By Bobbi Pike
As I sit tucked in my new home in Alberta, I can’t help but think about all the changes and adventures we have experienced in the past year or so.
A little over a year ago, we packed ourselves and our three pups into our SUV and, following the footsteps of many a Newfoundlander, headed west. Destination: Calgary.
The winter drive across the country was an adventure in itself. We scheduled 7-8 days for the trip. How could we have guessed that three major snowstorms and an unexpected stop for car repairs would turn our little adventure into a major 12-day expedition?
Before leaving, we worried about how our three small dogs would fare on the trip, as neither had been on a long car ride before, and this trip was going to be a whopper. They were the best travel companions we could imagine. The ferry ride, long days, different hotel/bed every night, roadside pit/pee stops, nothing fazed them. As long as they were with us, they didn’t care.
The country passed us by. We dined in our cabin on the Marine Atlantic ferry, giggled as we attempted to sneak the pups into a casino in New Brunswick, ate pup-patties in Ontario, played pool in Quebec, nearly froze in Winter-peg, did pup pictures in front of the hotel Christmas tree in Manitoba and watched westerns in Saskatchewan.
Despite the slippery and sometimes scary road conditions and long, cold hours on the road, we made the trip into an adventure that would become a series of road stories to share later.
I’ll never forget that feeling when we finally reached the stretch of frozen prairie where the ‘Welcome to Calgary’ sign greeted us. I swear that never a wagon train in all the history of time had ever been so relieved.
We found the perfect house in a quiet and quaint neighbourhood in the Deep South of Calgary. The best part was that it was only a two-minute walk to our son and his family. We couldn’t be happier.
We settled in and began the lengthy process of transforming the new house into our home. It was a pretty little house that needed some style and TLC to turn it into the wonderful home we knew it could be.
We set to work, spending the springtime working on our ‘yarden’ and focusing on turning it into an outdoor space that suited us. We spent our summer exploring our new city. With every step of the way, falling more in love with our new hometown.
The Atlantic Ocean that we grew up with had been traded for gorgeous mountain vistas, and we were surrounded by flowing fields of wheat and bright, vivid fields of canola. We were stunned by the hoodoos and the Badlands. We stampeded and explored.
In the fall, we revelled in the autumn colours. We celebrated Alberta’s history at Heritage Park, chased hot air balloons in High River, became new Flames fans, leaf-peeped at the larch trees as they turned vibrant yellow and then dropped their needles, and oohed and aahed at Lady Aurora in all her glory.
In the first full winter spent in Alberta, we settled into sprucing up the interior of our home — finally making this new little nest our own.
Now that spring is upon us, we’re excited to get back out there to explore again. We covered a lot of ground exploring the city of Calgary in our first year, but there are still many places to explore here in Alberta. Our adventures have only begun.
Living one street over from our younger generation has been such a privilege. The transition from the mom who lives with her son full time, to the mom whose son lives thousands of miles away, combined with that ‘mudder’ who visits and gets to hog her son’s time for two weeks, to finally the mom who lives one street over from her adult kid, is the most special thing ever.
Life out here is becoming normal as the Pike pack has officially settled out west. The transformation is complete. We are now Albertans, but in my heart, the rugged shores of Newfoundland and her beautiful people still call to me. That Jiggs dinner will always be our go-to Sunday/family meal. Shanneygannock and The Masterless Men will always blast from my stereo. I’ll forever check for that big seat sale from YYC to YYT. After all, I’m still just a Newfoundlander in my Calgary hat.
