski bus guy by then had become my boyfriend, and we piled into a car driven by his friend (also called Marc) Marc's girlfriend Jen and her friend Carmen. Both Marcs were boyhood friends from the east coast province of Nova Scotia, had done economics degrees and trained as accountants. Thankfully they don't style their hair the same way.

We were off to Radium in BC, which to me sounded like a nuclear power plant. In fact it was the location of a spa and hot springs, much like the one in Banff, which I had been to earlier in the year.

Nothing quite so bizarre as sitting in a large outdoor heated pool over 30 something degrees when it is cold outside with a bunch of strangers.

It was a cheerful 2-3 hr drive into the mountains on a misty day and upon arriving, Jen, Carmen and myself negotiated a fair number of old, naked, excessively wobbly Northern European women in the pre-spa shower and changerooms to join the boys in the pool.

It was a relaxing day. I like the spas. The difference between Banff and Radium is that Radium does have a "cold" pool and the very Scandinavian idea is that after being in the hot pool you take a dip in the cold. At least in Canada you wear your swimsuit. The other girls wouldn't go in for the cold but I committed to give it a go with the two Marcs and it turned out to be lukewarm. The test was that there were children in it and they weren't crying so I knew I would be ok.

So I had a chance to get out of downtown Calgary for a day and get to know some new people. Thanks to Jen's Marc who generously drove us all out there and back even after the sporific effects of the spa.

By the time we arrived back in Calgary it was pouring. My Marc had offered for all his mates to come over for a BBQ that evening and not to be deterred, we all shopped for BBQ groceries and drinks when we hit town. Marc lined up 2 BBQs outside and with his rainjacket on and beer in hand, cooked a BBQ for 8 which we ate indoors. I am now a fan of BBQ potatoes and marinated pork ribs. The only downside is that there is no ladylike way of eating them.