Not to be mistaken for a Beastie, a Best-ie is a best girlfriend. I am blessed in Australia to have an exclusive and small group of wonderful girlfriends, none of whom it would be fair to single out for that sparkly tiara-ed title. In Canada I have made 4 really good girlfriends, Kelty, Karen, Melissa and Laura. I am lucky in knowing all of them. The tiara in this country goes to Laura, no doubt.
My travelling adventures did not end when I started work in Calgary. In Laura I had found the ideal travel buddy, better than anyone I could have mail-ordered. She is North American, so she could explain a myriad of stuff I didn't understand, like why people's barns look better than their houses, why the buttered popcorn is good at the Saddledome stadium (I would prefer actually not to know) how many foods pickles can go on and why you would put blueberries in a bagel.
Additionally, being a geologist, she has been really handy in explaining to me why the Rockies are, well... rocky. I prefer to call them The Snow Covered Chunkies. I am forgiven for getting a glazed look in my eyes when asking about (and then not listening properly to) answers about limestone formations. She had also been in Calgary for at least 6 months longer than me and knew lots of handy information about the best chocolate shop in Banff and best pubs for beer. I had a guide, a friend and someone who was frustrated with wanting to be a tourist in Alberta and whilst having many friends, few as mental as her for tripping about.
Also, let's not forget. She has a car.
Enter Moi.
In me she had found someone who knew less about Canada than her, could talk her way in (and out) of most situations in an Aussie accent, could argue about the cricket (she used to live in Leeds and supports England- very wrong !!) and someone who she could send to ask for directions when we were lost. Also there is a lot of comedy value in the random moments that we have together and my habit of asking silly questions.
Q- If you are training to be Mountie, is it a prerequisite to be able to ride a horse?
Q- What is root beer made out of?
Q- What happens to the rest of the chicken after you've made chicken wings?
Q- How can a can of spray be successful weaponry alone against a bear?
Q- How is it that bears can't get into bearproof bins?
Q- Why do they call them "Big Horned sheep" when they look like goats?
Q- If there is a "land bridge" over a road in the mountains for the animals to cross from one side to the other, how do they know where to cross? (Actually that question was Laura's. I told her about the "bush telegraph" back home but she wasn't convinced)
Q- If two people are walking in the forest and one is wearing a "bear bell" and the other one isn't, which one will the bear eat?
Without getting mushy, we have had some great travel adventures together so far, both in town and about Alberta and Saskatchewan. The best way of explaining it is that we are the "odd couple". Most Canadians find us an interesting double act, how the Texan geologist and Aussie lawyer could end up in so many crazy places together, finish each other's sentences and pass each other napkins without looking, the way old people do. I hope you will enjoy hearing about us as I capture the highlights here.
